Sunday, March 29, 2020

2020 Fall Twirler Announcements - Tyler Junior College

Hello Texas Twirl Fans!

It is that exciting time of year where twirlers are auditioning for twirling spots for the Fall. This blog hopes to help spread the excitement by announcing the selections for the lovely twirlers we will see on the field very soon in Texas, and representing out of State. If you have an announcement for new twirler selections for 2020-21, please email texastwirlcontact@gmail.com so that we can help spread the word!

Also, make sure to check out the 2020 Texas Collegiate Twirler Audition Guide. Most of the information has been updated, including details for several schools that adjusted their try-out dates.

Today's post announces the selections of the 2020-21 Tyler Junior College Feature Twirlers!



This coming Fall, the TJC Apache Band and the Touch of Gold Auxiliary will proudly feature returning twirler, Bethany Tompkins, as well as two new faces, Ally Wilcox and Katelynn Carter!

Bethany, who is from Van, TX, will be returning for her sophomore year. Ally is coming from Bullard ISD, and Katelynn from Chapel Hill ISD. Both Ally & Katelynn will be freshman and are coached by Beth Maddox.

We are so excited to see Ally and Katelynn join Bethany and the Touch of Gold on this field this Fall!


We hope you have enjoyed this blog post. We are always looking for great new stories about Texas twirlers. Do you have an idea or some information we could use to help highlight our sport? Contact us at texastwirlcontact@gmail.com and we would love to hear more about it.

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

The More You Know… NBTA Title Terminology

Hello Texas Twirl Fans!

We know this time is very strange and trying for all of us. We were just really getting into the season, and now due to the coronavirus precautions, everyone is homebound and understandably uncertain about what the next few weeks, or even months, will bring. We have all the twirlers, in Texas and around the world, in our thoughts and prayers as we all get through this. Stay safe, take care of yourselves, support each other, and let’s continue to remain united.

Check out the World Baton Twirling Federation's #apartbuttogether initiative to stay connected to the rest of the baton world as we all weather this together! Also, make sure to keep World Baton Twirling Day (April 10th) on your calendar and learn the routine. We may not be able to get in our normal facilities, but we can still enjoy our sport!

In the meantime, we hope to bring you new content over the next couple weeks/months to keep you educated and entertained. One series we have been wanting to introduce for awhile is our “The More You Know…” Series. In this series we will be posting about different NBTA, USTA, or UIL related rules that currently exist, but that not everyone may be familiar with or fully understand. We have reached out to prominent Texas judges in these areas to share the rule they wish more people knew about.

To kick things off, I am going to get us started. I don’t normally identify myself on here, but I am going to for this one since it is a rule I am passionate about educating people on. For those that don’t know me, my name is Ashley Wood. On top of being the author of this blog, and the webmaster for texastwirl.com, I am a Co-Director & Coach for Twirl ATX in Austin, TX, and I have been an NBTA certified judge for 7 years now. I am often known in my judging for being a stickler about penalties, and I am a big old rules nerd, thus the inspiration for this series!

For our very first “The More You Know…”, let’s learn more about NBTA Title Terminology! 


With NBTA SW Regionals just 1.5 weeks ago, we know there are twirlers all over our region getting jackets, bags, towels, or shirts printed with titles earned in Canyon. However, not everyone is familiar with the guidelines for title wording. It may not seem like a big deal to get one part of a title wrong, but when you are the actual title holder and other people are using your hard-earned title, it becomes very important. It also makes Texas look bad when we show up to AYOP with incorrect terminology printed on our gear. This subject and its importance on the World stage, and to the general public, has also recently been addressed on social media by Twirling Legend Annetta Lucero.

A Twirling Title can get very long. In fact, each title has SIX parts, and yes, it is crucial that you use all six parts when embroidering a jacket or posting on social media. This is a long read, but it will be well worth your time to ensure you are knowledgeable on the subject, and we have even included a handy “title guide” to help you moving forward. Now, let’s learn how to properly word a title!

(1) YEAR – This part is simple. Always start the title with the year it was won - I.E. “2020”

(2) SKILL DIVISION
– When putting together a twirling title, you must include the SKILL divisions, unless the winning twirler was competing in the advanced division. A title without a skill division listed automatically implies it was the Advanced title. If your twirler wins a Novice, Beginner, or Intermediate event, the title must include this Skill Division tag. Claiming your beginner two baton winner is the “State Winner” (vs. the “Beginner State Winner”) implies that they are the Advanced title holder, and they just took away the prestige earned by the Advanced twirler who rightfully holds that title. Always state division unless Advanced!

(3) AGE DIVISION
– When putting together a twirling title, you must include the AGE divisions. The precursory title tag of Tiny Tot/Little Miss (0-6), Juvenile (7-9), Pre-Teen (10-12), Junior (13-15), Senior (16+), or Collegiate, must be stated in every title. The only exception to this is that Senior winners do not have to include Senior, because if an age division tag is not included, it is implied that this is the Senior title. This implication is always given to the oldest, non-collegiate, division. For example, if you get a jacket for your 14 year old that says “State Three Baton Champion” (vs. the “Junior State Three Baton Champion”), you have just claimed them as the Senior winner and aged them a couple years just by leaving out a single word.

When dealing with single age events, the title must include the single age. For example, the Miss Southwest Model Pageant is done by single age. Saying your twirler is the “Miss Southwest Model Winner” is implying they are the 18+ winner. Make sure your titles always include individual age if that applies, such as “8-year-old Miss Southwest Model Winner”. This is also something to keep in mind at AYOP as most events are single age. Always ensure the proper age is used! 

(4) CONTEST ATTENDED – Next you must include the identifier for the contest attended. This would be like “Texas State” or “Southwest Regional”. It is important that you include the location (Southwest or Texas) and not just the type of contest (Regional or State), because there are 18 NBTA Regionals and 50 States that could be represented in a title, and you want to make sure to identify as the correct one.

(5) CONTEST WON – Next you must include the event that was won in order to earn the title. This one is easy. Solo, X-Strut, Basic Strut, 2-Baton, 3-Baton, Pageant, etc.

(6) PREFIX/SUFFIX – This is the hardest part of the title and what gets messed up most frequently.

CHAMPION vs WINNER for Non-Pageant Events: The ONLY competitors that can be listed as CHAMPIONS are the Advanced, or highest level, winners. The Regional, State, or National CHAMPIONS are those that won an Advanced division. If your twirler won a lower division (Novice, Beginner, or Intermediate) event, they are the WINNER. Utilizing the term CHAMPION for a non-advanced division takes away the prestige of the advanced title.

This also applies to TEAMS. At the 2020 NBTA Southwest Regionals, for example, there were no ADVANCED Dance Twirl Teams. All Dance Twirl Teams competed in the Beginner classification, which means the groups that won the Dance Twirl events are classified as Regional WINNERS and need to ensure they do not state that they were Regional Champions, even though there were no advanced teams.

However, there are sometimes events that do not have Skill Divisions. For example, there is no division separation for Half Time Show Teams or Pom Pon teams, so the winners of these events are CHAMPIONS because they competed in the highest level of this event. This also applies to Show Twirls.

Here are some examples of similar titles being differentiated by CHAMPION vs. WINNER
• Advanced Senior Solo CHAMPION vs. Intermediate Senior Solo WINNER
• Advanced Junior X-Strut CHAMPION vs. Beginner Junior X-Strut WINNER
• Advanced Pre-Teen Basic Strut CHAMPION vs. Novice Pre-Teen Basic Strut WINNER
• Advanced Senior Dance Twirl CHAMPIONS vs. Beginner Senior Dance Twirl WINNERS
• Half-Time Collegiate Show Twirl Team CHAMPIONS
• Tiny Tot SW Regional Show Twirl CHAMPION

PAGEANT WINNER vs. MISS MAJORETTE for Twirling Pageants – In a pageant, only the ADVANCED title holder can be referred to as “MISS MAJORETTE”. This applies to State, Regional, and National Advanced Pageant Winners. If your twirler wins a pageant, but it is not Advanced, they must utilize the title of “Pageant Winner”. Examples of this are the Senior Beginner Regional Pageant Winner, Pre-Teen Regional Basic Skills Pageant Winner, or Junior Intermediate Regional Pageant Winner.

Now that we have reviewed the six parts of a title, we want to offer a handy tool to help you when determining your twirler’s proper title wording. Presenting, the (unofficial) NBTA Title Terminology Guide! 


How to use this guide… Go down each column and circle the correct classification. Then in the blanks on the bottom right hand side, fill in the lines with the circled items. This will reveal to you the proper six-part title that should be utilized when stating titles! Below we have included two examples.



Please note that while this information was all gathered from the NBTA Rules, this blog post was not made or approved by NBTA Headquarters. To find the information in this blog post you can check out the “RESPONSIBILITIES OF ATHLETES AND SPECTATORS  Part E” in the NBTA Solo Rules.

If you ever have any questions on a title, please consult your twirling coach first, but you can also feel free to email us at texastwirlcontact@gmail.com or NBTA Headquarters at baton@americanbaton.com if you need anything clarified. If you email us and we do not know the answer, we will reach out to NBTA Headquarters to make sure we have the right response for you!

Thank you all for reading! We hope everyone has learned something and that we have helped! Stay Strong Texas Twirlers! We will make it through this stronger on the other side.

We hope you have enjoyed this blog post. We are always looking for great new stories about Texas twirlers. Do you have an idea or some information we could use to help highlight our sport? Contact us at texastwirlcontact@gmail.com and we would love to hear more about it.

Saturday, March 14, 2020

Contest Calendar Series - 2020 Dixie Diamonds Spring Twirl Fest

Hello Texas Twirl Fans!

As the NBTA season continues on in Texas, the USTA season is also underway. With USTA State coming up at the end of April, we know these awesome twirlers are also looking for more time on the floor, and they are in luck, because there is a great contest in just a couple of weeks!

Today's Contest Calendar Series is the Dixie Diamonds Spring Twirl Fest!


*DEADLINE FRIDAY* Please note that the deadline for this competition is Friday, March 20th, 2020. You must have your entry postmarked by this day. Click here to download the entry form. For more information, please contact the contest directors at twirllp@yahoo.com.

Who? What? When? Where? Why?
Who: Sponsored by the Dixie Diamonds Baton Club, Contest Director, Lori Perkins
What: USTA Sanctioned and Open Contest
When: Saturday, April 4th, 2020. Doors open at 8:00 am. Contest begins at 9.
Where: Waskom High School,  980 School Avenue, Waskom, TX 75692
Why:  Get those routines on the floor before State!

CONTEST HASHTAG: #love2twirl 
For this event, we would love to see our Texas twirlers utilize the hashtag #love2twirl when posting photos of this competition on social media. Please also tag the Twirling is Catching FB page or Instagram account (@twirlingiscatchingtx), and we might share your picture on our social media!

Highlighted Event:
Master Judges available for Freestyle critiques!

Unique Feature:
This event will be supporting the Shreveport Police Department, so PLEASE BRING A STUFFED ANIMAL TO DONATE TO THE SHREVEPORT POLICE DEPARTMENT IN LIEU OF A FACILITY FEE!

Note from the Director:
All organizations welcome! Compulsories are never required to enter

Want to attend this event? Click here to download the entry form, or contact Lori Perkins at twirllp@yahoo.com for more information!

Also, don't forget to check out http://www.texastwirl.com/contests.html for information and entry forms for many upcoming contests in and around the State of Texas. There are many great contests heading our way, and we don't want anyone to miss out!


We hope you have enjoyed this blog post. We are always looking for great new stories about Texas twirlers. Do you have an idea or some information we could use to help highlight our sport? Contact us at texastwirlcontact@gmail.com and we would love to hear more about it.

Thursday, March 12, 2020

Contest Calendar Series - 2020 Spring Fling Twirling Competition

Hello Texas Twirl Fans!

We hope everyone is fully recovered from Regionals and ready to get back on the competition floor! If you are, the first post-Regionals NBTA contest is just around the corner, and the entry deadline is just days away!
Today for our Contest Calendar Series we will be discussion the 2020 Spring Fling Twirling Competition.


DEADLINE MONDAY! It is not too late!!! Please note that the deadline for this competition is Monday, March 16th. You must have your entries postmarked by this date. Click here to download the entry form. For more information, please contact the contest director at vickiray911@charter.net.

***PLEASE NOTE*** If for some reason circumstances change and the school where the contest is being hosted is closed down that weekend causing the event to be cancelled, the Contest Director, Vicki Ray, has informed us that all entry fees will be refunded! Do not let concerns over losing money prevent you from entering this contest! Vicki is committed to making sure that she does whatever will be in the best interest of the competitors. Thank you Vicki!

Who? What? When? Where? Why?
Who: Contest Director, Vicki Ray, and Contest Host, the V.R. Eaton Sapphires Drill Team.
What: 2020 Spring Fling Twirling Competition
When: Saturday, April 4th, 2020. Doors open at 7:30 am. Contest begins at 8:30 am.
Where: V.R. Eaton High School, 1350 Eagle Blvd, Haslet*, Texas 76052
        *PLEASE Note: Your GPS may locate the HS in Fort Worth, not Haslet, but the zip is the same.


Why: The Spring Fling Competition is a great NBTA contest that serves as a perfect time to jump back in to competition after the Southwest Regional Championship. Contestants from all over Texas, as well as other states, will join us April 4th to compete in front of licensed NBTA judges.

Facility Note: VR Eaton High School is the same location where the 2019 NBTA Southwest Regional competition was held. Most of the pictures included in this blog post are from that competition to show the facility. The school is very new with wonderful facilities including plenty of bleacher space, super high ceilings, and great practice gyms.

CONTEST HASHTAG: #springflingtwirl2020
For this event we would love to see our Texas twirlers utilize the hashtag #springflingtwirl2020 when posting photos of this competition on social media.



Unique Feature: The awards for this event are very nice and include tiaras, trophies, and banners, as well as great Spring Fling medals. This contest will not have a formal awards presentation. All awards will be posted due to the number of contestants and because the director recognizes that some parents have a long drive home, and we want everyone to have a safe trip. 

Any Last Comments: This contest has consistently been concluded by 5:00, and we will try our best to do the same this year. Hooray for an efficient contest!

Want to attend this event? Please download the Spring Fling Twirling Competition Entry Form, or contact the director at vickiray911@charter.net.


Also, don't forget to check out http://www.texastwirl.com/contests.html for information and entry forms for many upcoming contests in and around the State of Texas. There are many great contests heading our way, and we don't want anyone to miss out!

We hope you have enjoyed this blog posting. We are always looking for great new stories about Texas twirlers. Do you have an idea or some information we could use to help highlight our sport? Contact us at texastwirlcontact@gmail.com and we would love to hear more about it. 

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Southwest Regionals 2020 Pageant Recap

Hello Texas Twirl Fans!

We hope everyone had safe travels home from Canyon. Southwest Regionals 2020 is complete and we now know our Regional representatives for this summer at AYOP. We want to send a big thank you and congrats to the amazing contest directors for running such a great contest. The awards were so fun (how cute were those pageant winner cups?), the contest ran efficiently, and there was a wonderful panel of judges. Way to go Gretta Johnson, Brittney Ashcraft, Summer Johnson, and the rest of the Regional team.

We wanted to do a quick Pageant Recap to recognize all our new Pageant Winners and Top 5. Shout out to Wild Skies Photography for the awesome action and award photos. Make sure to visit https://wildskies.smugmug.com/ to view all the pictures from this weekend. Low resolution photos can be downloaded for free, and higher resolution photos can be purchased. Make sure to support them by following Wild Skies Photography on Facebook as well - https://www.facebook.com/WildSkiesPhotos/.

Now, time to meet our 2020 Southwest Regional Pageant Winners and Top 5! Congrats to all the competitors on a fantastic weekend. Less than 14 weeks until we get to do it all again at State!


College Miss Majorette of the Southwest - Abigail Morgan, Texas Tech
2nd Place & Collegiate Pageant Royalty - Julia Arciola, Baylor
3rd Place & Collegiate Pageant Royalty - Ashlyn Therkelson, TCU
4th Place - Alex Bridges, U.T. Southwestern Medical School
5th Place - Alexis Tanner - U.T. San Antonio

Miss Majorette of the Southwest - KK Tunnell
2nd Place & Senior Pageant Royalty - Kaylynn Lambert
3rd Place & Senior Pageant Royalty - Stephanie McBurnett
4th Place - Kirby Stanek
5th Place - Maggie Barnett


Junior Miss Majorette of the Southwest - Jaidyn Poole
2nd Place & Junior Pageant Royalty - Amber Sorenson
3rd Place & Junior Pageant Royalty - Alexandra Kinney
4th Place - Mia Olivarez
5th Place - Ava Medellin

Pre-Teen Miss Majorette of the Southwest - Jacie Conway
2nd Place & Pre-Teen Pageant Royalty - Analeia Aleman
3rd Place & Pre-Teen Pageant Royalty - Katherine Heier

Tiny Tot Miss Majorette of the Southwest - Collyn Lambeck


Intermediate Senior Regional Pageant Winner - Julie Griffee
2nd Place - Katelynn Carter
3rd Place - Sophie Carnes
4th Place - Stephanie Garza
5th Place - Allyson Wilcox

Intermediate Junior Regional Pageant Winner - Molly Green
2nd Place - Chloe Craparotta
3rd Place - Brylee Jesko
4th Place - Shaylee Sjolander
5th Place - Daynie Edwards


Intermediate Pre-Teen Regional Pageant Winner - Izzy Pell
2nd Place - Gabi Rosito
3rd Place - Alani Hinojosa
4th Place - Breckyn Steele
5th Place - Brooklyn Maxwell

Intermediate Juvenile Regional Pageant Winner - Hailey Wood
2nd Place - Skylar Grant
3rd Place - Khloe Page


Beginner Senior Regional Pageant Winner - Audrey Hartley
2nd Place - Erin Dabbs
3rd Place - Samantha Kuntschik
4th Place - Maddy Chapa
5th Place - Tatiana Guillen

Beginner Junior Regional Pageant Winner - Kellen Coke
2nd Place - Gracie Lane
3rd Place - Jaycee Berryhill
4th Place - Aubren Montgomery
5th Place - Diana Garcia


Beginner Pre-Teen Regional Pageant Winner - Sophie O'Reilly
2nd Place - Careum Faughtenbery
3rd Place - Keira George
4th Place - Baryn Brown
5th Place - Keira Britt

Beginner Juvenile Regional Pageant Winner - Jaycee Kelley
2nd Place - Aderyn Ferguson
3rd Place - Lily Easterwood
4th Place - Isadora Parker
5th Place - Ginger Lilie

Beginner Tiny Tot Pageant Winner - Seanna Rigelsky


Senior Basic Skills Pageant Winner - Mayci Wood
2nd Place - Shiloh Peaden
3rd Place - Daniella Torres
4th Place - Alaina Adcox

Junior Basic Skills Pageant Winner - Madelyn Clark
2nd Place - Addison Lee
3rd Place - Briley Harrell
4th Place - Karianne Grove-Collins
5th Place - Alyssa Rodriguez


Pre-Teen Basic Skills Pageant Winner - Kinsey Simeon
2nd Place - Bridgette McCollum
3rd Place - Hannah Jones
4th Place - Emily Bartek
5th Place - Ashlyn Cohen

Juvenile Basic Skills Pageant Winner - Beth Baldwin
2nd Place - Alexa Knotts
3rd Place - Abigail Gorring
4th Place - Joslyn Rodriguez
5th Place - Marissa Mason


Tiny Tot Basic Skills Pageant Winner - Kenley Thomas
2nd Place - Luciana Straub
3rd Place - Jolee Oden
4th Place - Avielle Queen
5th Place - Hollings Morrow


If you are a Beginner or Intermediate Pageant Winner, or a Miss Majorette of the Southwest, please make sure to send a direct message to https://www.facebook.com/TXTwirlers/ so that they can send you the info for the annual Regional Winner highlight posts. 

Also, don't forget to check out http://www.texastwirl.com/contests.html for information and entry forms for many upcoming contests in and around the State of Texas. There are many great contests and camps heading our way, and you don't want to miss out!

We hope you have enjoyed this blog post. We are always looking for great new stories about Texas twirlers. Do you have an idea or some information we could use to help highlight our sport? Please contact us at texastwirlcontact@gmail.com and we would love to hear more about it.

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Southwest Regionals 2020... The Final Countdown!

Hello Texas Twirl Fans!

It is almost time for the big event. In only three days, twirlers from all over Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, will begin to travel to Canyon, TX for the 2020 Southwest Regional Championship and Miss Majorette of the Southwest Pageant, which will occur on Saturday, March 7th and Sunday, March 8th. As of this Sunday night, we will have our first big title holders for the season and have identified the first round of twirlers that will be representing our region at AYOP in July. Who else is excited? I know I am!!!


Our wonderful Contest Directors - Gretta Johnson, Brittany Ashcraft, and Summer Johnson - have shared a few important FYI's with the Twirling is Catching blog so that we can help spread the word to all those attending. A big thanks to the Directors for their awesome preparations and I know we re all looking forward to what we know will be a wonderful Regional Championship event.

Make sure to utilize the hashtag #swregionalstwirl2020 when posting pictures and we might share them! Also, don't forget to follow the blog on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Twirlingiscatchingtx/ for live streams of the Saturday & Sunday award ceremonies, as well as like us on Instagram @twirlingiscatchingtx to follow the Insta-story Takeovers by Twirl ATX (Saturday) and the Twirling Sweet Sensations (Sunday).

Program Pick-Up
Program pickup is from 6-8 on Friday night at the Best Western in Canyon. The hotel is located at 2801 4th Ave, Canyon, TX 79015. You will also be able to pick up shirts and patches at this time. You will not be able to get in to the Event Center on Friday Night.

Day Of Details
The doors of the First United Bank Center (3301 North 4th Avenue, Canyon, TX 79106) will be opening at 7:15 on Saturday and Sunday morning. Competition will begin at 8:00 am.

Pageant and modeling events on Saturday will begin with the letter “T”. The set list for all events will be posted in the program. Please make sure to go in order of the set list!

Daylight Savings
Reminder - this weekend is Daylight Savings and we will “spring forward” together. The time will change, and we will lose an hour, at 2 am on Sunday morning. Please make sure to adjust clocks before you go to sleep and be mentally prepared for Sunday morning. Events will start on time at the new 8 am, so don’t be late!


On Site Concessions
Concession will be provided by WTAMU Athletics at the Arena starting at 10 am each day.

Photography
Photography will be provided by Wild Skies Photography. They will be taking action shots on Saturday and portraits on Sunday, so make sure and go visit their photo station! They will also be taking award ceremony photos. Don't forget to like and follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/WildSkiesPhotos/.

Schedule of Events
Please note that events will go in the order printed in the program.

Saturday, March 7th
  • Miss Southwest Model
  • Basic Skills Modeling
  • Beginner & Intermediate Pageant Modeling
  • Miss Majorette Pageant Modeling
  • Ratings Lane Available
  • Best Appearing
  • Best Costume
  • Basic Skills Pageant Basic Strut
  • Beginner & Intermediate Pageant X-Struts
  • Miss Majorette Pageant X-Struts
  • Basic Skills Pageant Solo
  • Beginner & Intermediate Pageant Solos
  • Miss Majorette Pageant Solos
  • 3 Baton
  • Flag
  • Duets
  • Group Championship Events
  • Show Twirls & Rhythmic Twirls
  • Collegiate Twirl/Collegiate Downfield
  • Awards Ceremony for Team & Individual Music Events

Sunday, March 8th
  • Basic Strut & Military Marching
  • Open & Regional X Struts
  • Advanced X-Strut Finals
  • Open & Regional Solos
  • Advanced Solo Finals
  • Presentation 
  • Two Baton
  • Ratings Lane Available
  • Awards Ceremony for Regional X-Struts, Solos, and Pageants