| In This Issue | 1. 2009 College and HS Championships
2. Sparklers Shine!
3. Meet the Members | | | ANOTHER LOSS
Just two weeks after the passing of Starr Evans, the twirling community lost another pioneer. Kay Jackson, who founded the Alaskanette Baton & Show Corps in 1969, died Dec. 8,just a few weeks before her 91st birthday. Kay was the mother of Karen Taylor and aunt ofCarrie Jerger, both USTA coaches and judges. Our condolences to family and friends of both Starr and Kay. |
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Use the calendar above to get the latest info on upcoming local, state, regional and national competitions, as well as clinics and workshops for athletes, coaches and judges.
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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Former World Junior Pairs Silver medallist, Erica Bourdage, who is a junior and Civil Engineering Major at Purdue University, has earned a perstigious engineering internship at Disney World. By day, she will use her performing talents, appearing as different Disney characters. By night, she will attend engineering classes to study how Disney designs, builds and operates everything from rides to Magic Kingdoms!
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CRUISE CANCELLED
Due to the economic downturn, USTA has cancelled the Educational Cruise, planned for March 2009. We look forward to setting sail in the future when the economic waters are calmer!
| | Be True to Your School!  The 5th Intercollegiate and National High School Baton Twirling Championships, coming up Feb. 28 at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi, is a great opportunity for college and high school twirlers to bring national recognition to their schools and raise public awareness of the sport of baton twirling.
“It absolutely gives twirling more credibility as a sport, to have interscholastic competition,” said Alexa Bourdage, feature twirler at the University of Texas at Austin. “It shows that twirling is not just related to entertainment, even though entertaining is a big part of what we do as college and high school twirlers.” Bourdage says it’s also exciting for twirlers from different organizations to come together in the spirit of scholastic competition. The Collegiate and HS Championships are sponsored by the National Coalition for the Advancement of Baton Twirling (NCABT), whose mission is to achieve NCAA acceptance of baton twirling as a scholastic sport at the high school and collegiate level, and recognition under the Title IX “Emerging Sports for Women” Program. “If twirling is recognized as a scholastic sport, it could provide additional scholarship dollars and another avenue for twirlers to advance their competitive careers during high school and college,” said Sandi Wiemers, one of the founders of the NCABT. “We need to continue to build twirling participation at the high school and college level.” The entry deadline for the 5th Intercollegiate and National High School Baton Twirling Championships is Feb. 5. Get entry forms, hotel and other information here.
Editor’s Note: Watch for Alexa Bourdage twirling fire batons during halftime at the Fiesta Bowl, as the UT Longhorns take on the Ohio State Buckeyes. The game begins at 6pm MST, Jan. 5 on Fox Sports.
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| The Sparklers: Shining Brighter Than Ever!  January 2009 marks the 35th anniversary of one of the most successful twirling programs in the country; The Sparklers. The group was founded in 1974 in Long Island, NY by Mike Walsh and his late wife Pat , who wanted to expand twirling opportunities for their daughters.
The program grew quickly and now serves hundreds of twirlers, from age four through adult, in 35 Long Island communities. The Sparklers offer both recreational and competitive programs, and have produced state, regional and national champions every year since 1979! Although Pat Walsh died suddenly in 2002, her legacy lives on in the many former and current twirlers who have been touched by The Sparklers magic. Mike Walsh and his fiancée, Julienne Close , a coach and Master Judge, continue to lead the successful program, which will take a contingent of athletes to the International Cup Competition in Sydney, Australia this summer. Congratulations to The Sparklers! | | Back to top |
| Meet the Members – Olivia and Sofia Cantu  
12-year-old Olivia Cantu, and her 8-year-old sister Sofia, are kind, caring and busy, busy, busy! Two years ago, the Houston siblings started twirling with coach Lori Perkins . They love performing and wearing pretty costumes. But twirling is just one of their many talentsand activities.
Olivia, who is in the 7th grade at Campbell Middle School, is an Honor Roll student, captain of the volleyball team, plays basketball and the violin, sings in the choir, participates in Girl Scouts, and still had time to become certified in CPR! Sofia, a third-grader at Francone Elementary, is also an Honor Roll student and a Girl Scout, plus she loves singing,dancing, drawing and puppetry!
Both girls are bilingual and can read, write and speak both English and Spanish. They’re also very compassionate. Their mother, Diedra Lizcano, says Sofia loves giving to others and will forego receiving a gift in order for someone else to have one. Olivia donated 12 inchesof her hair to Locks of Love. The girls also love animals. Between them, they have a dog, cat, fish, hamster and hermit crab!
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