A sport involving a metal
stick, called a baton. It's a combination of dance and gymnasics, while twirling the baton. It was origionally a
men's sport for twirling in front of the marching
band in parades but is now open for both genders to participate. Baton twirling is considered a sport in many coutries around the
world and, in Japan, the twirlers are treated like famous sports stars. There are different levels of competitions (states, regionals, nationals, worlds). There are different levels and age groups, too.
Baton twirling started by drum majors using batons to
keep the beat for the marching
band and were commonly twirled to create more of a
show for spectators.