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.