Hitting the Road For USTA Nationals

Monday morning A and I, along with my mom, will head for Mobile, Alabama where A will spend the week competing at the United States Twirling Association National Baton Championships.  This competition is the first of three national events that A will compete in this summer, ending another outstanding season of twirling.  She has worked hard all year long to improve and grow in a sport that hooked her at the age of 5.  This s A's fifth season twirling and it amazes me to look back ad see how far she's come.  At ten years old, she is competing at the advanced level in most events and more than holding her own.  She's worked hard to get to this point and is excited to have the opportunity to compete at the national level this summer.  This week she will compete in advanced dance twirl, solo, strut and presentation, as well as intermediate dance twirl, two baton, and strut.  She will compete in two group routines and one trio with her teammates.  The competition will be tough and A will go out on the floor and give it her all.  Last year at nationals she exceeded expectations when she ended with a top eight finish in advanced strut, earning a spot to compete in the prestigious Twirl Mania Gold invitational this past February.  She'd love a repeat of that but is going in with the desire to do her best, maintain a positive attitude no matter what happens, and above all represent her team and her sport with class and sportsmanship.  I'll be posting updates throughout the week so stay tuned to see how our little twirler does at her first national competition of the summer!