Twirling Her Way To The Top

Like any sport, it takes blood, sweat, and tears to be the best. Baton twirling is no different.

Gabby Wood (’15) is known on campus as a cheerleader, a wiz with the glue gun, and a cat lover.

But many don’t know Gabby is a baton whirling machine. As young as the age of eight, Gabby has been excelling at baton twirling.

Baton twirling is a sport involving a metal rod and during meets, majorettes perform tricks through dance to show off their agility, strength and coordination.

Similar to gymnastic meets, baton twirlers are judged on form, perseverance, and creativity.

“The meets last for nearly the entire day” Gabby says. “I wake up around 6 and don’t get home until 9, sometimes 10 at night. But it’s really fun!”

Different events like team time, pairs, and freestyle encompass only half of competitions. Team event is not only Gabby’s favorite event, but also her best.

“I have four people on my team and we practice way too much,” she says. “It’s insane how much we work out, but it’s totally worth it.”

Gabby has gone to state twice in her twirling career. Her team, CSM (Catholic School Majorettes), compete are all over Northern California. Her last competition was in Brentwood, California.

Like any other sport, baton takes time to perfect. Gabby goes to practice four days a week. The practices usually last three hours, but Gabby spends hours at home trying to perfect her routine. Although baton looks effortless and graceful, it is tough sport on her body.

“It’s really rough on your hands and especially your fingers,” she explains. “I don’t know how many times I’ve split my fingernails.”

Like any other sport, baton takes a lot of time out of Gabby’s life. But she loves every minute of it.

“Being a part of something not many people know about is pretty cool,” the twirler says. “If you want to try it out, just know it takes a lot of work.”