Last summer, Twirl Florida competed at the United States National Baton Twirling Championships in Fairborn, Ohio, where they earned the opportunity to represent the USA in multiple events at the 2025 International Baton Twirling Federation (IBTF) World Championships in Torino, Italy.

Twirlers from studios across Florida joined forces with Lake Nona’s local baton twirling team, The Sundancers, to create a team of 27 girls to compete as “Twirl Florida”: Epic Twirl (Lake County), M&M Sweeties (Port St. Lucie), Rhapsody (St. Cloud) and Solid Gold (Palm Beach). This will be the group’s second time competing in the World Championships.

They previouslytraveled to Liverpool, England, in August 2023, earning a silver medal in ShowTwirl with Accessories Corps. Afterward, coaches Lynette Starkey of the Sundancers and Cheri Howard of Epic Twirl invited additional athletes from around the state to participate in the 2025 World Championships. Additionally, they added Tessah Ceballos and Jordan Steele to the Twirl Florida Staff.

Bringing twirlers from all over the state has its challenges, from travel expenses to coordinating 27 athletes – it is no small task. They have met monthly throughout the year for all-day practices and will meet throughout the summer to perfect their routines.

In the 2025 World Championships, Twirl Florida will be competing in four events, including corps in youth, junior and senior divisions. A corps event consists of a team of 10 or more twirlers performing a routine incorporating elements of dance, gymnastics, multiple batons and props in order to tell a story.

One of the Sundancer athletes, Julia McFadden (Lake Nona HS Class of 2021), also qualified to compete in an individual event at the World Championships in Torino, Italy: Nations Cup Adult 2-Baton. Julia is currently attending Florida Polytechnic University, pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

The Sundancers and Twirl Florida will be attending the 2025 U.S. National Baton Twirling Championships in Daytona Beach from July 7-11. Here, they will compete in their four corps events and receive their final feedback before competing in the World Championships. Additionally, they will compete in other team and individual events.

None of this would be possible without the support of the athletes’ parents. They’ve spent the year building props, figuring out travel logistics, and hosting fundraisers for costumes, props and travel expenses.

Their success has been tremendous. In order to prepare for Nationals and the World Championships this summer, the Sundancers and their Twirl Florida teammates will undergo rigorous training, practicing from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday in the weeks leading up to the competitions. It’s not all work, no play for these girls because, on June 2-4, Twirl Florida had a big sleepaway summer camp at The Big House in Tavares, Florida. In addition to the usual training, this camp was full of fun, games, learning new skills and twirling fire batons!

The Sundancers will be hosting day camps this summer, open to anyone who is interested – no experience required. For more information, inquiries or to donate to Team USA, visit www.sundancerstwirlers.com or email [email protected].

Follow along our journey this summer on Facebook: Sundancers Baton and Dance, Twirl Florida, and Instagram: @SundancersTwirlers, @TwirlFlorida.