History
Club History
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The Ajax Comets Baton Club was formed under the direction of Denise Cooper Bradley in 1995, sporting 23 members. Over the years we have been very fortunate to have several different coaches come and go enriching our athletes' lives and leaving behind little bits of themselves. In our fifth year, Tonya Stephenson Lee joined us as an individual coach as well as a dance instructor. In our sixth year, Andrea Chisholm Reid joined us as a competitive coach. In our 9th year Elaina Stephenson Frank came aboard to coach some of our individual athletes, and in year 10 we had our first Comet athlete become a coach as we welcomed Sarah Boyd to our coaching staff in the recreational program! In the 16th season we welcomed former Comet twirler Shannon Gregg to our recreational coaching staff.
In the 11th season we underwent one of our most fundamental changes. Due to the birth of her son Luke our club Founder Denise Bradley decided to focus on her growing family and she passed the club along to eager coaches Tonya Lee and Andrea Reid. In our 15th season Andrea Reid decided to take a step back from her coaching role to focus on her judging career and to focus on her son Conner. The club is currently under the Direction of Tonya Lee.
We must not forget to mention that our club also has a cute mascot - TWIRLY the COMET. We held a contest within the club during the 1999-2000 season to pick our club mascot. Natalie P. was the winner. You can see her creation appear on these pages. Twirly travels with us to all competitions and functions and gives us support. And moreover, our club colour is PURPLE. The first year our athletes voted on a club colour and purple won.
Origin of Baton Twirling
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Did you know...
There are a number of theories about the origin of baton twirling. One theory suggests the original baton was a long stick used by the conductor of an orchestra, band, or chorus. The conductor's long baton led to the drum major's shorter and lighter baton, which he used to twirl and toss to entertain the listening audience. From this came the modern baton.
Another theory suggests twirling originated with the Hawaiians who twirled flaming torches or sticks. Yet another theory suggest that twirling could have developed from the Samoan sword spinners. One last theory suggests it originated for the Southern Minstrel Dancers of years ago who used canes to dance with, often twirling the cane as part of the routine.
Whatever the theory, baton twirling has developed into a sport which combines dance and gymnastic techniques with baton twirling skills, and provides both girl and boy athletes with opportunities to develop a variety of skills.
Source: C.B.T.F. Archives