This article was written by students in the "Writing For Publication" class at Dublin Jerome High School taught by Mrs. Trisler. All views and opinions in the article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinions nor policies of Dublin Jerome High School.
Out Of The Spotlight
Behind the scenes of an up-and-coming Jerome star.
By Alexis Walz and Haydyn Stoner
February 22, 2023
What is baton twirling? This was the first question that came to my mind when I first heard about the new boys basketball halftime show, featuring majorette Jacqueline McCarthy. In Jacqueline's words, “Baton is basically twirling a metal rod with two rubber ends… It’s kind of a mix of dance and gymnastics, like rhythmic gymnastics.”
She started baton when she was three years old.
“I started because my mom was a baton twirler when she was a little girl, and she saw a little opening advertisement about it, so she put me in,” Jacqueline states.
When Jaqueline talks about baton twirling she seems very genuine and happy.
“I really enjoy it; it helps me sometimes escape from the world, almost like an outlet. I like how it always pushes me to do better and to be better.”
There is a lot of practice that goes into a performance with baton. A solo performance involves finding a song and developing a corresponding routine to go with it.
Jacqueline further explained what goes into some of her baton competitions. Disciplined practice is essential for baton twirling, considering there are multiple parts within a baton competition, such as, modeling their costume and strutting (a military strut). Jacqueline is familiar with something called an x-strut, a strut in which the twirler struts in an x formation. Then there are solos, and at the very end, there is a group competition. Even though not everyone competes in every part, each segment has a very important section in the competition.
Occasionally, Jacqueline's other outside activities and sports can get in the way of baton. Jacqueline herself has said “I do all sorts of extracurriculars that can interfere with baton. I do track and field along with ski club. I have found a balance of it all over time, but still, sometimes they can interfere with eachother.” Jacqueline does a lot on a day-to-day basis and still keeps up with her school, her friends, and her emotional health. She is a very respectable person in so many ways.
Jacqueline has many hopes and dreams for her future with baton; she hopes to win Miss Majorette for higher divisions, and she has already won Miss Majorette for lower divisions. Miss Majorette is the original and most prestigious pageant of its type. Started by Don Sartell, in 1945, the annual Miss Majorette of America is a living monument to the beauty, talents, and dedication of majorettes everywhere. She hopes to also win the Arnold Schwarzenegger competition for baton. Her dreams helped push her to agree to do a half-time show at DJHS: “I get to put myself out there at Jerome; Dublin Jerome has never offered an opportunity for a baton twirler to do any twirling.” This is a new frontier for Jerome. Jacqueline expressed, she wants to help her favorite sport become more common to hopefully give more people the chance and opportunity to experience what she loves so much. Jacqueline also wants to open the eyes of younger kids and show them how cool and fun it can be to be a part of something like baton.
