Four of Polly Fleming’s students — Claire Kelly, Bailey Wray, Peyton Lewis and Mya Jewell — will compete at the National Baton Twirling Championships at Notre Dame on July 16-19 in South Bend, Indiana.
Wray, Lewis and Jewell are from Oglethorpe County; Kelly is from Jackson County.
Lewis and Jewell will compete in the Junior Beginner National Pageant, Wray will compete in the Senior Intermediate National Pageant and Kelly will compete in the Senior Beginner National Pageant.
“It’s a dream come true,” Kelly said. “It’s something I always wanted to do.”
The girls will compete in an array of events, including their title event, which is a pageant.
The pageant requires the girls to do a solo, strut, modeling and an interview. The strut involves demonstrating basic technique using one baton in an “X” pattern.
To prepare for nationals, the girls practice year round and attend around six competitions. They then must qualify for nationals at the Southeast championships.
“Practice doesn’t make perfect, but it makes permanent,” said Fleming, who has taught twirling for 45 years.
This will be Jewell’s first time in the pageant portion of the competition.
Jewell, a 15-year-old from Lexington, has twirled for the past eight years. In addition to the pageant, she will also compete in open solo, strut, two baton and three baton.
“I’m really proud to represent my county,” Jewell said.
Lewis, 16, and next year’s captain of the Oglethorpe County High School majorette line, has been a twirler for 12 years.
Although it is her third year competing in nationals, Lewis is “excited” to have qualified for the pageant for the first time, among her other events.
“My favorite thing about twirling would be the friendships that come from it,” Lewis said.
Kelly, 20, has been twirling since the third grade and is on the Tiger Twirler majorette line at Clemson. Nationals is a “huge deal” to her.
“It’s one of the biggest things in twirling,” Kelly said.
Wray, who qualified for the nationals by winning the intermediate Senior Miss Georgia Pageant, has been a Starlet Twirler since she was 6 years old.
Wray said she’ll perform during basketball games at Piedmont University, where she will study to become a labor and delivery nurse. Wray has been a Starlet Twirler since she was 6 years old.
“Not only have I known these girls so long just from twirling, but it’s nice to get to travel and do fun things with them,” Wray said.