The two baton twirlers on the field during halftime are hardcore about their sport.
“I’ve pretty much broken every finger that I have,” said Ashley Bell, a fifth-year “feature twirler” and a graduate student in diary science. Bell has been twirling for 11 years and is performing on an injured ACL that she dislocated during the season’s first game against Alabama.
“I didn’t think I was going to go out, but I went out anyway,” Bell said. “I did not come all the way to Atlanta not to march this show. It’s just a normal twirling injury, and then the swelling never went down.”
Bell will have surgery in January to repair the damage, but in the meantime she remains optimistic about her condition. She wears a black knee brace at all times when she is performing and practicing.
“It’s attractive, I’m not going to lie,” she joked.
Baton twirling is not an easy task. Two twirlers are required to hoist at least one, and as many as three batons, up in the air and perform around the field during shows. They twirl the batons, which are about 29 inches long and weigh less than a pound, continuously throughout the
pregame and halftime shows. Bell said that it’s imperative that she and the other twirler stay focused during games.
“It’s a lot harder than people think,” Bell said. “It does get hard, especially when you’re doing multiple baton work. You’re constantly doing one. When you’re constantly juggling, you have to be aware where the other band members are. We have to adjust to them.”
Bell said baton twirling is a sport and she treats it as such.
“It’s not what it used to be where it’s just marching in parade and simply baton twirling,” Bell said. “It has evolved to really high standards. I don’t think it gets enough recognition for how much time we put into it. We put as much time into this as Olympic world champions do. We put in the time. We go to contests. We go to camps. We go and teach and train.”
Currently, there are two feature twirlers, and they are part of the Marching Virginians. They keep the same practice schedule as the band, which means they are working on their routines Monday through Friday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. This doesn’t include the extra time the twirlers spend working out to stay in shape.
Kaytlyn Schmitt, a sophomore interdisciplinary major in education, has been twirling since she was a one-year-old. In addition to making every band practice, Schmitt visits the gym at least three times a week. Schmitt needs to maintain her physical health to excel in the dynamic sport of twirling.
“It requires the gracefulness of a dancer, the flexibility of a gymnast, but also the stamina of a runner,” she said.
Schmitt said she becomes more nervous when performing at competitions than at Tech sporting events. At competitions, the smallest mistake could cost her a win, but the focus of twirling changes when she’s at football games.
“When you’re at Tech and you step out into the field, it’s a whole different experience,” Schmitt said. “It’s so much fun and it’s just about performing. Performing in front of 60,000 plus fans is such a great experience. They’re so full of spirit, and the band’s music just pumps me up even more.”
Despite continuously perfecting their craft, the weather conditions inside Lane Stadium can provide an interesting situation for the twirlers when they perform.
“If it’s really sunny or if it’s rainy, the baton could slip,” Schmitt said. “Twirling in the rain can be fun. It does make it a little bit harder.”
During windy weather, the twirlers must pay close attention to the baton to make sure they catch it. When it’s cold outside, the twirlers try to keep the gloves on before stepping onto the field so their hands aren’t numb.
Bell and Schmitt dress like performers on the field. Bell described their twirling outfits as flashy bathing suits with a skirt and said adorning her attire is one of the most enjoyable aspects of her sport.
“It’s my favorite thing. It really is,” Bell said “I sit on costume Web sites all day long. I really do. I’m obsessed with rhinestones. My guilty pleasure is to sit and rhinestone things.”
However, the baton twirlers’ flashy ware requires that they must dodge the occasional cat-caller.
“We obviously don’t dress like the band,” Bell said. “We have our costumes we wear every game. People tend to hit on you when you don’t look like everyone else. We’ll be warming up on the sides of the band stands, and people from the North End Zone will come and try to talk to us and get us to do tricks for them, and then usually when we go around to the side, people are like ‘Do something for us. You’re so hot.’ You get used to do it. Obviously after five years, I’m used to it.”
Bell said she adjusted to the attention gradually.
“I’m here to entertain, pretty much,” she said. “It was definitely something I had to get used to the first time. The girls prior to me, they warned me. You know, you gotta be careful. Men are all around — you definitely don’t realize it until it actually happens. Trying to go to get food after halftime is not an easy task.”
Bell said she usually just ignores it and walks away. Although, not all the attention they receive is unwanted. Bell said she treasures the moments when younger fans who aspire to be twirlers will want to take photos with them.
“That’s the highlight of the games for me,” Bell said. “It’s great to be such a great role model for kids. I really enjoy that the most.”
Admiration from fans isn’t the only thing that the twirlers enjoy. Schmitt said they complement the band’s performance and add to the overall experience of a game.
“I think it gets the crowd engaged in the band’s performance,” Schmitt said of her work. “Just hearing their sound is amazing. And we just add to the visual effect like the guard.”
Schmitt and Bell are members of the Marching Virginians. They both travel with the band and complete the same service projects.
“The band has such a great sense of pride and community and closeness,” Schmitt said. “There are still only two feature twirlers. We stand out maybe a little more. But we’re still all part of the band, 330 strong.”
The director of the Marching Virginians David McKee, along with the assistant director, the band and a group of knowledgeable experts are charged with screening the twirlers via video the summer before they come to Virginia Tech. After the initial test, the group sends the finalists a piece of music that the twirlers must perform to in a live audition four weeks later.
“This is a situation where talent matters most,” McKee said. “The ability to perform at a high technical level and take a piece of music, listen to it and interpret it so their movement enhances what they’re trying to do musically.”
The twirlers are given free reign over the routines.
When asked if he felt comfortable giving Bell and Schmidt essentially complete independence when it comes to choreographing McKee responded: You betcha.
“One of the keys with our success with features twirlers is it’s a very independent role,” McKee said. “Here’s the drill, here’s the music, you have your skill set, go do it. These two are very independent. Over the years, the people in this position have welcomed that independence.”
The Marching Virginians have had as many as three feature twirlers and, in some years, none at all.
“They appeal to a very strong contingency out there,” McKee said. “They add just another little bit of ‘wow.’ Because these two perform at such a high level, the ‘wow’ that they add is even at a higher level. These two are really good at finding a moment in the show design to really pop out and there are other moments where they need to get out of the way.”
McKee said he is both impressed by Bell and Schmitt’s high talent level and their outstanding character.
“The skills that these two have are enormous,” McKee said. “It’s great to have people around like that who are multi-dimensional.”