Rooty Hill girls defeat world’s best

THE Rooty Hill RSL Youth Club baton twirlers shocked the world’s best in California last month.

Chloe Pelle, Ti-Anna Horsley, Gemma Ross and Chloe Ross

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THE Rooty Hill RSL Youth Club baton twirlers shocked the world’s best in California last month.

Five girls from the Rooty Hill club combined with other baton twirlers from the Bexley club to win their category and be crowned Pan Pacific Champions in their teams event.

Coach, Kristine Ross, said it was a major breakthrough for the sport in Australia.

Chloe Pelle, Ti-Anna Horsley, Chloe Ross and Gemma Ross

“We went over there with high hopes but were competing against USA, Canada and Japan and baton twirling is a very big sport in America. They go to college to do it,” she said.

“We expected to be the underdogs and realistically when you consider who they were competing against we weren’t thinking about winning.”

The event was staged in Stockton, California, and the performance of the Rooty Hill athletes was exceptional considering the 12-person club was taking on the best in their own backyard.

“They did everything right and caught their batons, which is obviously a big thing,” Ross said.

“They gelled together well.”

Baton twirling is also a sport men compete in and involves individual, pairs and teams events involving the manipulation of a metal rod and the performer’s body to a specific routine, much like rhythmical gymnastics.

Chloe Ross, who also finished 14th in the individual competition, said the feats of the Aussies couldn’t be possible with a rigorous training campaign.

“Timing and co-ordination is the most difficult part to get right,” she said.

“We were practising our routine for five hours each Saturday in the lead up to the event.