Local Youths Place in Baton Twirling Competition

Competing as a team and as individuals, three local students twirled their way into success.

The Fremont trio returned recently returned from the 2011 U.S. National Baton Twirling Championships in Little Rock, Arkansas,with a haul of medals.

Jazmyne Sudbrook, 13, Amelia DiPaola, 11, and Kurtis Hubbell, 16, competed among 600 athletes from 25 states July 11-16. championship.

They finished second in the trio competition, in which they performed a synchronized routine while twirling their batons.

"They were pretty good," said Karla Hubbell, their twirling coach and Kurtis’ mother.

Amelia, who competed in six individual events, finished first in the three-baton — an event that essentially combines juggling and dancing — and finished second in four events and third in another.

Despite being the "grand champion" of three-baton, she said she prefers some of the other events and will continue building her skill set.

Amelia said she plans on trying out for the national baton twirling team next March and Hubbell said she has confidence in Amelia's ability.

"She practices more than any of my other students," Hubbell said. "Her mother really drills her."

Hubbell, who coaches about a dozen twirlers in Fremont as part of K&K Productions, has taken twirlers to the national championships every year since 1988 — either as the head coach or team coaching with her mother and sister.

Jazmyne, who was competing in her fifth national championship, placed first in one event and earned three second places.

"It’s really exciting to go to different states and compete," Jazmyne said.

An eighth grader at Thornton Junior High School, Jazmyne said she wants to join the band as a baton twirler once she is in high school.

Kurtis, who turns 17 later this year, earned a second place while competing in the senior division for the first time. He was up against twirlers as old as 20.

Kurtis, who won a $10,000 prize for a juggling performance on America’s Funniest Home Videos when he was 7 years old and has participated in the national championships since he was 2 — though during his earlier years, he was part of a group performance and wasn’t actually competing.

Since those exhibition days as a toddler, Kurtis has won 10 national championships in various events and competed in three world championships.

The championships were actually Amelia’s second national showing in the last year—each coming in a different sport. The 12-and-under girls hockey team she plays on won a national championship last season. 

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