Many people may not think of baton twirling as an elite sport, but it is. And it’s not just for girls.
The world championships begins next week and a Fredericksburg young man is one of only three men in America competing in what’s described as the Olympics of baton twirling.
"At its core it’s really just object manipulation. It’s technically a weapon," said Richie Terwilliger.
When you think of Baton twirlers, this image probably does not come to mind. But 26-year-old Richie Terwilliger of Fredericksburg is one of a only a handful of competitive male baton twirlers in America.
He will be one only three men representing the United States in the 34th World Baton Twirling Championships, August 2-5 in Kissimmee, Fla.
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"I actually started and stopped - quit five or six times when I started. That’s because it is an uncomfortable environment when you’re only one of a few guys in a sport that dominated by girls," he said.
He credits his sister for getting him into the sport, they have performed and competed together. It was also his training in martial arts, he’s a third degree black belt.
He is a mechanical engineer for the U.S. Department of Defense, working for the U.S. Navy’s Chemical, Biological and Radiological Defense Division.
He said his science background is why the sport intrigues him.
"You have to analyze the physics--how it’s spinning and how you can actually correct for that. What I found from being on the team for number of years is that there’s actually a correlation between people going to physics and engineer and going long ways into baton. Because it does take a tactical mindset to be able to correct things as best you can," explained Terwilliger.
Nearly 200 of the world’s best sport baton twirlers from 15 countries, including the United States, Canada, France, Italy and Japan, will compete for bronze, silver and gold medals in the twirling championship that's equivalent of the Olympic Games.
Terwilliger earned a spot on Team USA by taking third place in the final round of the U.S. Trials, held July 8 in Jacksonville, Fla. during the U.S. National Baton Twirling Championships.
Terwilliger, who has been twirling for 13 years, is a former New York State Men’s Solo, 2-Baton and 3-Baton Champion and former Northeast Region Men’s Solo and 3-Baton Champion. In addition, he has earned one gold medal, two bronze medals and multiple top ten medals in international competitions. This will be his fourth World Championships.
Terwilliger is a 2015 graduate of Lehigh University where he earned a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering with a minor in aerospace engineering.
