Mikayla Schuller Grand National Women’s Solo Champion
“My favorite thing about Solo is the ability to go fast! I am able to play around with new tricks, catches, and flips.”
About
USTA
USTA
Mission & History
The United States Twirling Association is a national, nonprofit youth sports organization dedicated to positive youth development through the sport of baton twirling.
As the nation's leading sport baton twirling organization, USTA serves a national membership of athletes, parents, coaches, club and studio directors, competition directors, judges and other twirling supporters through a wide range of recreational, educational and competitive programs. USTA offers a number of educational programs for recreational and competitive twirling athletes, as well as comprehensive training and certification programs for coaches and judges. USTA also serves as the official United States representative to the World Baton Twirling Federation.
Board of
Directors
USTA is led by a seven-member Board of Directors, elected by USTA's Professional members. The Board of Directors is responsible for:
- Providing strategic vision for the growth of USTA and the sport of baton twirling
- Engaging in long-range planning for USTA programming and its schedule of events
- Managing the financial and organizational aspects of USTA
The Board of Directors consists of five sector representatives who live in the sector they represent (unless there were no candidates from that sector) and two at-large board members who may live in any sector. The current members of the USTA Board of Directors are:
Karen Cammer, President
At-Large Representative
Thomas Breuckman, Vice President
Sector 1 (Western Region)
Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington
Jason Lee, Secretary
Sector 5 (Northeast Region)
Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Washington D.C., West Virginia
Sheri Carter
Sector 2 (Central Region)
Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming
Holli Brown
Sector 3 (Mideast Region)
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin
Kelly Randall
Sector 4 (Southeast Region)
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee
Jennifer Marcus Schwartz
At-Large Representative
IBTF
Representative
In 2024, after a comprehensive application and evaluation process, the United States Twirling Association (USTA) was designated by the International Baton Twirling Federation (IBTF) as the U.S. representative to the IBTF. This designation means that USTA is the sole organization responsible for holding qualifying events for IBTF international competitions held after August 2025. Those competitions include the World Technical Baton Twirling Championship, the Nations Cup, the World Freestyle Championship, and other global competitions held in 2026 and beyond.
The selection of a single national body is an important step toward international recognition of the sport of baton twirling. As the IBTF U.S. representative, USTA will serve and support ALL U.S. twirlers, coaches, judges, and other baton twirling supporters who wish to participate in international competition.
Anti-Doping Information
The United States Twirling Association guarantees that all athletes and officials who are designated as members must accept the International Baton Twirling Federation (IBTF) Anti-Doping Rules compiled in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code.
Anti-Doping Awareness Reference Guides:
Athlete Safety Information:
The United States Twirling Association is committed to safeguarding athletes. By working under the guidance of our Safeguarding Policies, our staff, both volunteers and employees working with our athletes throughout the organization, seek to create a safe environment for all athletes to grow and develop within our sport.
USTA National SafeSport Compliance Officer:
SafeSportOfficerUSA@ustwirling.com
2024
USTA Grand National Champions
USTA is led by a seven-member Board of Directors, elected by USTA's Professional members. The Board of Directors is responsible for:
- Providing strategic vision for the growth of USTA and the sport of baton twirling
- Engaging in long-range planning for USTA programming and its schedule of events
- Managing the financial and organizational aspects of USTA
Discover more
D. Bower Sarra Grand National Men’s Solo Champion
“I always love playing around with new flips and tricks that sometimes happen by accident and make their way into my Solo.”
Jaida Jobe Grand National Strut Champion
“Typically, I tend to be a strong, athletic twirler so I love that Strut allows me to be a soft, graceful twirler.”
Carissa Wolfe Grand National Artistic Twirl Champion
“My favorite thing about Artistic Twirl is all of the changes in the music! It is so much fun to be able to incorporate so many different styles and be able to showcase my dance training. I especially love the drum section because I get to show a lot of personality.”
Julia Arciola Grand National 2- and 3-Baton Champion
“I think 3-Baton works your brain and body in ways that can’t be replicated with only one or two batons. I continue to push myself by trying things that haven’t been done before so the 3-Baton event can continue to grow and thrive.”
Hall of
Fame
The USTA Hall of Fame recognizes professionals who have made a significant and enduring contribution to the sport of baton twirling and growth of USTA. Without these inductees and their contributions, our sport and organization would not be the same. We owe these leaders our gratitude for inspiring us and laying the foundation for what is yet to come.
2024 Hall of Fame Inductees
John Chamberlain - Florida
- 4-time USTA National Champion
- WBTF Silver Medalist
- USTA Certified Coach and Master Judge
- 5-time WBTF World Championship Judge
- USTA Board Member for 36 consecutive years
- Past Member U.S. Technical Committee
- Past U.S. World Team Coordinator
- Current USTA Adjudicator Department Director
Ginnette Groome - New Hampshire
- Many-time New York State and Northeast Regional 2- and 3-Baton Champion; Seven-time USTA National Champion, including USTA's first-ever 3-Baton Grand National Champion
- Feature Twirler at Indiana University, 1976-1980
- Coach of USTA State, Regional and Grand National champions in Solo, 2-Baton, 3-Baton, Strut, Artistic Twirl and Pairs; Coach of World finalists / medalists in Freestyle Solo, Freestyle Pairs and IC Gold medalists in Solo, 2-Baton and 3-Baton; Coaches in the U.S., Canada, and throughout Europe
- Served on the U.S. Technical Committee, Essentials Commission, and New York State Baton Council
- Educator for WBTF and IBTF coaches and judges on 2- and 3-Baton, via training webinars, creation of instructional videos, and writing text for manuals.
- The cup presented to the Grand National 3-Baton Champion was named the Ginnette Groome 3-Baton Cup in her honor in 2016
Sandi Rios - California
- Coach of many USTA Grand National Champions in Solo, Strut, Men's Solo, Pairs, 2-Baton, and Artistic Twirl. Has coached in six countries
- Founder and coach of Syndication, which has represented the U.S.A. at the WBTF World Championships 25 times, winning gold medals in 1993, 1997, 2005, and 2014
- Only U.S. coach to have WBTF gold medalists in Team, Freestyle, and Pairs
- Served as president of the California Baton Council and Western Region Baton Council
- Served on the U.S. Technical Committee and Coaches Commission
- Served on the WBTF Executive Technical Committee
- Project manager of the 2005 and 2018 World Championships
- Currently USTA Director of Operations and U.S. Technical Advisor
Jackie Stewart - Tennessee
- Served on the Indiana Baton Council and Mideast Regional Council
- Served on the USTA Board of Directors for 36 years
- Coach of state, regional, national, and international champions
- USTA Certified Coach and Master Level Judge
- Past USTA Judges Chair and Education Chair
- Current USTA Coaches Department Director
- Current WBTF Judges Chair and IBTF Judges Chair
Giving
Back
USTA sponsors a number of philanthropic programs to give back to our local communities and support the growth of our sport and organization.
This includes providing cash scholarship awards to athletes based on their placement at our U.S. National Baton Twirling Championships and Festival of the Future, as well as grants to fund new ideas and activities that promote the sport of baton twirling. Learn more about these programs at the links below.