FORT HUACHUCA, Arizona -- Baton twirling runs in the family for Merri-Frances DmitrzakI who started twirling at the age of 7.
"I have two older sisters who twirled baton and my mother [twirled baton] when she was younger," DmitrzakI said.
DmitrzakI is preparing to compete in the 2017 International Baton Twirling Federation Grand Prix and World Baton Twirling Federation International Cup set for August 2017 in Porec, Croatia. She will be twirling against competitors from countries around the world, including Japan, Norway, France and England among others.
The Grand Prix is an invitation-only competition for the top three twirlers from each country in each age division.
"I will be competing in the adult category for two batons and the one baton solo," DmitrzakI said. She also qualified for the International Cup at the national completion level so she "will also be doing the three baton category there as well."
DmitrzakI said one of the biggest misconceptions is that baton twirling is not a sport. She added that she "trains just as hard as any athlete would. A good comparison is football. When you have a football player they don't just throw the ball (to practice). We're in the gym at least three to four hours a day. At least, that's the minimal amount."
DmitrzakI is also a military spouse who met her husband in high school. They've been together for 10 years and married for five. DmitrzakI said their journey began in West Virginia and took them to Georgia; Fort Hood, Texas; and now Fort Huachuca.
Being a military spouse presents some challenges for staying competitive for twirling she said.
"It's a little difficult because each place we go, I have to find a new gym to practice in. And obviously, with baton twirling you can't have the smallest gym, you need a gym with a good, decent amount of height."
If she's not practicing in the gym, then she is twirling outside.
"Here in Arizona, that's definitely a big change for me, practicing outside for me because I've never experienced this much wind, especially with the heat," she explained.
The transient military lifestyle is not the only challenge for DmitrzakI. She also has a hearing disability and explained she is "hearing impaired in both of my ears… since I was in the first grade."
Because of baton twirling, she had to develop the confidence to talk to people and to perform in front of thousands of people. Before DmitrzakI started competing, "I was in this little shadow because I was different from everyone else, and I didn't know how to react to it or how to prep myself for it."
Twirling has offered DmitrzakI many opportunities. She said people ask her why she keeps twirling, and her answer was that she does it for herself.
"When I was younger it was about the trophies," she said. "Once I got older, I realized that it's not so much about the trophies, it's about doing my job. Baton twirling is a journey and it's a long one, but it's what you make from it."
DmitrzakI said twirling has enabled her to travel and "I wouldn't take anything back for it. I've sacrificed a lot, my family definitely has sacrificed a lot." Said DmitrzakI. "I have gone a lot of places for baton twirling. Shockingly not much in the [United States]. This is the farthest west I've ever been."
DmitrzakI has competed in five National Baton Twirling Association world championship competitions, held in France, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands. She has also been to England, Scotland, Ireland, Austria, Germany and Italy for the world championships in 2015.
"I was a twirling ambassador to Peru in 2008 where I spent two weeks doing community service for the Lions Club, which I absolutely loved," DmitrzakI gushed. "I've traveled the world with baton twirling. It continues to grow."
Being able to travel so extensively at a young age has changed DmitrzakI's world view.
"People think we have it so hard here in the U.S. but going to all those different places definitely makes you realize how much we have here in the U.S. and how lucky we actually are. Seeing all those places at a young age definitely influenced me personally growing up."
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