Part III of a three-part series examining the modern resurgence of baton twirling, the urgent need to preserve its history, and the launch of the Baton Twirling Preservation Society.
The future of baton twirling will not depend solely upon elite athletes, world championships, or viral performances. It will also depend upon preservation, mentorship, philanthropy, and long-term community investment.
That belief is at the heart of the Baton Twirling Preservation Society.
What Preservation Means
Preservation, in this context, is not about resisting progress or romanticizing the past.
It is about protecting the photographs, uniforms, costumes, certain trophies and medals, memorabilia, ephemera, stories, traditions, and cultural memory that explain how baton twirling evolved into both an athletic discipline and a uniquely influential American performance sport with a global legacy.
It is also about recognizing that baton twirling history belongs not only to national champions and celebrities, but to generations of ordinary participants and supporters whose contributions collectively shaped the activity.
Many of the people who built baton twirling never considered themselves historically important. Yet without them, the modern sport would not exist.
Why a Preservation Society?
I have started and directed successful nonprofits. I have worked in public relations and communications for more than three decades. I understand fundraising, board development, strategic planning, and organizational growth.
At the same time, I am cautious about immediately launching a formal nonprofit organization while still balancing career responsibilities, family life, and the realities of long-term sustainability.
I also recognize an important truth about passion projects: they must endure beyond initial excitement.
For now, the Baton Twirling Preservation Society exists as a Substack-based publication and growing preservation initiative connected to The Vintage Twirler. That structure allows flexibility while the vision continues to evolve organically.
The goal is not simply to build another website. The goal is to help build a long term project centered around preservation, storytelling, advocacy, and cultural continuity.
A Culture of Legacy
The Baton Twirling Preservation Society is not only about safeguarding memorabilia and archives. It is also about encouraging a culture of legacy within the baton community itself.
Many former athletes, coaches, parents, and supporters want to give back to the activity that shaped them. That investment can take many forms.
A baton twirling preservationist might:
document local twirling history
digitize photographs and programs
preserve costumes and memorabilia
conduct oral history interviews
sponsor scholarships
advocate for school or parks programs
support underserved communities
write articles or memoirs
organize local exhibits
publicly honor forgotten contributors
establish archives
build grassroots support for twirling programs
encourage the return of auxiliary programs
Preservation is not limited to museums or formal institutions and it’s certainly not limited to this newsletter or the Vintage Twirler website. Every twirling entity should be engaged in the preservation of its history.
Passing the Torch
As foundational Baby Boomer leaders pass the torch to Generation X and Millennial leadership, preserving lineage becomes increasingly important.
The baton community is experiencing both renewal and transition simultaneously. A new generation is redefining the sport athletically and culturally, while older generations still carry invaluable historical knowledge that may soon disappear.
The challenge is ensuring that progress and preservation move forward together.
Without preservation, baton twirling risks losing not only artifacts, but context: the stories explaining how local communities built programs, how traditions evolved, how opportunities expanded, and how generations of performers shaped the activity long before social media existed.
More Than Nostalgia
Too often, preservation is mistaken for nostalgia. But preservation is ultimately about continuity. It is about ensuring that future generations of twirlers inherit not only skills and techniques, but also stories, traditions, identity, and historical understanding. It is about creating a bridge between past and future.
The modern baton twirling renaissance is exciting precisely because it is connected to such a deep and layered history. That history deserves to survive. And perhaps most importantly, the people who built it deserve to be remembered.
With that, I invite you to join the society. It’s FREE to join or you can pay $5 a month or $50 annually and receive access to special posts behind the paywall and a monthly collectible sticker of a vintage twirler.