| Baton twirling is becoming an increasingly popular sport for girls at the youth level, both as an individual and team athletic activity. To date, no scientific data exists regarding the physiological fitness profile of regular participants in the sport. The purpose of this study is to describe aerobic and anaerobic power, body composition and flexibility of adolescent female advanced-level baton twirlers (BT). Twelve baton twirlers (BT) recruited from a select baton twirling camp, and an age-matched comparison group of 12 female advanced-level dancers (D) from local dance schools served as subjects for this study. Each participant completed a graded maximal exercise test (Bruce, Kusumi & Hosmer, 1973) to assess maximal aerobic power (VO2max) and a standard 30-sec. Wingate leg cycle (Inbar, Bar-Or & Skinner, 1996) test to assess peak and mean anaerobic power. Anthropometric measurements included height and weight. The hydrostatic weighing method described by Katch (1969) was used to determine body composition and a sit-and-reach test was used to measure low back and hamstring flexibility. Two sample t-tests assuming equal variances revealed significant group differences for body height and VO2max. No significant differences between the groups were observed for RERmax, RPEmax, HRmax and VEmax . Similarly, no significant difference was found between the two groups in body weight, lean body mass, absolute or relative peak and mean anaerobic power, and sit-and-reach flexibility scores. Although the BT exhibited on average a 3.1% lower body fat percentage, this difference was not statistically significant. In summary, the present data suggest that relative to age-matched advanced level dancers, young female baton twirlers exhibit a higher aerobic power, are taller on average and have similar body composition and sit-and-reach flexibility. Overall, the observed aerobic and anaerobic power, flexibility and body composition were indistinguishable from normative values of similar groups of female athletes. Additional studies are warranted to help establish a more comprehensive profile of participants in this increasingly popular sport activity. |
