The nerves, and a bit of uneasiness, began creeping in during warmups when Micah Beaudoin gazed over at the competition.
“I saw so many amazing twirlers doing hard tricks,” she admitted, “I got a little worried.”
It wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling, or an unreasonable one, given the stage.
Beaudoin remembers how awestruck she was last summer while watching some opponents perform at a baton twirling world championships. She even took notes of the maneuvers that most impressed her, hoping she could one day master some of them.
A year later, there was a greater sense of belonging and more certainty in her own abilities. She still was mesmerized by the skills of others, but also more confident than ever in hers.
“I trusted myself,” the 17-year-old said. “I was on my ‘A’ game this time.”
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And the results reflected that. The Poughquag native, representing the United States again, had a fifth-place finish in International Baton Twirling Federation Freestyle & Rhythmic Twirl Championship in Sweden earlier this month.
Beaudoin was among the top performers in the junior women’s freestyle, improving significantly on her execution after placing 12th in a junior elite circuit last year.
“It’s an amazing feeling and really rewarding to achieve this,” said Beaudoin, a rising senior at Arlington High School. “I thought back to all the days when I get up to go to the gym at 5 a.m. before work, and I know it led to this.”
As did the intense workouts and practice sessions that began last summer, almost immediately after she returned from the world championships in England.
Beaudoin described herself then as having “a mental block” during that tournament, which she believes contributed to her falling short of her potential. A silver lining, though, was being able to watch the Japanese team excel and study some of their techniques up close.
She spent months learning and incorporating several new stunts, some of which were worked into her routine at the Helsingborg Arena on Aug. 11. Among the moves that wowed judges were her one-spin triple and a side aerial front walkover.
“I only started catching it about a month before worlds, which is risky,” she said of the side aerial. “But I wanted to have a high illusion trick.”
Japan remained the class of the competition, taking the top three medal positions, and a French twirler placed fourth. But for Beaudoin, finishing right behind them with a performance she believed to be representative, certainly was an accomplishment.
Beaudoin has competed among the elite baton twirlers since elementary school and has been a regular at the world championships, in various disciplines, since the fifth grade. She also won the junior solo and junior 2-baton titles at the United States Twirling Association championships in July.
Now, her training routine continues as the fall semester approaches, with schoolwork, college visits and extracurricular activities added to her responsibilities. This, of course, will require another elaborate juggling act.
Beaudoin is a member of the Arlington field hockey team and regularly performs during halftime of her school’s football games. It’s preparation, she said, as she hopes to become a featured twirler in college.
“I had never really felt older when my birthdays came around, until this one,” said Beaudoin, who turned 17 last week. “Senior year, college coming up, and realizing I don’t have that much time left living at home, I’m starting to feel old. Which means I really want to make this year count.”
Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4826; Twitter: @StephenHaynes4
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Poughquag's Micah Beaudoin gets fifth in baton twirling world championships in Sweden
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