What is the average weight of a regular adult baton (roughly 27-32 inches?

I am just wondering because I'm sick of being told that batons will damage the basketball floors. Yes, they will leave scuff marks, but so do shoes. So does that mean basketball players shouldn't wear shoes? Sorry, for the rant but its just aggrivating finding a great indoor facility (one with high ceilings) to practice in and then being kicked out! Ug!

--Abby

Abby sorry to hear that they kicked you out.
I don't know how much a baton weighs, but that is the lamest thing I've ever heard.

I'd be calling the gym manager/owner telling them where to go....but thats just me.

Funny that the basketball arena at Notre Dame or many other gyms do not have a problem with batons hurting the floors? Yes I would take this up with management.
DM

I had the exact same problem. My daughter was practicing at a workout club with racketball courts and a basketball court. One day the desk clerk told us the maintence man saw my 10 year old daughter practicing and made the decision that we were hurting the floors of both types of courts. So we were band from practicing there.

Now if the Celtics let 20 girls on the floor during half time of a pro game, Notre Dame allows us on their floors, we have twirled on the UNC basketball court, I think the maintence man and the person who told Abby that are silly.

It is IMPOSSIBLE in the laws of physics for a twirled/dropped baton to have a higher impact per square inch than that of a 200 pound basketball player running at full force as he pounds, running step-by-running step, from one end of the floor to the other. As forceful as a basketball which can BREAK the backboard? Not even.

A baton, thrown 20 feet high with the greatest force a majorette can muster cannot, under any circumstances, in the wildest range of thought, EVER impact a floor as does a RACQUETBALL which is hit (with a racquet, I might add, which INCREASES its force via the player's swing) every inch of strength a player uses to pound it both into the walls, floors, and glass!

IDIOTS! IDIOTS! IDIOTS!

Go to a physics professor and present this as a good research project for his classes. Even a high school physics class could prove these nut job maintenance people to be psycho! (Well, at least severely uninformed and uneducated).

I don't see any real damage from the baton it self on the floor.

However, it is possible for a bad toss to damage the ceiling or lights. And the constant spinning of the shoes on the floor can leave marks that many gym owners don't like to see.

That's absurd. We're lucky that our Community Center let's us rent out a raquetball court for practicing.

Jennifer Marcus has been twirling with the Orlando Magic Stunt Team during their playoff games. Bet their floor costs a lot more to maintain than your local Y or wherever!!!

I would definitely raise a very big stink about this.

I'm a freshman (going into my sophmore year at Marshall University - the school from the movie 'We Are Marshall'). The main arena (the basketball court) is great to practice in because of the extremely high ceilings). I practice outside during football season, but after that I had been practicing in the main arena gym, and when that was taken I would go into the auxilary gym (which is about 20-25ft high). I was always very respectful to other sports teams and would never intrude on their practices. I have twirled in the main gym about 4 days a week since football season has been over (about 6 months now). I had never been asked to leave by anyone (staff, coach, etc.). Then the other day I got an e-mail from the band director telling all the twirlers to stay out of the main gym because we were damaging the floors.
I really want to take this up with the head staff of the facility but I wanted to have my facts straight first. It really upsets me that I finally had a good facility to train in for competition and now I can't triwl in there for fear of getting in trouble with the band director. Ug!

Abby can the twirl coach at school talk to band director/gym staff?

That just seems so wrong - come twirl for our school - but you can't twirl in our gym...WTH!!!!

i find it crazy just like everyone else that they asked you to stop. if we can have competitions on gym floors, practices on the gym floors, performances at various events (and the pictures to prove it) then since when is it horrible for the floor?! I was asked to stop performances on my gym floor with twirling knives and I can understand that. also i have never heard of spinning creating marks on the floors?? if the twirler is high enough on their toes there should be no marks. i think it has more to do with the shoes creating those marks on that case. it definitely is just weird they won't let you twirl in a gym. it is better than the hallways where you could break something there for sure!

The floor predicament! I have personally been through this twice. My team Encore used to train in sacramento, CA before being kicked out of the local community college because "the batons dented the floors."...THEN I got kicked out of the gyms at Florida State for the same reason. I brought it up to management and all the way to the President of the University and I basically was forbidden to ever twirl in the gym again or they would press charges. Absolutely ridiculous. I am not a fan of universities who don't support their twirlers.

No, the Orlando Magic don't have a problem, yet!! Hopefully they won't notice...and so far I've only dropped it once throughout the season and we dont' get to warm up so I doubt the one drop caused a dent

Jen I remember your post about your gym problems.
I find it absolutey insane that any college, university or even HS school would not support their OWN twirler.

I've had many issues over the years with gyms - never about the floor....I hope that I don't have to ever deal with this situation.

In my studio I layed down a floating floor - it is the kind that looks like pergo(fake wood) that clicks together. The batons have not done any damage to this floor and this floor is not even half as nice as many of the gym floors.

People just like to complain about something...its really sad for poeple to not recognize our sport as a sport....I bet the baseball teams that use the gyms as indoor batting cages(2 HS that I taught at did this) damaged the floor way more than the baton. In fact I know it does - but those school would never kick out their baseball teams.

frankly with some of the elite twirlers they should worry more about their LIGHTS than their floors!!!! You need some SERIOUS height on your tosses to do some of the crazy tricks they do!

As I said before we have an auxilary gym that is about 20-25feet high, but during baseball/softball season it is almost always being used. However, they have caused holes in the walls. There is actually a place where a ball is still stuck in the wall because of them. I think it is rediculous that they're not kicked out of there for causing so much damage, but the twirlers are kicked out of a gym for causing no damage!

--Abby

Have you tried getting accepted as a club sport at the school? Perhaps during the off season for football the twirlers could be considered a club sport (more/less/same twirlers than march with the band during football). If accepted, then you'd have as much right to the athletic facility space as any other club sport. Look into the ncabt web site for help on creating a club sport. (that might one day help baton twirling get into the ncaa -- at which point the schools may WELCOME twirlers as an effort to have (low cost) female athletes to balance the male athletes)

Also, unless the floor is made of a soft material (???cork???), there is no way that a rubber tipped baton would dent the floor. It might create a scuff mark but nothing significant and nothing that might not also be created during basketball. I'm sure the school has their floors refinished yearly which would eliminate the scuffs.

I know EXACTLY what you mean!!! We pay the same membership fee to use the gym as everyone else does, but everyone else gets priority?!?!?!?! There is seriously a sign up that says "Sports teams and players take priority over twirlers." How unfair is that?????

Hey Abby,

That is really sad to hear about your situation. I've been twirling at AMCC since Aug. 2006 and I have NEVER had a problem with being able to use the gym to twirl. I've always just had to look at the schedule of when their open gym. Also, the basketball coaches and athletic trainers allow me to use the basketball gym during the off season. Lastly, my twirling/colorguard has no problem reserving the gym for practice.

No one has never complained about my batons except on the racquetball courts. I've made a few wholes in the ceiling.

I only wish you the best of luck!

We have been twirling in gyms for 13 years but my all time favorite excuse was that she was going to mark up the "walls"?????? Last time I checked, twirlers don't twirl on the walls, but I have seen basketball players with their big size 14 shoes jump up the walls!! Humm, I think I know where they should place the blame, along with the language that they use when they play!!!!! We have found the YMCA's across the country to be the most accomodating but the membership fees are high!

TOTALLY AGREE HONEY it isn't much weight at all and shoes in my opinion are much worse!

I know exactly what all of you guys mean!! At my local fitness place, there is literally a sign up that says "Everyone gets priority over twirlers!" Yet we pay the SAME monthly fees as everyone else. Now tell me how fair that is!!! Oh the swimmers need the gym? Sorry twirlers. Oh, the badmitton players want the gym? Move twirlers. And they aren't even polite about it!!!

Sorry- I didn't realize I had already posted a similar comment! But it's still frustrating!!!!