Thank you Tammy for sending our recital into the local paper! It is important to use our skills to help - not just for competitions!

See the article here: Catching for Canines

On April 30, 2013, AF hosted its year end recital in support of Sagkeeng Spay/Neuter Initiative Program (SSNIP).

This organization rescues animals on reserves and helps to control the population on these reserves. We have athletes who have pets and some have been adopted and so we thought - how can we help? Former AF athlete, Jennifer Kasprick, is involved with SSNIP and so we decided to make this our focus for the recital. Family and friends were invited to bring pet food, toys, a donation or anything else that might be helpful to the organization. The athletes performed some of their routines that they have been competing this season. Year end awards were presented:

Most Improved - Nikisah

Most Dedicated/Sportsmanship - Jenny

Athlete of the Year points: 9th - Jenny; 8th - Caitlyn, 7th - Kayla, 6th - Kaylee, 5th - Laura, 4th - Brooklyn, 3rd - Nikisah, 2nd - Jen, and 1st - Rhaychelle

Special thanks to parents from our group who voluteer on the MBTSA Board: Paula, Terri, Dawn, Edie, and Jane. Special recognition was given to Dawn (who fixed almost every costume) and Edie (who organizes all the club work).

Also a great job was done by our 2 recreational athletes - Michaela and Brooklyn!

Finally, the free month of lessons for next year went to Brooklyn DeJong! Congrats!

AF and MnM athletes competed April 27/28 at the 2013 MB Provincials! All athletes had a good weekend and most of them will be heading to Moncton, NB for the 2013 Canadians in July.

Saturday's competition:

Laura - Jr B Freestyle Gold medallist

Nikisah - Sr B Freestyle Bronze medallist

Rhaychelle - Jr A Freestyle Gold medallist

Jen - Sr A Freestyle Gold medallist

"Everything" - Juv B Small dance twirl winners

"Somebody" - Sr A Small dance twirl champions

Sunday's competition:

Caitlyn - 3rd place Juv BN Medley and Juv BN Solo

Brooklyn - 1st place Juv C Solo (Score to advance!) and 1st place Juv BN Medley

Kaylee - 2nd place Jr BN Medley 

Laura - 1st place Jr BN Solo Dance and 2nd place Jr BI Solo

Rhaychelle - 1st place Jr BI Medley, Solo, Solo Dance, 2 baton and Jr B Artistic Twirl

Nikisah - 1st place Sr BN Medley, Solo, 2-baton and 2nd place Sr B Artistic Twirl

Jen - 1st place Sr BI Medley (score to advance!), 2 baton and 3 baton, 1st place Sr A Solo, and 1st place Sr A artistic twirl

Kayla - 1st place Sr BI Solo and 1st place Adult B Artistic Twirl

We ended the competition with slurpees for a job well done! Cheers!

CONGRATS ATHLETES! COACHES AND PARENTS ARE PROUD OF YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS. Moncton, here we come!

The luck of Irish was with AF at Unicity 2013 on March 17. Here are the results:

Kaylee - 1st place C Solo and 2nd place C Medley - MOVED UP IN BOTH EVENTS to BN!! Congrats!!

Brooklyn - 1st place C Solo and 2nd place BN Medley

Caitlyn - 3rd place BN Medley, 3rd place BN Solo

Laura - 1st place Jr B Compulsories

Jen - 1st place Short Program

Rhaychelle - 1st place BI Medley, Solo, 2 Baton, Solo Dance, Jr B Artistic Twirl, Jr A Compulsories

Nikisah - 1st place BN Medley and 2 Baton, 2nd place BN Solo, 3rd place Sr B Compulsories, and 3rd place Sr B Artistic Twirl

Jenny - 1st place BI Solo, 2nd place Short Program, 4th place Sr B Artistic Twirl

Kayla - 1st place Adult B Aristic Twirl and 2nd place BI Solo

EVERYTHING - 1st place Juv B Dance Twirl

SOMEBODY - tied for 1st place Sr A Dance Twirl

GREAT JOB EVERYONE!! 

The first competition of year took place on February 24, 2013.

Congrats to AF athletes for good first performances - now the real work begins!! Here are the results:

Kaylee - 1st place C Solo (1 drop!)

Caitlyn - 3rd place BN Solo, 4th place BN Medley

Brooklyn - 1st place C Solo, 3rd place BN Medley (first competition back since her injury!)

Rhaychelle - 1st place BI Solo, Medley, and Solo Dance 

Nikisah - 1st place BN Medley and Solo

Laura - 2nd place BI Solo

Jennifer - 1st place BI 2-baton and 3-baton, 1st place A Solo, 1st place BN Medley (moved up to BI!)

Jenny - 1st place BI Solo

Jennifer and Nikisah - 1st place Duet (advanced to BN!)

Somebody - 1st place Sr A Small Dance Twirl

Good luck at Unicity in a few weeks!

AF was recently featured in the Minor Hockey News! The publication is not only for hockey (although many years ago started as a hockey only publication). They highlight any amateur sport organizations and we were asked to submit something! Many thanks to Jenny for her testimonial :) Enjoy!

AF article

We had our annual Christmas party on December 12. It was a blast with lots of laughter and eating! The girls baked and we did our traditional ornament exchange. We also made time to set goals and unveil our theme for the year: Operation O.M.G. Ask an athlete about it!

Thanks for all of your creativity, spirit, and energy during the party!

Recently, the Manitoba Baton Twirling Sportive Association held the awards banquet for efforts made by athletes during the 2012 season. Many congrats to all AF athletes for good performances! Special congrats to Jennifer and Rhaychelle who received special awards - Jennifer is the overall high point award winner for the Collegiate division and Rhaychelle is the overall high point award winner for the Junior division! Great work ladies!! Keep it up! Looking forward to 2013...

Most AF athletes participated in the Reach for the Stars III clinic hosted by MBTSA in late October. Everyone had fun with Kayla McKinnon, current Canadian Sr. Freestyle champ and Gregory Thinet, former Jr World Baton Twirling champ. They learned a great deal and had fun. Here's a pic with Rhaychelle and the clinicians!

The two Jennifer's, along with mom Edie, headed out to Saskatoon in October for SK's annual baton clinic. This year, it featured athletes Keisuke Komada (Sr. Men's world champ) and Karissa Wimberley (Sr. Women 4th place at Worlds). Karissa coach and mom, Cheryl, taught as well as Deardra Leslie and Jill Ford. Ask the girls about it when you see them...they had an amazing time and are extra pumped and inspired for the season. They also had a chance to take some pics and here's one with the amazing Karissa!

Returning coach, Kim, got married on September 29th and some of our AF family made it to this special occasion. Kim was a former athlete in the club and is returning this season as a coach (see the Coaches tab to read her write up!). Rhaychelle was one of her first students and Kayla and Jennifer both had her as a coach previously as well. It was a lovely +26 degree day and we had a fabulous time dancing the night away! Congrats to Kim and her husband (and now part of the AF family) Tyler!

The 2012 Canadian Championships were held in Regina, SK in July 2012.
AF athletes had some good performances and, of course, we had a blast at the competition!
Here are some results:

Rhaychelle - 3rd Place - Jr. B Freestyle (out of 17!), made finals in all of her winner events
Jennifer - 1st Place - BI Sr. Solo!
Jessica - 9th place - Sr. B Freestyle (out of 19!)

We also had a chance to visit former AF coach, Cassandra Friesen, and had a BBQ at her house. It was great catching up!

The 2013 Canadians will be Moncton, NB and we are already looking forward to another road trip!

Congrats to Leisha! Along with Kristin Macaraeg, Leisha has been coaching and doing choreography for Trans Canada Team Athena. On May 20, the National Team Trials were held in Barrie, Ontario and Team Athena did their 2 best performances of the season and qualified for the 2012 World Baton Twirling Championships which will be held just outside of Paris, France! Team Canada leaves on July 26 and the competition runs from August 2-5. For more results from the Team Trials, check out ww.cbtf.ca. GO CANADA!

UPDATE: Team Athena placed 5th in a field of 19 teams at the World Championships!

The Year End Recital, Twirl-A-Bear, was held on May 9, 2012. Special awards were given to the following athletes:
Most Dedicated - Rhaychelle
Most Improved - Caitlyn and Kaylee
Sportsmanship Award - Brooklyn

The Athlete of the Year award was also given out:
6th - Jennifer
5th - Brooklyn
4th - Kaylee
3rd - Caitlyn
2nd - Jessica
Athlete of the Year - Rhaychelle

Kaylee won the yearly draw for a free month of lessons for next year! Congrats!

Good luck to Jenny, Jessica, and Rhaychelle who will compete at the 2012 Canadians in Regina from July 6-8!

CONGRATS to AF Athletes! We had some great performances and an overall fun day!

Caitlyn - BN Juv Medley (Silver) and BN Juv Solo (5th)
Jennifer - BI Coll Solo (Gold)
Jessica - BI Sr Medley (Silver), BI Sr Solo (Bronze), BI Duet (Gold), Sr B compulsories (Gold)
Rhaychelle - BI Jr Medley (Gold), BI Jr Solo (Gold), BI Jr 2-Baton (Gold), BI Jr Solo Dance (Gold), Jr B compulsories (Bronze), BI Duet (Gold)

Good luck to Jessica, Jennifer, and Rhaychelle who will be heading to the Canadian Winner/Championship competition July 6-8 in Regina, SK. Happy training!

CONGRATULATIONS JESSICA AND RHAYCHELLE!
Both had great 2 drop performances and we loved your energy!
For their efforts, Rhaychelle is the 2012 Level B Junior Freestyle winner and Jessica is the 2012 Level B Senior Freestyle Silver medalist!

Great work and good luck at Canadians in July!

CONGRATULATIONS to CAITLYN, KAYLEE, and RHAYCHELLE!
They are Level C dance twirl provincial winners AND, as of next year, they will be in Level B - that's right - they moved up!

The 1 drop performance was so fun to watch. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KG8khDuMsc

Aerial Fusion athletes rock it out at the 2012 Unicity Winner/Championship competition on March 17, 2012.

Juv C Dance Twirl - AF Together - 1st place (close to moving up!)
Kaylee - 2 drop Juv C Solo and a clean Medley (1st)
Caitlyn - 2nd in Juv C Solo (moved up to BN!) and 3rd place in Juv BN Winner event
Rhaychelle - 5 Gold Medals in Unicity Winner events! (1st in Jr BI Solo, Medley, 2 Baton and 1st in Jr BN Solo Dance - moving up to BI, and BN Duet with Jessica - moving up to BI!
Jessica - 3 Gold medals on the day! - 1st in C Medley (first time doing Medley in her career - moved up to BI!), 1st in Sr BI Solo, and 1st in Duet with Rhaychelle moving up to BI!)

Rhaychelle also won the 2012 Jr Unicity High Point award given to the Junior athlete with the most points on the day!

CONGRATS ATHLETES and THANK YOU to coaches KAYLA and JENNY for their work!

This year, 8 athletes from Aerial Fusion competed at the 2011 Canadian Championships which were held here in Winnipeg in July. First of all, we would like to thank all Aerial Fusion athlets and parents who volunteered during the event: Edie and Mack Parisian, Cathy Pososki, Jessica Pososki, Jennifer Parisian (who won a 50/50 worth $700!), Kayla Kamfoley, Jane Tan, Leisha Strachan, Tammy, Brooklyn, and Caitlyn DeJong, Corinna and Sarah Klassen, Karen and Kaitlyn Reimer, Jerome and Margaret Strachan, and other supporters! We are SO PROUD to have a small club with a great spirit!
Athletes who competed did a great job (including a no-drop freestyle performance by Rhaychelle!).
SPECIAL CONGRATS TO:
Jennifer and Kayla - Bronze Medal, Sr A Pairs
Rhaychelle - BN Medley Winner and 6th place Jr B Freestyle
Jessica - made finals in BI Solo

Jessica also made the 2011 Canadians structure in the picture! Thanks so much for sharing your talent Jess!

This year, AF dedicated the year-end recital to helping our baton friends in Japan. We raised over $250.00 for the cause and this is an incredible donation from our small club! Thank you to everyone who came and contributed!

Year-End awards were also given:
1st Year award - Kaylee
Most Improved - Jessica
Most Dedicated - Kaitlyn and Caitlyn
5 Year AF awards - Rhaychelle, Kaitlyn, Kayla, Jennifer
10 Year AF award - Jennifer

AF Athlete of the Year:
6th place - Bethany
5th place - Kaitlyn
4th place - Kayla
3rd place - Jessica
2nd place - Jennifer
AF Athlete of the Year - Rhaychelle

Congrats everyone! Great show!

The 2011 Provincials were held at River East Collegiate on April 16 and 17. Great job athletes! Here's a list of accomplishments:

Jenny P - 2011 Sr A Freestyle Gold medal; Sr A Pairs Gold medal; BI Sr Solo Dance winner; 2nd place - BI Sr Solo; BI Collegiate Duet Winner

Kayla - 2011 Sr A Freestyle Silver medal; Sr A Pairs Gold medal; BI Collegiate Solo winner, BI Collegiate Duet Winner

Jessica - 2011 Sr B Freestyle Gold medal; 1st C Sr 3-baton (with a score to advance!); 3rd place - BI Sr Solo

Rhaychelle - 2011 Jr B Freestyle Silver medal; BN Jr Medley winner (with a score to advance!); 2nd place - BI Jr Solo; 2nd place - BI Jr 2-baton; 2nd place open B Compulsories

Bethany - 1st place C Sr Solo and Solo Dance (first time doing solo dance!)

Katie - 1st place C Juv 2-baton (no drop!!! Received a score to advance!)

AF My Girl - 1st place C Juv Small Dance Twirl

Special birthday shout-out to Caitlyn who celebrated her birthday at Provincials!

CONGRATULATIONS to Aerial Fusion Pre-competitive athletes who, on April 10, 2011, won the MBTSA Pre-Event Challenge! All athletes are given points for results from their pre-events and AF ended up with most team points! This is the first time we have won this event! GREAT JOB EVERYONE!

Special congrats to BROOKLYN - 2011 Pre-Event Challenge Athlete of the Day and SARAH - 2011 Pre-Event Challenge Runner Up Athlete of the Day!

Congratulations to Brooklyn, Caitlin, Kaitlyn, and Sarah who twirled in group at the Unicity competition in the Juvenile C Small Division. For 3 of them, it was their first time doing group! The hard exchange was caught and the girls did an amazing job! They earned a first place award but, more importantly, they had a blast! Congrats girls!!

Congratulations to all AF athletes who competed at the Unicity Open and Championships March 14, 2011.

Special Congrats to these individual athletes:
Rhaychelle Tan - Unicity Winner in Junior BI Medley and Solo; 2nd place in 2-baton
Jessica Pososki - Unicity Winner in Senior BN Solo and received a score to move up to BI (Finally!)
Jennifer Parisian - Unicity Winner in Duet (with Kayla - score to advance to BI!) and Solo Dance Twirl; 2nd in BI Senior Solo
Kayla Kamfoley - Unicity Winner in BI Collegiate Solo and Duet (with Jenny); Unicity Collegiate High Point Winner
Katie - first time competing in 2-baton! Great job!

Well, the competition is over and the girls did well. We are still not exactly sure where Rhaychelle placed in solo (the sheets are lost??) but Jenny placed 4th in her solo dance (1 drop performance!).

As a group, we managed to get to all the parks so that was great but there are just not enough hours in the day! We have lots of stories - many about roller coasters and scary rides, shopping, the great weather. We all went on Splash Mountain and bought the picture from the big drop...it's hilarious. We will post it as soon as we can.

Yesterday, we spent some time at Animal Kingdom and went on the safari...awesome! Then Jane and Rhaychelle did the Everest roller coaster and then we did the Dinosaur ride (Jenny and Leisha are traumatized).

Finally, we did some damage at the outlet mall...President's Day sales!! Great deals and we have declared that to be the 5th park!

We are on our way back...leaving the 80 degree weather and back to snow...ah well. We have some great memories and hope that we can do it again in a few years.

See you soon! (Yes - Leisha will be at Wednesday lessons tomorrow night!) :)

Day 3 and 4 of Twirlmania saw the start and end of the competition! With EARLY mornings (Rhaychelle and Jen were lucky to have 8:15 performance times!), this competition was a challenge but a really good experience for them. Also, with temperatures in the 80s, we didn't mind getting up early to enjoy the sun later in the day!

On Day 3, the athletes only did freestyles. Jennifer had a few drops but was also in a very tough category. Jessica was a little dropsy as well but, even with penalties, ended up 13th in a group of 25. In that same group, Rhaychelle did a 1 drop freestyle and finished 6th overall!

Day 4 was the rest of the events. With 18 lanes on at once and a PACKED practice gym, the athletes definitely had to learn how to focus and I hope that the experience will help them in future competitions. Jessica's 2nd 3-baton outing was good and solo was good as well (10th place!). Jennifer's solo was quite good as well but her dance twirl was awesome (1 drop!). Not yet sure where she placed but will update asap! Rhaychelle's solo and 2-baton were good and she ended up 3rd in her freestyle strut (medley). The highlight was probably watching Jennifer Marcus' 3-baton and solo - absolutely AMAZING. Jess and Rhaychelle scored pictures with her!

Another highlight was participating in the night parade down the main street in Hollywood Studios. Jenny was IN THE FRONT (selected for her dazzling smile and costume!). Jess and Rhaychelle followed closely behind and everyone did great and enjoyed the experience. This was followed by the group going to see FANTASMIC (with Mickey and friends!) and a couple rides in Hollywood Studio and Magic Kingdom.

We'll have more time for rides tomorrow and will watch the collegiate finals for Twirlmania which will be at Epcot. Hope to send another message soon!

Take care!

Hi everyone! Well, we made it to Twirlmania 2011! Leisha, Jane, Rhaychelle, Jessica, and Jean (Jessica's Grandma!) arrive on Wednesday afternoon and were super excited but also tired! Once we took a short nap and had some food, we headed to start one of the main parts of the trip - shopping! :) Great deals at the outlet mall and, once Edie and Jenny joined us later in the evening, our little group was complete.

Disney is HUGE and there is so much to see. I'm sure the athletes will come back with many stories (namely Jessica and the 'snake', Jenny's candied apple, and Rhaychelle's...well, there are too many stories already to pick one!).

Thursday morning started with breakfast and then some practicing outside to get ready for Friday's competition. After practice, we headed to Downtown Disney for more shopping and sight-seeing (and eating!). Three hours flew by and then we had to start the competition planning by picking up our programs and passes at the Twirlmania registration desk. There are about 18 lanes for the open competition (as opposed to 2 lanes at our competitions!). This is going to be an experience for sure!

We ended the day by having a team dinner at the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney (wearing some of our new purchases of course!). Please send good vibes to the girls on Friday...Jenny does her freestyle at 8:15 AM (I KNOW...gotta be up at 5:30!) and Jessica and Rhaychelle are later in the afteroon (between 4 and 4:30). We will let you know how it goes!

Wishing the whole club was here!! One day, we will HAVE to come back! :)

Have a magical day!

This year, AF had 9 athletes participate in the Parade of Lights as part of the MBTSA entry! I'm sure they were thankful for a fairly mild day. Great job athletes! They are: Katie, Caitlyn, Nicholas, Sarah, Brooklyn, Jennifer, Jessica, Bethany, and Rhaychelle. Many thanks as well to parents who volunteered to walk the route and take their children to the practice.

Our very own Jennifer Parisian has been elected the new MBTSA Athletes Representative! If any athletes have any ideas about baton in Manitoba or anything, please see Jennifer. She would love to talk to you!
Also, continuted thanks to our coaches and parents who continue to serve on the MBTSA Board of Directors - Edie Parisian (MBTSA Chairperson), Dawn Kamfoley (MBTSA Vice Chairperson), Jane Tan (MBTSA Treasurer), and Karen Reimer (MBTSA Membership Rep). Our sport is lucky to have you as volunteers!

Aerial Fusion athletes attended the Halloween Day MBTSA 2010 Awards Banquet. We want to congratulate all our athletes for their work this past year! Special Congrats AF athletes who received awards at the 2010 MBTSA Awards Banquet! Jennifer - 2010 Senior High Point Award Winner; Katie - 2010 Primary High Point Award Runner-Up; Kayla - 2010 Collegiate High Point Award Runner-Up. Great Job!

Aerial Fusion sent 3 athletes to the Canadian Championships in Toronto in July 2010. Jennifer, Kayla, and Jessica competed in dance twirl and team, with the team earning a 2nd place in their division. Jessica went on to compete in the Senior BN Solo Division and, out of a field of 17, Jessica did her two best performances of the season (a 1 drop in finals!) and placed 2nd!! Congrats Jess!!

Aerial Fusion sent 1 athlete to the Canadian Team Trials in Regina in May 2010. Jennifer Parisian, the 2010 Provincial Senior Freestyle Silver Medalist, endured some technical difficulties in her performance and learned a great deal in her first experience competing at the senior level with a very tough field of talented competitors. We are proud of her accomplishments! One highlight was a suprise visit from Kayla who drove from Winnipeg to watch Jen compete with a great poster in hand! Check out the results at http://www.cbtf.ca/trials2010.

How exciting! Some of our athletes featured in the April/May 2010 Twirl Mania Newsletter. Check it out on page 3! Twirl Mania Newsletter

On April 28, 2010, Aerial Fusion Baton hosted a year end recital. This included performances by our recreational and competitive athletes.

Thanks to everyone who came out to support!

Congratulations to those who received their white ribbons (Nicholas, Avary, Sara, Alexa) as well as those athletes to received their yellow badges (Sarah, Caitlyn, and Brooklyn).

Several special awards were also given:
1st year award - Brooklyn
Sportsmanship Award - Rhaychelle Tan
Most Dedicated - Kayla Kamfoley
Athlete of the Year - Jennifer Parisian
Winner of the Draw for a free month of classes for next year - Avary

Thank you again to all the coaches and athletes for a great year!

The 2010 Manitoba Provincials were held at River East Collegiate on April 24 and 25. CONGRATULATIONS to all athletes who competed! Here are some of our club results. A star indicates that they received a score to advance to the next level:

Level B Freestyle - Jessica Pososki (7th), Rhaychelle Tan (8th)
Level A Freestyle - Jennifer Parisian (Silver)
Level C Juvenile Small Dance Twirl Team - A Tisket (1st)*
Level A Senior Small Dance Twirl Team - In Style (2nd)
Primary C Medley and Solo - Kaitlyn Reimer (2nd place in both)
Juvenile BN Solo - Rhaychelle Tan (1st)*
Juvenile BI 2-Baton - Rhaychelle Tan (1st)
Senior BN Solo - Jessica Pososki (1st)
Senior BI Solo - Jennifer Parisian (1st)
Senior BI Solo Dance - Jennifer Parisian (1st)
Collegiate BI Medley - Kayla Kamfoley (1st)*
Senior High Point Winner - Jennifer Parisian

Looking forward to great performances at Canadian Team Trials in Regina (Jennifer Parisian) and Canadian Championships in Toronto (Jennifer Parisian, Kayla Kamfoley, and Jessica Pososki)! Stay tuned for more results!

Congratulations to all competitive and pre-competitive athletes who participated in the 2010 Unicity competition on March 20th. It was a LONG DAY but everyone survived! Thanks to all athletes and coaches for their hard work! Some results: JUV C SMALL Dance Twirl (A Tisket) - 1st; SR A SMALL Dance Twirl (In Style) - 2nd. If you have any pictures for me to post, send them along!

Great job to all athletes who performed at the Christmas show, December 16, 2009. You were so fun to watch! Special thanks to the coaches for preparing the athletes so well and thanks to all parents and supporters for coming to the event! It was nice to have the stands full!

The MBTSA Annual Awards luncheon was held on November 29, 2009. We would like to congratulate the following award winners:
Kaitlyn R. - runner-up - Primary High Point
Jennifer P. - Award of Excellence from the province - 2009 Jr. Freestyle Champion
Jane Tan - Award of Excellence, Coach
Cassandra Friesen - Award of Excellence, Coach

We are proud of your accomplishments! Also, congrats to the other Aerial Fusion athletes for all of their hard work over the 2008-2009 season! Looking forward to more in 2010!

Two Aerial Fusion athletes, Jennifer and Rhaychelle, twirled at halftime performances for Bison Basketball at the U of M on November 28th. Great job ladies!! Thanks also to Jessica who volunteered to look after the booth for the night. The next halftime shows will be on Friday, January 15th, 2010 at the University of Winnipeg. More info to follow...

Many thanks to the athletes and coaches who represented Aerial Fusion at the Parade of Lights on Sunday, November 15, 2009. I heard that baton was on the TV for about 4 minutes! Great job and thanks for being part of the baton community!