Bordon baton twirling team Phoenix Twirlstars returned from the International Baton Twirling Association (IBTA) National Championships over the Easter weekend full of pride.

Competing against teams from all over the south of England and Dublin, Ireland they celebrated their most successful competition in many years.

The team of twirlers aged six upwards put out many stunning performances and gained a total of 83 awards, of which more than 60 were first and second places.

Planning for this competition started back in November and many extra training sessions took place in order for them to grow in confidence and get to competition standard.

Many of the team competed in events for the first time and they put out one of the youngest Top Teams on record.

They finished with two of the five overall Top Twirlers in the Juvenile (three to nine years) and Junior (13 to 15 years) age categories.

They won best overall Command Marching Team and most impressively were named Most Progressive Corps 2024.

If you are interested in learning a new skill and would like to find out more about baton twirling, which includes marching, twirling, dance, gymnastics and pom pom dance, then contact corps directors Tabby Powell (07960 513179) and Claire Cuckow (07859 009958) to find out more.

Phoenix Twirlstars train at the Forest Community Centre in Bordon every Wednesday evening from 6.30pm onwards and accept members from six years old.

The team is excited to develop on its recent success and continue to build the team.