VIDEO: Valley Baton Club Twirling to Victory

A group of girls glides around the gymnasium floor, doing cartwheels and struts in glittery outfits, all while twirling batons around their bodies and through the air.

For more than 30 years, the Valley Baton Club has been nurturing baton twirling skills and love of the sport for youth as young as 2 all the way to age 19.

The competitive team, made up of eight girls, is heading to nationals in Little Rock, AR, July 11-16 and to the World Baton Twirling Federation 2011 International Cup in Jacksonville, FL, Aug. 1-8.

The sport includes elements of dance and gymnastics, and like most sports demands dedication and practice, says club founder and director Sharon Campbell.

Campbell's ties go back to her own youth when she watched others twirl.

"Back in the 1950s, I was in high school, and baton twirling was at its most popular," Campbell says. "There weren't many sports available to girls, and my high school band and twirling group was very good. I told a girlfriend of mine, 'I want to do that.' "

After finishing school, Campbell realized she couldn't put down the baton.

"It was something I didn't want to give up," she says.

So Campbell approached the City of Campbell as a contractor for the Campbell Community Center when it was converted from a high school, back in 1981, and hasn't looked back since.

The club offers competitive baton twirling and recreational twirling at the neighboring community center, and youth from Los Gatos, Campbell, San Jose, Sunnyvale and as far away as Gilroy come out every week to practice.