A TEENAGER from Barton Peveril is winning classes in baton twirling stateside after she took up the family tradition.

Emily Babb started baton twirling at the age of four when she joined the Spencerettes, a corps her grandparents founded in Eastleigh in 1969.

Earlier this year the 18-year old former Wyvern pupil competed in the Twirl Mania International Championships in Florida for the eighth time, winning one of her classes and finishing third overall in the novice section of competition.

“I used to watch my mum teach the Spencerettes and really wanted to join in.

“It wasn't long before I got the bug and now I compete regularly at home and in the United States.

“Twirling is a great combination of gymnastics and dance that becomes something really different once you add a baton.

“In the UK I compete at intermediate level, but twirling is so much more advanced in the States that I'm classed as a novice when I enter competitions over there,” she said adding that she hopes to spend more time training in the US during her gap year.