UK Twirlers and Sweetheart Majorette Twirling Line are national champions
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 14, 2026) — The University of Kentucky Twirlers and Sweetheart Majorette Twirling Line won the National Baton Twirling Association AYOP (America’s Youth on Parade) Pride and Tradition Pregame Competition in South Bend, Indiana, earlier this month.
The Pride and Tradition Pregame Competition is a category for the high-energy routines majorettes and feature twirlers perform before marching band pregame and halftime shows. Nine team members performed the winning routine. The team also won the “Wow” award for precision and the Slyvester/Nero Dynasty Award for Collegiate Majorette Line Champion.
Head coach Donna Daniel said the wins were hard fought and well earned.
“It really showed in their scores,” she told the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Daniel co-leads the program alongside Shayna Stahl, UK director of athletic bands, with additional coaching support this season from Brenda Popplewell and Tiffany Disponette. Daniel, who captained the UK team in the 1980s, told the Herald-Leader that interest in competitive twirling has declined over the years, and all 12 members of this season’s roster are from outside Kentucky.
She hopes attending the competition and meeting twirlers from across the country, along with winning the national title, will help draw even more competitive twirlers to UK.
The team built its routine during the spring semester, then trained apart over the summer, with members practicing individually and sending videos to Daniel and Stahl for feedback. The full team reunited three days before the competition, its first time together since May. The routine included a guest appearance from the Wildcat mascot and a member of the national champion UK cheer team, a moment Daniel said resonated with younger competitors in the crowd.
“We stress to the team that as we perform and compete, we are ambassadors of a great university,” Daniel said. “Our twirlers plus the Wildcat did an outstanding job engaging and encouraging young fans, gaining us many compliments from parents and coaches.”
The team returns to Kroger Field this fall as part of the Wildcat Marching Band’s pregame and halftime performances. Fans can get a taste of that experience for themselves. The Wildcat Marching Band’s Twirler For A Day program invites participants ages 7-18, from beginner to advanced, to learn a routine alongside the team and perform it on the field during halftime. Registration is $60 per participant and includes a T-shirt, meal and game entry. Registration deadline is 8 p.m. Sept. 14. Learn more at finearts.uky.edu/music/events/twirler-day.
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