ETSU student Lexi Maust is competing for the grand championship in the inaugural FANtastic Virtual Twirling Competition.
The competition featured 64 twirlers from 42 universities across the nation. Thirteen conferences competed, with Maust’s stellar performance landing her best of the Southern Conference.
Maust, who followed in the footsteps of her mother who was also a twirler, said she chose ETSU for the atmosphere and community. She trains with the ETSU majorettes, who she said have been really supportive of her progress throughout the competition.
“They’re so supportive of me,” said Maust. “They’ve came to every video that I’ve done and cheered me on.”
Maust competed in the first round of the competition where she eventually advanced to the final 16 and won best in her conference. The competition is entirely virtual, and contestants submit a video to a group of judges. The final four will do a live zoom performance and interview in front of a panel of judges.
“If I get into the top eight, that would be absolutely amazing,” said Maust. “But all the competitors are really good and have years of experience.”
Virtual competition has been a huge adjustment for Maust, who is used to competing in-person in front of a crowd.
“You’re in the middle of thousands of twirlers who are competing for whatever title there is at that competition, and then this one you’re just by yourself with whoever’s videoing you and maybe a couple people on the side cheering you on,” said Maust.
Maust said time management has been the biggest challenge throughout the competition, as she has to balance her twirling with a heavy class schedule. However, she said she has gotten a lot of support from ETSU.
“It’s just given me more motivation to do better in the competition,” said Maust.
The competition winner will be announced early this week.
