Courtesy photo Mackenzie Detwiler (left) and her sister, Courtney Detwiler, competed together in the Adult Duet World Competition and are currently ranked fifth in the world.

Altoona residents Courtney Detwiler (25) and Mackenzie Detwiler (23) competed in the International Baton Twirling Competition and Nation’s Cup Baton Twirling Competition at the 2023 World Baton Twirling Championship — the twirling equivalent of the Olympic Games — held Aug. 9-13, in Liverpool, England.

More than 900 of the best baton twirlers from 21 countries, including the U.S, Canada, France, Italy and Japan, competed in these World Championship competitions, which was sanctioned by the International Baton Twirling Federation and supported by the U.S. Twirling Association.

Courtney won a gold medal in the Adult 3 Baton Competition and a silver medal in the Adult X-Strut Competition at Nation’s Cup.

Mackenzie won a bronze medal in the Adult Women’s Solo Competition at Nation’s Cup.

Both girls won a gold medal with their twirl team, The ShowTwirlers, based in Altoona.

The sisters competed together in the Adult Duet World Competition and are currently ranked fifth in the world.

This was Courtney’s third appearance at the World Championships and Mackenzie’s second. Both had previously competed at the 2019 Grand Prix in Limoges, France, and Courtney in the 2022 World Championships in Turin, Italy.

Courtney is a graduate of Altoona Area High School and Penn State University and is currently attending graduate school at the University of Missouri where she is feature twirler with the Marching MIZZOU Band.

Mackenzie is a graduate of Altoona Area High School and Penn State University where she was captain of the majorette line “Touch of Blue.” She is currently employed as a String/General Music Teacher in the Altoona Area School District elementary schools.

The sisters are members of the ShowTwirler Baton Studio and are taught by Pam Maierhofer, PJ Burkin and Jon Burkin.

For more information about the IBTF World Baton Twirling Championship, visit ibtf-baton

twirling.org.

For more information about the sport of baton twirling or the United States Twirling Association, visit ustwirling.com.