Daily News Photos by NICK SCHNEEMAN Hazel Cartee, coach of the Clemson Tigers twirling team, instructs a group of young twirlers on technique.

ST. THOMAS - Young women from around the territory and the U.S. took to the floor of the UVI Sports and Fitness Center this weekend for the second annual USVI Caribbean International Twirling Classic.

The event is a National Baton Twirlers Association competition and provides an opportunity for USVI twirlers to qualify for national competition.

Athletes competed in categories ranging from team events and singles shows to the Miss Majorette of the Virgin Islands Pageant, which was won by Madison Ramsingh in the novice division, Shaulia Todman in the 13-15 beginner division, and Deanna Aubain in the 16-plus beginner division.

The judges said they were pleasantly surprised by the talent they saw over the weekend.

"I was impressed with the way they work together," Hazel Cartee said. Cartee has been involved with twirling since she was a young girl and currently coaches Clemson University's twirling team. "The teams work in unison, which is something we don't often see at this level."

Baylor University's lead twirler, Tori Mays, instructs a group of young twirlers.

The girls were judged in a number of categories; routine content, level of difficulty, variety, showmanship and presentation and technique.

Because of their parade experience, Cartee said, the V.I. twirlers scored very well in the showmanship and routine content categories, calling them "crowd pleasers."

The competition went through Saturday and into Sunday afternoon, wrapping up with a technical workshop that allowed the V.I. twirlers to receive some top-notch instruction from stateside twirlers such as Baylor University's Tori Mays and Penn State's PJ Maierhofer, and judges such as Joanne Schlueter of South Dakota.

"They already use a lot of the basics for show work," Schlueter said. "We're going to try to teach them to incorporate competition techniques into their routine."

Mays, who competed in the inaugural competition here a year ago, said she wanted to work with the girls on the Fancy X Strut - a very technical pattern used especially for competition.

"X Strut is part parade, but it has to be technically perfect," Mays said. "With the training that they've had so far, it should be easy to pick up the building blocks. The twirlers here have a lot of competition."

Mays added that the girls in the territory are not far from comparing to their counterparts in the states.

"They don't have as much experience, but they have all the tools," She said. "They just need a little help."

All the twirlers will be showing off what they have learned during the Parade of Twirlers down Main Street today at 1 p.m. starting at Emancipation Garden.

- Contact Nick Schneeman at 774-8772 ext. 377 or e-mail nschneeman@dailynews.vi.