Fans at Athens High School football games don’t just get excited during the game, they stand during the halftime show, which is courtesy of five talented girls and a little bit of fire.

The majorettes have been putting on a high-flying shows for fans all season during the halftime performance, which includes twirling sticks with fire at both ends.

If you think there is any added pressure when it comes to twirling with fire, well, you’re right.

“It’s dangerous, but it’s the danger that keeps it interesting,” said majorette captain Abby Hollis. “Every year when we do it, the student section goes crazy. We like to show off for them. But it’s definitely added pressure. You can’t let it touch your arm, and you can’t drop it, especially in dry or windy conditions.”

Dropping a baton is not as big a deal during night football games due to the dew on the grass, but in daytime competitions, the danger is greater. That’s why the team has fire extinguishers handy.

“It’s kind of scary your first time, but once you get used to it, it’s a thrill,” Hollis said. “I think it’s the aspect of everybody is scared we’re going to burn ourselves. The crowd really does enjoy it.”

Even if the majorettes didn’t have fire twirling as part of their repertoire, they would still put on an award-winning performance.

The team, which consists of senior captain Hollis; juniors Emily Crouch and Courtney Gray, and sophomores Ainsley Denyer and Emma Henry, has participated with the Athens High marching band in four marching competitions so far this year. They have been awarded best-in-class majorettes at each show.

Majorette sponsor Rebecca Gladney said the success is due to the hard work the five girls have put in since the summer.

“We started our camp back in June and were practicing two days a week through July and August,” Gladney said. “Many of them started taking lessons when they were in middle school and put in a lot of hours on their own to make the squad.”

Hollis said all of those hours working together has made the squad very close, which also contributes to its success.

“I think our chemistry on the line, our work ethic and our drive to win pushes us,” she said. “We do put in a lot of hours in the morning, afternoons and weekends, and we all have kinds of practices.”

Hollis said she has been twirling since the sixth grade, and it is a feeling she couldn’t replace with anything else.

“Honestly, it’s just the feeling when you get on the field and performing,” she said. “Doing absolutely what you love and the rush of the performance is like nothing else you’ve felt in your life.”

Hollis said the team also wants to inspire younger girls to become majorettes. The team recently put on a majorette camp for about 30 children in kindergarten through fifth grade, and Hollis said they had a great time.

“It was a learning experience for us because it was the first year we had done it, but it was the most fun teaching them,” she said. “What surprised me was how fast some of them picked it up and how much interest they had. You could see it in their little faces that they loved it so much.”

The majorettes have one more competition in the season, the State Marching Band competition at Muscle Shoals High School on Nov. 3, and Gladney said the girls are ready for it.

“We want to really shine and do our part to make the band the best it can be for our last competition,” she said. “That’s the fun of it, getting out there and letting the girls show off their talent.”