Sixty Irish baton twirlers will travel to Croatia this week to take part in the European Cup.
At a final training session at the Firhouse Community College, coach Natasha Maher put the athletes, who range in age from 12 to their mid-40s through their paces.
She explained how the sport was born out of the majorette tradition but has developed to incorporate more of a gymnastic or acrobatic theme alongside elements of dance including more technique with the twirling.
The Irish contingent will compete along with 15 other countries, some will go on to the World Championships in Sweden next month.
Ms Maher said some of the countries have elite athletes competing in the sport.
"They train full time, we train in the evenings two or three times a week and our athletes are now competing at that level because of the commitment and the work that they have put in," she said.
Ms Maher said members of the Twirl Ireland Federation hope to keep improving.
"Our hope is that every year we get a little bit better, and we learn something new and also this is to expose some of our younger athletes to that level of competition," she said.
Ms Maher said Sport Ireland's support was great for the baton twirlers, but she would like more access to bigger sports halls such as those in schools.
"You can see we need space, why can't we access sports halls in the evening, we shouldn't be charged for them again," she said.
Drew Malone,12, is in the junior artistic group and has been practicing the sport since last September
"It's been a lot of blood, sweat and tears but I got to say, I think it's going to pay off," he said.
President of the Twirl Ireland Federation Bernadette Doyne, which is in its 50th year, said she is hopeful baton twirling will become an Olympic sport.
She said the federation, which was established by her husband, is working with international groups from other countries to submit a case for such to the International Olympic Committee for recognition.
She praised Sport Ireland for supporting the federation with funding that enables them to travel to international competitions.
