Color Guard Season Wrap-Up
As the color guard’s season wraps up, there are a few important things to mention. To start, junior Caitlyn Benjamin said, “Through the use of equipment (sabres, rifles, and flags) and dance, we convey a story to the audience.”
For example, “this year our story was about friends parting ways in life. Colorguard is an art form and an exercise all at the same time because you are portraying a story by performing as a different character. Using cardio and strength training to dance and move around constantly for significant periods of time also tossing different equipment throughout” said Benjamin.
Colorguard is commonly referred to as “the sport of the arts,” as the color guard describes themselves.
As for the start/end of the season junior Sharon Pham said, “The season never really ends, however, the outdoor season usually begins midsummer and runs until the first weeks of November. The indoor season begins almost after the outdoor season ends but it doesn’t officially start until winter break. The seasons begin with a week or two of band camp or guard camp. Band camp is the week before the beginning of school.”
The practices of colorguard were held on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, tending to run from 5:30 to 9:30 in the evening. In addition, Benjamin said, “It’s really hard to find a place to practice with all the winter sports taking up all the gyms. We would practice practically anywhere we could find-the auxiliary gym, Valley View’s gym, even the cafeteria for a while. It’s a constant search, but it’s worth it in the end to practice what we love to do” regarding practice locations. Competition wise, the color guard team showed off their stuff at many locations, including: Biglerville, Pittsburgh Regional, Conestoga Valley, Mechanicsburg, Red Land, and Championships.
The placements of competitions are as follows: Redland 1st place out of 4 competitors, Conestoga Valley 1st place out of 5 competitors, Mechanicsburg 2nd place out of 6 competitors, Biglerville 1st place out of 10 competitors, Pittsburgh Regional 12th place out of 19 competitors, and lastly, Championships 2nd place out of 14 competitors.
Lastly, as an additional note, “This year was our first year in the World Guard International (WGI) circuit. The only competition in this circuit was the Pittsburgh Regional, but we hope to travel out of the state to perform at different competitions in Virginia and North Carolina” said sophomore, Paige Smeltzer.