Once the marching band season ends, many color guard members continue to use their skills in a different setting: within the OH Winter Guard.
“I enjoy the opportunity to explore new ways of spinning, tossing, and moving without needing to keep pace with a larger group,” Winter Guard director Lauren Rogers said.
Winter guard is a different experience from not just the perspective of students, but it is also different from the side of leadership.
“Winter guard has more dance aspects than color guard, [and is] inside without the band,” OH freshman Madelyn Tiffany said.
While it is a new setting, the skills developed in the marching band season are incredibly important.
“It’s very similar to color guard as it still uses the same flags and weapons,” OH freshman Teaghan Cooley said.
But it is more than just a continuation of color guard; the new season is a chance for students to achieve goals with the extra practice they will get.
“My personal goal is to improve my basic skills and potentially join the weapon line,” Cooley said.
The winter guard practices to compete several times throughout the season, having six competitions in the season, throughout February and March.
The competitions are on Feb. 1 at Naperville Central High School, Feb. 8 at Tremper High School, Feb. 22 at Jacobs High School, Feb. 28-Mar. 1 at Lincoln-Way East, and Mar. 28-29 at Victor J. Andrew High School.
“The winter guard competes in the Midwest Color Guard Circuit, and this year [is] also competing on a national level in a Winter Guard International Regional contest,” Rogers shared.
This year, the guard’s hard work has really paid off, with a change in competition class, which means that they did incredibly well in their previous judging class.
“This season we moved from the Scholastic Regional A novice class to the Scholastic A intermediate class,” Rogers said.
The guard may be facing more challenges with their promotion in class, but they have big dreams they are trying to reach this season.
According to Rogers, “We are hoping for a successful season of growth, self-discovery, and artistry.”
My name is Monaco Tiffany. I am a senior at Oswego High School and Oswego East High School. This is my second year as part of 42Fifty. I am serving as one of the Managing Editors for 42Fifty. I am involved in the frc robotics team 2338 Gear It Forward.
You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication
