Bowie HS preparing for WGI Color Guard World Championship
AUSTIN, Texas — Colorguard is known for the flashy performances on football fields with sequined costumes and flags flying high in conjunction with highly orchestrated marching band performances. But that鈥檚 not what we鈥檙e talking about today. Today we鈥檙e diving into the world that is Bowie High School鈥檚 Winterguard and while some would assume it鈥檚 the same but in winter, it is a whole different animal.
Wikipedia defines Winterguard as 鈥渁n indoor color guard sport and performance art derived from military ceremonies. Modern winter guard is a competitive, performance-based activity which incorporates choreographed staging, dance, and manipulation of equipment such as flags and prop rifles and sabers.鈥� In the fall their performances are a visual interpretation of the music performance by the band. They go hand in hand in the balancing act of the performance, none outperforming the other. But during competition season they are free to shine all on their own. After all, Beyonce shines differently when the light is all on her right?
Their performances are not just taken from the field to the indoor setting, they have to be changed and augmented in all the right places. They鈥檙e not confined to accompaniment status anymore. They are not a piece of a whole, they are the headliner and it鈥檚 their time to shine. Competition season comes and the team hits the ground running. Costumes are different, everything needs to be coordinated, and every sports parent knows that now is when you earn your stripes your kid鈥檚 Uber.
All the hard work, endless hours of practice, long car rides to competitions all over the state, make-up and hair spray, and feelings of stress and insecurity fade away because everything has led up to this. On April 7-9th in Dayton, Ohio these kids will face off at the WGI Color Guard World Championship. This event draws in 15,000 participants over two weekends, including more than 350 color guards and 250 percussion ensembles from 40 states and five different countries.
Bowie High School鈥檚 Winterguard is led by their director Daniel Riley and coaches Mark Leonard, Cheslee Morgan, Casey Kunze, Joey Powell, Michael Rosales, Katie Hopkins, Rick Subel. And they are no stranger to conquering at competitions. In fact, not only has the guard team been a consistent national finalist and state finalist, the team was selected to compete in China in 2019.
We wish the Winterguard all the best and safe travels as they embark on their big adventure. And we wish them all the smiles and silly joy during their pregame ritual of doing the Hokey Pokey to calm their nerves!
鈥淭he first time I held a flag I unlocked a new aspect of myself. The cracking sound of a flag whipping through the air in a perfect toss is a feeling like no other. Winterguard gives me a sense of freedom that other activities never did and that is the most important thing I鈥檝e always wanted in life.鈥� – 10th grader Lauren Roberts
鈥淭hough very time consuming, the absolute best organization for high school extracurricular because it teaches students how to organize their time!鈥� – parent Tammy Brown
鈥淰irtual school my freshman year was miserable for me, but this year Color Guard gave me friends that I can count on.鈥� – 10th grader Kayleigh Rhodes
This is an unedited user writing submission. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Best Version Media or its employees.