Brisk air whips at the ends of flags as they fly out of the hands of their brightly clothed counterparts and up toward the sky. Soon, the air will not interfere with the motion and the focus will only be on the color guard, not the melody of marching horns, winds and percussion around them. Soon, the flags become batons or prop rifles which remain under close watch with every flick of the wrist or bend in the knee. But for now, the flags stand awaiting the security of a windless gymnasium.
With the marching band season coming to an end, the winter color guard program becomes some students’ new sport. Overlapping with the fall season for a few weeks, the winter color guard program starts strong with a minimum of two practices a week in preparation for Saturday competitions. Revere students Megan Riley Annabelle Steiner and Natalie Morel are among some of the students participating in winter guard this year.
Although it is not a school sanctioned event, Revere color guard instructors highly recommend it for those who are interested in the sport.
A performer throughout her elementary, middle and high school career, Patricia Beggy found her passion in dance and brought it to the next level after becoming an adjudicator for everything from drum corps to baton twirling. Having judged the World Championships, high school athletes and everything in between, Beggy holds credentials in all four visual captions — movement, style, equipment and general effect — and was generous enough to outline the many different aspects of winter guard and what makes it unique.
“In winter color guard for the competitions it’s solely focused on the guard itself. They become the feature, the focus, so it’s all about them as in the terms of them being part of the whole,” Beggy said.
Winter guard requires a lot more from athletes than one might expect. In fact, many people do not realize just how intense of a sport it is. Some athletes travel the country to perform, dedicating their time and energy into learning complicated throws and moves to win state level competitions. Winter guard is also unlike other sports because it combines theatrics with athletic skill.
“[Winter guard] is competitive as opposed to being just an exhibition. It’s considered a sport. One of the things people don’t realize is the athleticism and the artistry and the skill development that you have to have to really be good at mastering this. When they come inside and they are in a closed environment with the gym, and they choose their theme and their costume and their music and their props or their colors, they really have to develop almost like you would for theater,” Beggy said.
The four different components (movement, style, equipment and general effect) each focus on a certain part of the guard’s performance. The general effect caption relates to the overall feel of the performance and how everything comes together. Then there is the design portion, which is separate from the general effect and judges the details of the show.
“There’s the design component — which is different from how it makes you feel — it’s the nuts and bolts of it. How was it written? How is it choreographed? Is it logical? Does it make sense? Does it progress like the arc of a theater production?” Beggy said.
Adjudicators judge equipment in the way it is used and how it is used. There are certain pieces of equipment the guard must utilize: the saber, rifle and flag. A guard does not have to use all three but is required to have at least one for a certain amount of time during the program. In the past Revere has used the rifle and flag in their performances but stuck with the flag for the season this year.
“A lot of color guards may do one or two, or all three, but some of the color guards at the world level may just come out with flags or with rifles,” Beggy said.
Movement judges tune in to the physical effort of the dance. Beggy explains how it does not matter the style, the movement judge looks at the way the performers were trained and how well they can do the movement with the equipment they have in hand. A movement judge also takes into consideration the skill behind some of the trickier catches that involve going from rolling to standing again.
When it comes to style, the judge focuses on how the guard stays true to their original style. According to Beggy, a style could be anything from hip-hop to ballet and can include many different themes like military or storytelling aspects.
In an average competition there are five judges; one for each caption and an additional general effect judge.
In order to become a judge, one first has to have a background in the event they want to judge along with recommendations, as well as previous participacion or teaching in the event. From there, one would choose which caption they would like to judge and then take classes specially on that event. The next step would be to provide audio commentary on a color guard performance – as that is how the competition judges provide feedback.
“If you pass that, then after a year, sometimes two, you can do local shows. Then after you train and do local things, there’s regional contests. But to get to the national level, you have to have a minimum of up to five years of judging successfully at levels. You also build your reputation through local contests, regional contests [and] national contests. To judge at the highest levels you have to take skill level tests,” Beggy said.
Dancing since six years old, Beggy has made sure to have some form of the art in her life at all times. She described how growing up she grew to love the community aspect and the sense of belonging she got from being a part of a sport. Having done many of the different pageantry arts (baton twirling, drum corps, bugle core), Beggy was immersed in the activity.
“I’ve been all over the world because of this pageantry activity [and] I am a competitive person. For me it was the physicality of it, and it was developing skills and because of the friends I made and the places we traveled. And then as I developed skills over the years and became better at it, then I loved the competitive aspect of it and the international aspect of it,” Beggy said.
In addition to judging color guard competitions, Beggy became an educator and recently retired from being an elementary school principal at Cambridge Public Schools. She reflected on her time in the education system and how her years in guard and other school activities drove her to this position.
“Whether it was my choral teacher, whether it was the color guard instructor, whether it was the band instructor or my dance instructor, whoever I was working with, that I would be in the afterschool programs with, their dedication and their caring really led me. [They] opened my eyes to believe that you can make a difference in children’s lives or that you can help make high school, which has its ups and downs, [better],” Beggy said.
Beggy encourages students to get involved because it is such a different way of expression that allows students to remain physically fit and have an outlet to express themselves. Megan Riley was the captain of the color guard this past fall season and has participated in winter color guard in the past. Winter guard became appealing for her after a coach recommended she give it a try.
“Once I realized that there were more people who actually loved doing the activity there, it was instant. It was my favorite thing,” Riley said.
Annabelle Steiner, an upperclassman who joined the color guard this fall season, is looking forward to participating in the winter guard for the first time.
“It’s just having that sense of community and being together and honestly the sectionals are fun for me. It’s going to be a really new experience for me, but I think just making new friends and being a part of this community and developing my skills [will be fun],” Steiner said.
Because winter guard is not a sport that the school sponsors, but rather an outside club, color guard is something many students and faculty are not aware of. Winter guard is a technical, athletic, artistic sport that requires as much time and energy as other sports if not more. Combining theatrics and physicality into one performance takes serious coordination and teamwork, giving students a great outlet for expression while teaching them valuable skills and lessons along the way.
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