by Kelsey Eidson | Staff Writer

Our award-winning winter guard is coming full force into year three of tryouts. They are to be held in the Johnson band room on the 10th and 11th of November.

“Absolutely anyone can join,” color guard coach Darryl Pemberton said.

Previous experience is not necessary to be a part of the sensational program.

“Anyone who joins really becomes part of our family,” senior Lauren Bossllar said.

Boys are also welcome to join the color guard.

“It’s definitely a co-ed sport,” Pemberton said. “A lot of great color guards around the country have boys and girls; and plus, from a design standpoint, you can get it a little more variety when you have boys in the group.”

Senior Nick Gower, a saxophonist from our marching band, has been a participant in the winter guard since year one.

“Nick practices more than anyone in the guard, and he is for sure one of our best members,” sophomore Megan Vance said.

24 people are needed to be members of this group to make the trip to the WGI [Winter Guard International] national championships in Dayton, Ohio possible. The maximum number of teammates able to make the trip is 40.=.

“Dayton is going to be a four day excursion, as the guard competes on a national level for the first time ever,” Pemberton said. “We go up against about 110 color guards in our class, and there’s probably over 500 groups that are going to be up in Dayton throughout the entire weekend, so its gonna be a pretty amazing festivity.”

The trip is a landmark excursion for the team, and the boys and girls in the program are ecstatic to be competing on such a high level.

“I am so excited for Dayton,” Bossllar said. “We have been waiting for this for three years, and we finally get the chance to show what we have at such a big competition.”

Competition is what these dedicated performers live for, and the amazing choreography from the director and the skills from these hardworking members show in their high marks at competition.

“Being at competitions is one of my favorite places to be,” Vance said. “It is just filled with people obsessed with guard, and everyone is trying to prove to each other that they are the most hardcore guard there, and that’s what we want to prove in Dayton.”