By Ada Kessler

If you’re looking to try a unique winter sport, McCaskey’s new competitive color guard could be perfect for you. McCaskey currently has two color guards, the marching band color guard and the military/peacekeepers color guard. Competitive color guard is more similar to marching band color guard. Even with its similarities, competitive color guard is its own entity.

Competitive color guard began in 1977 when six people came together to form The Winter Guard International, or WGI; today, they’re the world’s “premier organization producing indoor color guard, percussion, and winds competitions” according to WGI themselves. The idea likely came from DCI (Drum Corps International), an elite league of competitive marching bands. Since its creation, winter guard has grown exponentially, with 15,000 people competing in the April WGI Championships. There has certainly been a growing interest in competitive guard seeing these numbers, but what is competitive color guard really?

Winter color guard combines performance with athleticism to create a challenging yet fun experience for all. The sport has a mix of flags, wooden rifles, plastic sabres, and dance all within one show. Each show is roughly 3-4 minutes with a specific song and theme as well as distinct costumes and makeup. These aspects together create a sport that focuses on physical skill alongside artistic performance.

This year, McCaskey’s new winter guard’s show song will be Riptide by Vance Joy. The winter guard will be entering as the lowest class, “Novice” due to this being their first year. Auditions will be held on Saturday, November 2nd; no one will be cut, it is just to see what you are most skilled at. If all this has intrigued you, try something new and give McCaskey’s winter guard a chance!