Perry’s winter guard season is looking very good with improving scores and weekly practices. Junior Kiara Deliman says, “The past two years we have placed fifth in our division, but this season we have been placing second in all of our competitions.”

Winter guard is a sport that doesn’t get a lot of attention and with its recent success, it deserves recognition.

What people don’t realize is without it, Friday night football halftime shows would be a lot more boring. So who is color guard?

“Color guard is a group activity. This year we have a varsity and a JV. It’s dance oriented, we spin different types of equipment, like a six foot pole with a silk, a saber, and a rifle.” says Junior Emily Martorana.

Deliman adds, “Winter guard is a completely indoor sport. It’s a lot more dance a lot more up close and personal.”

Winter guard, like all other sports, competes on a regular basis. They have meets every Saturday up until the beginning of April where they then go to state and compete for regionals. This season proves to be successful and according to Deliman the secret is, “practice, a lot of practice.”

Deliman mentioned their detailed practice schedule, “we practice every morning from about 6:15 until first hour and then Tuesdays and Thursdays [after school] and sometimes Saturdays.”

When asked about their most difficult competition, Martorana answers, “Williams Field, they always beat us by about six points.”

The point system comes from the similar grading system used in diving. “So there are different categories where the judges score you. Theres top judges who do the overall score,” Martorana explained, “and bottom judges who judge the smaller things like if your foot is pointed. There is a section for technique, movement, and timing.”

Martorana says, “ I think it’s a really great sport. I think it has a lot of cool qualities and it’s fun to watch. Not a lot of people know about it.”

She is right, so next time you’re watching the halftime show at a friday night football game wherever you are, watch the beauty and talent of winter guard, you won’t regret it.