Following their season with the marching band, the UC High Color Guard Team is planning to impress judges with their space-themed performance, titled Countdown, which has already gained multiple first place awards at competitions so far this season.

   Color Guard Captain Senior Jenna Smith said, “Color guard is a performing art that is the visual representation of music. It combines the emotion and color to the floor or field that represents what’s going on rhythmically.” The performances in color guard involve props like flags, rifles, and sabres, according to Smith, but most importantly, it’s about dance.

   According to Junior Zane Hutchins, “We mainly use elements of ballet and contemporary dance in our performance, but add in weapons to add extra flair.”

   Smith said, “I think it’s been a pretty positive start to the season. We have had two first places and one second place so far, but we’re never shooting to beat other people, just do our own personal best. I think we are on the trajectory for a very positive finish.”

   Senior Sam O’Brien said, “Color guard isn’t a traditional sport in the sense that it’s measured by how many goals you make, but it’s still something that you have to work towards and we compete towards. Our success is measured by judges and the scoring is very subjective.” During every performance, judges watch the color guard teams perform and give a score based on the following criteria: equipment, movement, design, general effect, timings and penalties (westcoastwg.org).

   “Our show is called Countdown, and it’s to a cover of Rocket Man by Elton John. We are telling the story of what happens between the start and end of the countdown of a rocket. Our story is essentially a journey through space,” said Hutchins.

   The show starts with the traditional rocket countdown that one would hear before a liftoff, with all of the dancers clumped in a group at the back. The sabre line starts to slowly pour out, passing their weapons off to one another. As the show continues, different elements and techniques like rifles, chalk drawing and flags are brought into the mix.

   “I really love the flag [ensemble] that we all do at the end, where everyone comes together to participate in the same spin and throw routine for a little bit before the finale,” said Freshman Hazel Bryden.

   O’Brien said, “Compared to previous shows, this one has more layers. Since we now have more people, we’re able to do more work and there’s always more than one technique going on the floor. We’re able to exhibit a wider range of skills and moves which I think has been the best part of the show.”

   “Our numbers have doubled due to the work of seniors in recruitment, and I think that the new influx of freshmen has been really positive, providing new life for the team. The new energy and spirit means that we can provide even more of an impact on the floor with new flags,” said Smith.

    “I’m really happy with how much color guard has grown over the years. Starting my junior year, it was just the three captains and I who were going to be staying through winterguard. I’m really happy with how the team has grown since then,” said O’Brien.

   Hutchins said, “So far this season has been going really well for the guard as a whole. The freshmen are learning a lot, especially during the winter, because we have more time for practicing the basics.” Bryden added, “I think that I’ve learned a lot since the last season. My skills are improving a lot.”

   Freshman Zaira Hernandez said, “Ms. Tracy [the team’s coach] has put in a lot of effort along with our other choreographers and I applaud them for that, because it has been really stressful, especially with how complicated this show is. We won first place two times though, so I think we’re going to rock the next few shows.”

   “There’s a lot of challenges when it comes to guard, especially the late night practices that end at 9 p.m. and the time we have to put in. Another one is failing at new skills and sometimes getting hurt because of it, or the stress that it gives you because you might be running behind on homework or you just can’t get that one part of the show down. But where there is success there are challenges, so it’s all worth it at the end of the day,” said Hernandez.