As the fall marching season comes to a close, the Dublin High School color guard remains hard at work preparing for their upcoming winter guard competitions. After countless hours of practice and many awards won in this past Irish guard season, many students are looking forward to what the color guard has in store for this winter season.
Color guard combines interpretive dance and equipment tricks into a fascinating visual spectacle. Sometimes performing to the music of a marching band, or other times to pre-recorded music, color guard is both a sport and an art which requires skilled choreography, teamwork, coordination, and many hours of practice.
For those unfamiliar with the color guard and how it’s organized, it usually partners with Dublin High’s marching band every fall season to bring outdoor field shows to football games and regional competitions.
“Irish guard is the term for both the color guard and the marching band together, usually in reference to the fall season,” explains Dublin High color guard junior Elena Guo. In contrast, the winter guard is “usually inside and is only [the] color guard.”
On the topic of practice, Elena noted, “The toughest part of color guard could honestly be time management. . . it takes up a pretty large chunk of my schedule—about 13 hours of practice a week. . . up to 20 hours a week [on competition weeks].”
Not only is color guard a huge time commitment, but competition can get quite intense. As DHS senior and color guard captain Andre Lee remarked: “The toughest part is near the end of the season when practice time between each competition gets shorter. . . [it] can get a little stressful.”
However, most color guard students enjoy the thrill of performance despite the stress involved. “There is just a really warm feeling when you perform to others that you can’t really explain,” Andre added. “[Color guard is] a large time commitment. . . but the end product is always worth it.”
This past season, the DHS color guard made several important achievements and won multiple awards. It has consistently outperformed some of the best schools in the region, and has even come close to schools like James Logan High School, a world-class team considered among the best in the nation.
“We got second place at the regional championships and first at the competition before that: Sacramento State,” Elena explained.
Andre added on to this impressive list: “This past fall season [color guard] was able to get 1st place in the 5A division at the NorCal Super Show.”
The success of the DHS color guard team can be attributed to the dedication of each one of its members, especially the stellar instructors teaching and choreographing the team. When asked about what she was most proud of after this fall season, color guard junior Sasha Wirchniansky stated, “I am really proud of the team as a whole and our incredible instructors: Mr. Saelee, Maggie Nguyen, and Grace Holmes!”
DHS’s color guard is always looking for new members. While tryouts for this year’s winter guard have already passed, any student is welcome to join the team next year. When asked about her advice for any students wanting to join the color guard, Sasha responded, “My advice for anyone interested in guard is to go for it! We have tons of fun and as long as you’re willing to push yourself, you will really enjoy it.”
