Dedication

When I began my Color Guard career, I was only 13 years old. I joined my local High School’s Color Guard group and spun with them for 8 seasons before considering a competitive Color Guard atmosphere. I joined Blessed Sacrament Open Color Guard in 2014-2015, there was a lot of new things to experience. I am currently marching with this organization five years later, preparing for our 2019 performance.

At auditions, we were given packets explaining in detail what the Blessed Sacrament organization was all about, and what our requirements as a member were.  When it was time, the audition began.  The whole day consisted of stretching, warm-ups, dance block, learning a dance, and learning equipment work. 

After the first day, my friends and I spent nearly an hour just sitting and crying in our car when we got home. We never experienced Color Guard like this before, but we were determined to learn more!

We were all asked to join the Blessed Sacrament Open Color Guard. As we continued to take part in this activity, we slowly learned what it meant to be a member of a team.

Our season begins in October and continues through to WGI Finals, which are held in Dayton, Ohio.  This time period ranges over seven months. Over the weekend, our practices ranged from about 12-15 hours.  We would drive for nearly an hour and a half each way to make it to practice each day.    We would follow our daily schedules, and put all of our energy into what we were doing. 

As members, we have the responsibility to pay dues during the season to pay for uniforms, props, transportation, and for hotels to stay at during competitions out of state.  The origination holds many fundraisers, which not only help raise money for the organization, but for the members to raise money to pay for their dues as well. 

The staff that work with us throughout the season, do not get paid for their time.  The members have their dedication that they put into everything that they do, and the staff dedicate their time to the members to teach us everything that they have learned throughout their Color Guard experience.

Each member must dedicate time both in and out of practice in order to help improve him or her.  Keeping up with stretching and exercise throughout the week outside of practice helps further muscle development and flexibility.  Practicing with each piece of equipment helps further ones own ability to use the piece of equipment, which they spin throughout the season.

It takes a lot of time to put together a show that runs for five minutes.  It takes a lot of time to teach each individual member of the group a routine for each second of the show.  It takes a lot of time to work on each individual section to make sure that they know how to successfully apply it into the section of their show. 

All of this may sound scary, but the time and effort is worth it.  Each Color Guard has their own regiments, which they follow; this is just what I know from my years of experience with Blessed Sacrament Open Color Guard. 

Below is the first show that I had the opportunity to perform with Blessed Sacrament Open Color Guard.