What is color guard?

By: Bella Dalba

Until 1937, the term “color guard” referred solely to an institution of the military: namely, a detachment of soldiers assigned to the protection of regimental flags. These flags were generally awarded to a regiment by the Head-of-State during a ceremony, and were inscribed with battle honors or other symbols representing former achievements. As they represented the honor and traditions of the regiment, the loss of a unit's flag was not only shameful, but losing this central point of reference could result in the unit disbandment. Regiments began to adopt color guards, a detachment of experienced or élite soldiers, to protect their colors. As a result, the capture of an enemy's standard was considered as a great feat of arms. Obviously due to the advent of modern weapons, and subsequent changes in tactics, colors are no longer used in battle, but continue to be carried by color guards at formal events, where they are ceremonially armed with either sabres or rifles.

Derived from the original, distinctly disciplined practice, a more modernized version of color guard has evolved. Now found in most American colleges, universities, and high schools, it incorporates the traditional aspects of a military color guard (flags, steel sabres, wooden rifles) into dance routines, similar to dance theater. There are many different types of spins that can be done with the each, as every spin creates a different illusion and can be utilized for different tempos. Beginners typically start out with flags, and move onto a rifle or sabre after their first or second year. New recruits often have to work to learn technique, build upper body strength, and balance the weighted flags. Despite being weighted, however, weather conditions such as wind and rain can affect a flag's spin and disrupt a toss if not correctly taken into account, which all freshman members must learn to compensate for. First-year guardie Brittny Velasco illustrates, saying,“At first, spinning a flag was really hard. I would have to go outside and practice all the time, and that was just for the basic moves. Now I have [defined] muscles I didn’t even know existed!”

Color guards typically accompany a marching band or a drum and bugle corps as a non-musical section, not only providing additional visual aspects to the performance, but interpreting the music through synchronized routines as well. Color guards also may use backdrops to bring color and scenery to the field if the concept of the show is difficult to discern. The performance generally takes place on a football field, either during home football games (out of tradition) or when bands compete during the fall. During these competitions, the guard adds to the overall score of the band, but is also judged in its own category, usually called auxiliary (Seckman’s Jaguar Pride Marching Color Guard ’14 took first in this category at every competition they participated in). The ancillary name is based upon the original purpose for color guards in marching bands, to be a “supplement” to the music. Don’t tell that to Lori Blessing, Seckman’s Color Guard Instructor: “The color guard is as integral to a show as the band itself. Without one another, the story cannot be told.”

Before it was a subsidiary role, however, flag spinning was an independent art form: the traditional Swiss art of flag swinging, or “Fahnenschwingen,” was an Olympic sport. The 1936 Olympian Franz Hug of Lucern, Switzerland, came to America and introduced flag swinging in 1937. Leonard Haug, then an assistant band director at the University of Wisconsin, was intrigued by the concept, and created ten flags representing the schools of the Big Ten Conference. The following year, he was hired by the University of Oklahoma, and became the first person to introduce the technique in the Southwest. He formed a corps of Big Six Conference flag swingers for the Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band. By 1940, O.U. flag swingers were participating at basketball games and creating innovative routines with two flags. As Director of the O.U. Band, Haug wrote a training guide for flag swinging and an article for a swing flag brochure, assisting the spread of the trend to other marching bands.

Color guards spread quickly throughout the country. The unique visual effect of spinning flags drew the attention of crowds and quickly caught on. Having visual impact for pieces played when the band stood still added a whole new dimension to the performance. By the late 1970s, and into the mid-1980s, color guards had been added to most Southwest Conference, Big Ten and Big 8 (currently Big 12) bands. Once these prominent university bands had color guards, there was widespread inclusion of guards at high schools across the nation in the 1980s and 1990s. The popularity of color guard grew so much that it evolved into a separate activity known as winter guard.

According to WGI.org, a winter guard is defined as “a team of highly skilled individuals who work to create and perform complex sequences of dance, music, and use of special equipment, such as sabres, rifles, and flags, to compete by division.” It is an indoor activity performed in gymnasiums. The floor is typically covered by an individually designed tarp (also called a floor mat or floor) that generally reflects the show being performed on it. The guard performs to a piece of pre-recorded music, as opposed to the music of a band, and are allotted only one song, as opposed the three to four movements of marching band. Winter guards compete independently in such circuits as Winter Guard International (WGI) and Tournament Indoor Association (TIA).

WGI is best known for coining the phrase "The Sport of the Arts," due to the equally athletic and artistic nature of winter guard, which has become the unofficial slogan among participants. Co-founded in 1977 by six people, the goal of WGI was to organize and standardize the activity by creating skill levels, scoring systems, venues, and competitions. Today, WGI hosts many regional competitions which lead up to the World Championships, a three-day event in which hundreds of winter guard groups come together to compete. Groups participating in a WGI event are placed into one of eight categories: Middle School, Regional A, Scholastic A, Independent A, Scholastic Open, Independent Open, Scholastic World, or Independent World. Your Seckman Jaguar Winter Guard, now going into its third season, competes in the Scholastic A circuit, where they became state champions during their 2013-2014 season.