On Friday, April 6, everything that could have gone wrong, did. The winterguard team waited outside the school, filled with excitement and nerves, but it was not the routine they had to fear, it was getting to the competition. The vans to take the team to the Florida State Fairgrounds never turned up, so they found two vans. To their dismay, one of the vans had a broken AC unit, causing water to spill all over the floor.

Then, the keys to open the trailer were not delivered. The truck that was taking the equipment to Daytona broke down. At that point, the team did not even know if they would get to compete. On arrival, the team began warming up for the show outside, and the wind caused members to continuously drop their weapons.

“The whole day was a train wreck,” senior Alyse Booth said.

But as soon as the team stepped into the building, it all changed. Tosses were caught and the excitement began to kick in. Walking on to the floor, the team got set, and their routine began. All three features—flag, sabre and rifle—were clean. The coaches watched in disbelief; they were not aware of how well the team could have performed, until they witnessed it.

Winterguard received third place in the FFCC Championships AAA, Anastasia Division. With a score of 71.06, the team set a new record for the school.
“We were all ecstatic and just so happy and proud of one another and ourselves,” said sophomore Annie Yartz.

The team worked for several months on their show, based off the Tim Burton – directed film, Big Fish. The show was the idea of coach Haakon Burntvedt, one of the two new coaches hired this season, who created a new environment.

“Everyone got together, began to do stuff together and became closer,” sophomore Mady Alessandri said.

In order to grow as a team, the winterguard members participated in group bonding activities, like an escape room.

“I was so happy because we worked really hard, but it was the last time we would do a show together,” junior Bam Siriak said.

A new determination was evident, shown when they achieved a score less than one point from taking home first place.

Tryouts for next season were held on Tuesday and Thursday, April 8 and 10. Although the colorguard season is just starting, the coaches have already began planning the next winterguard show, in hopes of being on top.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9P3CArtuP8