For winter guard and winter percussion, March is one of the busiest months of the year. It’s a month full of last-minute tweaks to routines and big competitions. Both groups tried to reach their peak performances at just right time.
Winter Guard in Las Vegas competition, March 19-20.
The winter guard group traveled to Nevada to compete in the Winter Guard International Regionals where they placed 12th out of 32 teams in semifinals. Winter guard had a late start, skipping the Jan. 9 exhibition at James Logan High School because their show wasn’t yet complete, but were able to successfully compete on Jan. 30 at James Logan.
Winter Guard in at James Logan High School competition, March 12.
Winter guard performed at the Union City Color Guard Regional on March 12, but was unable to make it into finals due to a penalty for crossing the boundaries of its stage.
“Our biggest fault is performing. We've consistently gotten first in equipment and movement, but we lose a lot of points in general effect,” co-captain junior Brittany Sample said. “If our guard remembers to smile and use facial expressions, then we'll be golden.”
Winter Percussion in American Canyon competition, March 12.
True to its word, winter percussion was able to complete its show for the competition at NCPA American Canyon on March 12, placing third out of 10 groups and losing to the first-place team by only 1.5 points. By the end of the season, winter percussion hopes to have a complete production to perform, as they are constantly adding various visual elements with every practice.
“I feel that we are slightly less prepared the the other groups because we started later,” junior marimbist Stephen Huie said. “But I believe we can make this a good season [since] the show is coming together quite well.”
Winter Percussion in Las Vegas competition, March 5- 6.
In this two-day competition, they placed second in the preliminaries the first day and second in finals the second day. The group was bumped down from first place because of a time penalty, since it had not been able to finish learning the entire show. Because participating in the Rose Parade extended the marching band season, winter percussion had a late start preparing its show this year, starting in January rather than November as usual. This impacted their show, but the team is recovering quickly.
“I feel that [the loss] was due to events out of our control, so I’m not too disappointed,” junior percussionist Daniel Liu said. “Everybody is working hard to learn new music; we hope to perform the full show [next time].”
Due to printing deadlines, the Falcon was unable to cover a competition on March 26.
