Color Guard Competes at TCGC
Westside High School’s Color Guard team headed off to championships! On Saturday, March 25th, the team performed at Pearland High School in the Texas Color Guard Circuit (TCGC). After marching season ends, the color guard team participates in Winterguard, a completely different competition which showcases different color guard teams from around the Texas area and is highly prized. Unlike traditional color guard, it is performed indoors and without the marching band present. TCGC hosted several competitions for different color guard teams to showcase their talent at different high schools, some being Klein Forest, Morton Ranch, and several others.
The competition is divided into several rankings depending on the level of experience of the color guard team performing. Cadet is the lowest ranking, followed by Novice (Red), Novice (Blue), Scholastic Regional A (White), Scholastic Regional A (Red), Scholastic Regional A (Blue), and Scholastic JV, being for junior varsity color guard students. During the beginning of the season, Westside was in Scholastic Regional A – Blue class but was promoted up to Red in the middle of the season.
Transportation to Pearland High was unpredictable due to the lack of the bus at the correct time it was supposed to come. A miscommunication between faculty members caused for the bus to arrive promptly at 7:00 am on Saturday morning instead of the planned time of 12:30 pm. Westside was scheduled to perform at 2:51 pm, but because of the mix-up, the start time was pushed back to 4:30 pm. With the new time, the guard was able to relax and effectively perform without fear of not being able to perform.
Unfortunately, Westside placed 14th out of 15th total guards, but they are not discouraged. The color guard director, Casey Biswell described the loss as a “learning experience and will not prevent the team from being the best they possibly can.” Most important is the improvements the team made personally, cleaning up the routine and making it look better each performance. Color guard captain, Natalie Cardenas stated, “Even though we lost championships, I’m proud of my team.” Westside beat Angleton High School while Aldine High School swept the category, placing first in the Scholastic Regional A-Red class division.