Since November, winter guard has had various rehearsals refining their show to perform it Saturday at the North Texas Colorguard Association competition in Wylie.

“In order to prepare for these competitions, the guard puts hours throughout class and rehearsals,” junior Mary Katherine Sacil (MK) said. “With some members even spending their free time working and refining their individual performances.”

Winter guard competitions are all about the group and their skills which is different from their marching band competitions in that their mistakes are more exposed at NTCA according to sophomore Isabella Wang. 

“Two major differences [between marching season and winter guard] are the fact that there’s no band marching with you, and it’s on a much smaller scale,” Wang said. “We perform in gymnasiums to a pre-recorded soundtrack, which means the music is always consistent. A downside of the smaller scale means that mistakes are so much more obvious, but that’s what practicing is for.”

Beyond competing on Saturday, the guard competitions are an opportunity to see other schools’ shows and learn from their skills.

”My favorite part of competitions [are] when we watch the other guards perform and see the types of shows everyone is performing and [their] different skills,” sophomore guard member Alabhaya Agrawal said. [My] favorite part [is] when we get to hang out with our friends and get to perform for a different crowd.”