The End to the Color Guard Controversy

[SBrancheau]

I can't speak for the music dept. at my high school now (I'll have to talk with the band director), but the band, dance line and color guard had a pretty big budget. As far as the guard went, we had performance flags that stayed at school, and we bought poles from the hardware store and my dad cut them to length. My mom made many of the girls' practice flags.

Our guard and dance line uniforms were custom made for each member (I still have mine...wish I was that small again!...sheesh). We bought our own hose and short white marching boots. The hat and plume belonged to the school.

I've been at schools where moms have made uniforms, but we always had the flags custom-made. I always worked with the band director to have at least 1 new set of flags in the budget per year.

Car washes, spin-a-thons, candy sales, flower sales...you name it...we did it.

[LegalEagle50]

thank yer lucky stars if your band and guard gets a big budget. i can tell you that there a bunch of us wishing hoping and praying for that every year just to hear, sorry, we don't have any money for your kids at all.

[deftguy]

I thank GOD my school had a lousy football, basketball, and only a fair baseball team. It made the band the only game in town. Our band director marched in the 72 kingsman so he ran our band more like a corps. Bingo, corporate sponsorship, donations, extremely strong boosters all made out program extremely rich by most high school standards. We always marched a very large guard and no expense was spared to make them look good, and be extremely competitive. The only thing I purchased in all of my years was one practice flag, and my own rifles for practice which was MY choice. No uniform cost, very low tour costs, no performance rifle,sabre or flag costs. We always had our uniforms custom made for us, at least four different custom made flags for performances(we changed flags alot every year) That was good because it cost a fortune to fly from NY to Chicago and back for all Cavies rehersals, tour costs, membership fees, equipment etc. Now that is where I got my butt kicked.

[byline]

I thank GOD my school had a lousy football, basketball, and only a fair baseball team. It made the band the only game in town.

The band I worked for most of the years I taught guard had a fantastic band boosters' organization. The band got very little money from the school system, but these band boosters worked their butts off with all kinds of fund-raisers to make sure the band had everything it needed. It was pretty amazing what they were able to accomplish.

This particular school had some teams that were pretty competitive, but at that time the football team was not very good. So a lot of people went to the football games just for halftime. Once the band got done performing, the stands emptied out.

[LegalEagle50]

Norwalk has 2 competitive bands, one at each of at their high schools. The more successful of the 2 incorporated their band parents organization so they could be more involved in fund raising and oversee that money went directly to the band and guard. in CT it is some law that any fund raising you do has part of it go into a general school fund. so you may work your butt off, but you loose some of the funds to groups that already are getting more money, i.e. sports. and they really cracked down on 50/50 raffles and bingo isn't allowed at schools. now they are even trying to pass a no casino nite bill that would prevent more fundraisers. yup, but they want what's best for the kids. <_<

[dacolorguard1]

I humbly bow to our band parents organization. Without them, I have no guard equipment, uniforms, anything.

We have a set of 8 show rifles that belong to the band, the kids have to buy their own practice rifles.

We recycle and recycle flags. I did buy a sewing machine last year though :)

I am probably lumped into the "old school" category, BUT

the first thing I did when I started instructing at the high school I am at now I got rid of the pathetic military uniforms.

They brought back too many memories of my high school.

Wool skirts, nancy boots (had to be polished before EVERY show with vaseline...) and our wonderfully hot wool jacket that pretty much limited you to what you could do with your arms and to top it all off, our BLACK WOOL shako hat!!!

My girls now wear a very trendy one piece black outfit that has royal blue velvet tops trimmed in gold sequins.

I keep the old ones in the guard room to remind them of what they could be wearing if they don't practice hard. :P :P

[LegalEagle50]

okay, you brought up a good point about those old uniforms and man oh man, i think keeping one as a threat is a wonderful thing :P

but seriously, weren't those impossible to move in? i remember when our captains went to camp and brought back butterflys. we learned them, liked them, they were incorporated into the routines. then when we went out on the field the first time in the uniforms, geeze, there was NO give in the shoulder area. the ascot starts to pop out of the neck line. the cumberbund isnt' thrilled with the turns at the waist. an immediate run to a fabric store for velcro strips was in order to try and keep all the uni pieces in place. while the band director is screaming about "don't alter the uniforms too much, a band kid might have to wear that top next year blah blah blah".

any one else have these problems with their uniforms as your work started to evolve? yes, i realize it's probably only a bunch of us that relate to this question. :) the kids out there really have no idea what it was like back then. thankfully. B)

[LancerFi]

I thought we were talking about the butterflies that BD used, now those were one of the best props I've ever seen in drum corps.

Our uniforms were not made of wool. But I bet many were. We couldn't afford wool!

And our guard did/I mean invented the butterfly move (or what Malibu calls 6/8s) with ascot/cross strap/shirt/skirt/hat, and no I never saw any of my quard members looking unkempt at all. It's all in what you're taught and what you are used to.

The busbys, well yes we did do a lot of head moves, a lot, in busbys, but I would venture to say that my neck hurts now because of some of the stuff we pounded out with them on. You had to have brass b###s to wear those - it was womens suffrage and "our" lot in life to suffer that I guess! :P

Top Guard in 79 (and prior) and Top GE and Guard in 80 did help my neck a little, when I was 22 and on the field, but not any more!

[LancerFi]

The majority of people I know have left as fans. It's a real shame. I used to be able to go to a show as far away as Philly, in other words not our local shows, and there would be whole sections of us. Now I'm happy if I know that 10 people have gone.

I realize that both of the corps I marched in are gone, but I marched 11 years, and I don't believe this is an "all guard" reason, but that is usually the first thing people talk about. We were a hot bed and have states full of alumni who did used to go to I'd say an average of 8-10 shows a year. Regionals and finals included, and it did not matter where they were!

When I first came back from my hiatus, I didn't like what I saw. I guess it's not a question any longer of what people need, it's what people want. There are things that I love about new guards, some things leave me speechless, other things leave me speech less as well.

If anyone goes to a rehearsal and looks into the eyes of any of the guard member 21 and under, you may see yourself in those eyes some day. They do work very, very hard, and do very difficult things, all while having many, many responsibilities on the field.

Having said all of that, I find I don't get that Wow moment or an awe moment or a mystique all that often while watching guards on the field. I do once in a while, but not from every corps.

If I watch a tape from the 80s most of the time I need to see a move again just to believe what I'm seeing. Thanks for videos and dvds.

[SBrancheau]

Regarding WOW moments:

Amen and Amen.