Color guard
The color guard is typically a small number of soldiers (4 is common) charged with protecting the flag and performing flag raising and lowering ceremonies. Flag raising and lowering ceremonies normally require two people to handle the flag. Thus, the color guard usually has extra members who can guard the flag while the primary two members are busy handling it.
Also, a color guard is a non-musical section of a marching band. Originally, a military color guard often travelled with the band, which would presumably be playing a patriotic song of some sort. This use continued into the civilian marching bands; and, today, a marching band color guard will normally carry flags, banners, mock rifles or mock swords, much as a military color guard does. Other props, of a nature relevant to the theme of the musical program, are also used. Marching band color guards can grow very large, often rivalling the number of musicians in the band.
Some color guards also participate in competitions that exclude the musical performers. Most of these guards are found in North America. Held indoors, typically in gymnasiums, these competitions are a growing part of the pagentry activity which also includes marching bands and drum corps. Color guards involved in these indoor competitions may be a part of a high school or college marching band or may be stand-alone club activities in these educational institutions. Some guards are "independent" and are self-sponsored or attached to a non-profit organization such as a veterans post, a church, or a municipal recreation department. Such guards can draw members from a wide range of ages and areas. Guards may range in size from less than a dozen to over two dozen members.
In the past, color guard membership was limited to those under 22 years of age (except for the small number of adult guards) but Winter Guard International (WGI), a governing body for much of the competitive guard activity, raised the age limit for the highest class of independent guard. By the 1970s, most guard competitions were influenced by military marching and were performed to live drum cadences or were silent, relying on the footfalls of the members or the vocal cadences called out by the guard captain. That style evolved into the modern guard and WGI was formed in the late '70s set the stage for more standardized national competitive rules and judging.
Guards perform a show, now typically set to edited recorded music, that incorporates the classic guard equipment of flags, rifles, and sabres. The movement is highly stylized and largely influenced by dance. Members are drilling in the combination of equipment and movement until they have a polished presentation. Choreographers and designers often help meld the music, equipment work, and movement and some units use expressive make-up and facial accents to convey their show theme. Elaborate props -- which must be able to be assembled and disassembled rapidly to fulfill rigid competition time requirements -- and colored plastic tarps are frequently used to tranform the gym floor into a temporary stage.
Units are judged on the effect of the design of the show and the aptitude of the members in movement and equipment work. Expectations and timing are different for the varying classes of unit with longer shows and more stringent requirements as the units ascend to "World Class."
Competitions are generally held from January through early May with local circuits accounting for most of the competitions nationwide. WGI sponsors widely attended Regional Championships leading to the national championship typically held in Mid-April.
The WGI guard movement also spawned indoor percussion contests which are often quite similar to the guard contests in movement and design.
See www.wgi.org for more information.
