Avon Grove Winter Guard Shines in First Season
The Avon Grove High School winter guard team just finished its inaugural season with a 6th-place finish in the novice category at the regional championships held in Wildwood, NJ, in early May. As a result of their successful performances, the group has advanced to the intermediate level competition category for next season.
Winter guard is the sport of indoor color guard, which involves the use of flags, mock sabers, mock rifles, and other equipment, as well as dance and other forms of interpretive movement.
Color guards perform and compete for many high schools, middle schools, and some universities, as well as independent organizations, some of which are related to drum corps.
The color guard has been an integral part of the Avon Grove High School marching band for some time, but they joined the competitive indoor guard winter circuit for the first time this year under the direction of Michelle Adcock, and volunteers Adam Albright and Kasi Crossan.
According to Adcock, students wanted to participate in an indoor program and Avon Grove High School senior Megan Hossler wrote a proposal to add the activity, which administrators and school board members approved.
“While many of the marching band members participate in concert ensembles during winter to hone their playing skills, guard members now have the opportunity to keep up their color guard skills during the marching band off-season," said Adcock.
The team consists of 16 members, some marching band veterans and other students new to the sport.
From February 2008 through April 2008, the winter guard competed twice per month in the Scholastic Novice Class of the Tournament of Bands Indoor Color Guard Circuit.
Their program, titled “The Dream Begins With Us,” was choreographed to the song “Dream On” by Fisher.
The Avon Grove indoor guard placed either first or second in all the competitions leading up to the Chapter 3 Philadelphia Region Championships held on April 26, where they placed 5 th out of 20 teams that competed in the novice category. They then advanced to the All-Chapter Championships held in Wildwood on May 1-3, 2008, where they placed 6th.
Row 1: Megan Murphy, Megan Hossler, Carrie Graybeal, Kellie McGarvey
Row 2: Ashley Jones, Amanda Akehurst, Jessica Padilla, Corrin Stilwell, Lauren Gerson
Row 3: Cristy Bedolla, Claire Engle, Cori Quickel, Linda McClellan, Jessica Gebauer, Sophia Antognini, Morgan Oxenford
