Winter guard completes first season, plans for future

Members of winter guard smile as they take their positions on the floor, gathering around a wedding dress clad member in a formation reminiscent of a wedding party picture pose.

“Is the guard ready?”

As “Just A Dream” by Carrie Underwood begins to play, the Bearden winter guard begins their final performance of the season.

The season drew to a close on March 28 at Karns High School where the guard ranked fourth place.

Saturday’s competition was the final of four that the guard competed in over the course of the semester, the school’s first time competing as a winter guard.

“We tried having a group that performed at a home basketball games a few years ago, but we’ve never had a ‘real’ winter guard that competes at competition before,” band director Mr. Jamie Wilson said.

With one second place and two fourth place finishes under their belt, the guard is happy to have completed their first season, and is already beginning to plan for the future.

“(Color guard instructor) Kristin (Johnson) already has ideas for next year’s show, and she’d like for us to move up a class, so we’re hoping we’ll get invited to do that,” senior Taylor Jenkins said.

Johnson hasn’t decided for sure yet, but watching other guards’ performances at competitions provided inspiration. Some of the team members particularly enjoyed a zombie-themed show.

“We all love the creepy shows, but [Johnson] says we need better facials before we can pull that off,” sophomore Rain Campbell said.

So, clad with pink and silver bead necklaces and pink tiaras purchased by Johnson as celebratory tokens of a completed season, winter guard left Karns High School reminiscing over a completed season, and wondering what next year’s season will bring.