FHS Winter Guard Competes In International Competition

Writer / Demi Lawrence

Fishers High School’s winter guard team of 22 students placed 6th out of more than 300 schools at the Winter Guard International World Championships competition in Dayton, Ohio on April 6-8.

WGI brings hundreds of students together every year from around the country, and even from around the world, to perform and compete in several minute-long shows involving a mix of choreography, flag throwing, riffle throwing and much more. This placement alone is enough to turn heads in the winter guard world, but considering that this was FHS’s first appearance at WGI, it made the honor even more exciting for students and Varsity Director Kylee Hubbard.

“They went in ranked around 4th through 6th, and for their first time at WGI that is amazing,” Hubbard said. “That’s hard to do because a lot of these groups have been there for a long time, so to have Fishers come barreling through and get 6th place is great.”

Originally from Georgia, Hubbard became involved in guard in high school. Previously a cheerleader, Hubbard went out on a limb and decided to try guard instead.

The guard competed in the scholastic division of WGI, as well as in the open class. Out of three classes, open guard is the medium class in between A class, being the lowest, and world class, being the highest.

“In open class, you have a little bit more room to grow, and you can try harder things, even if you aren’t perfect at it,” Hubbard said. “I like open class because it’s a good sweet spot that allows room for the kids to grow, but we can still challenge them.”

The theme of the show this year was Where The Buffalo Roamed, and it showed the movement of the Native Americans from present day East Coast to the West. Hubbard and other directors found it difficult to choreograph and depict such a delicate topic, but despite this trial, Hubbard said that the students portrayed the perfect message.

“It wasn’t the easiest subject to perform for the students because it was such a touchy subject,” Hubbard said. “It was interesting to see how the show developed though and how the students saw it as an art. I thought the kids, for their first year being competitive and asking them to do a show that is so sophisticated and mature, did such an amazing job.”

Though winter guard season is over, Hubbard is already thinking about next season as well as summer season with marching band. During the fall, the guard plans to fine tune their techniques and plans in hopes to come out strong in the winter and be competitive at WGI World Championships once again.

“It’s only up from here, and I am very excited for next year and the years to come,” Hubbard said with a smile. “They have a lot of momentum right now.”

If you are interested in auditioning for fall guard or marching band at FHS, auditions are May 9, 11, 12 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Fishers High School in the Performance LGI Room. In order to be on the winter guard team, you must start in fall guard. It is open to any seventh grader going into eight grade and all students planning to attend FHS.

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