Winter Warriors Make Strides, Gear Up for Championships

The Oconee High School winterguards came away with season-high scores on much-improved performances in competition at the Sawnee Mountain Invitational Color Guard Contest at Forsyth Central High School last weekend.

The JV Warriors posted a 57.78 in Novice Class, the highest score the new unit has ever received in competition, while the varsity guard earned a near-best-ever 63.33 in Scholastic AA. The senior squad’s mark was an improvement of nearly ten full points over their last score, earned at a contest back in February.

Winterguard scores are given on a scale of up to 100 points. The judges' criteria is more exacting as the guards move up in class, so the higher the class the more difficult it becomes to earn a given score. A complete list of unit classes and the scores and placements received at the Sawnee Mountain Invitational may be found here.

The Invitational was the Winter Warriors’ final chance to receive judges’ comments and critiques before heading out to the SAPA Color Guard Championships in Chattanooga, TN on Saturday, April 6th. While some 50 units appeared at the Invitational, more than 80 winterguards are expected to compete in the Chattanooga contest, which is sponsored by the Southern Association for the Performing Arts.

The OCHS winterguard program, under the direction of Leslie Rogers, is still in its formative stages in its 4th year in existence, and its 3rd in active competition. Despite this level of inexperience relative to many of their competitors, the performers have persistently honed their talent and skill sets, and have been rewarded with new records for program excellence at every opportunity.

The upcoming Tennessee trip will be the first time the Oconee program has ever travelled out of state for competition, and it will be the first chance for both units to compete in a sanctioned regional championship. The varsity squad’s score from last weekend puts them on track to shatter last year’s school-record high score, while the JV guard breaks new ground at every single performance during their first year in existence.

Despite finishing last in the Scholastic AA class in Cumming last Saturday, the varsity score was only about two points below the school's record high score, which was achieved last year. Last weekend’s competition also featured some of the most respected winterguard programs in the Southeast, and several winterguards formerly in the same class as the Oconee varsity group have moved down in class, leaving the young Warriors with only the more experienced competitors to face.

For more information on the OCHS colorguard program, go to www.ochsband.com/color-guard.

For more information about SAPA and their sponsored events, go to www.sapaonline.net.