Right now, the Winter Guard practices for its competition in Park Hill on Saturday, Feb. 9. With the competition nearer the pressure is on. They practice together as a team, energy spiking for competition.

Winter Guard, compared to its Color Guard counterpart, is a competitive sport rather than working with the band. They create routines with various different things, flags, sabers or plastic rifles.

“Depending on the routine, but within a few practices we get it [routines] down,” freshman Carter Durrant said, when discussing their weekly practices.

During practices, they’re going around the gym floor on mats rehearsing their routines, working hard to perfect them before competition.

“I think people don’t realize how hard it actually is, and how seriously you can be injured,” freshman Elizabeth Jenkins said. “Yeah, I think guard is very over looked when talking about sports, it really is.”

Others agreed.

“On the outside, guard may look like simple flag spinning, but we spend a lot of time on our routines and they’re hard,” Durrant said.

So, as they continue to practice for their competition, keep in mind the people behind the flags and the amount of time it takes for their performances.

“We work hard, so we can try and give our show,” Jenkins said.