The crowd fills up the stands, everyone starts to cheer, the football game has come to halftime and the performance is about to begin.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, please put your hands together and welcome the Windsor Golden Brigade!”

One of the best aspects of a home football game is watching the halftime performances, but one of the most fascinating parts is watching the Color Guard. Color Guard season is just beginning this year at Windsor High School. Color Guard is an opportunity to perform with the band in the Windsor Golden Brigade. Students get the chance to compete against other schools, too.

This year’s theme for the Brigade’s performance is ‘Flashback’. The first performance during the St. Pius X football game was based in the 80’s and had a few of the major hits and classics from the time period. The Guard was dressed in brightly colored, neon fashion with scrunchies in the girls’ hair, and denim vests for one of their costume changes. Props were an interesting aspect of the performance this year with color changing spotlights, cameras and flags of many colors and designs. As expected, formations and choreography were smooth, and transitioned nicely.

While the color guard team enjoys the beginning of the season, they are focused on finishing strong.

Captain Samantha Pannier said, “The end of the season (is better) because everyone already knows everything and we already know people, so everyone can talk to each other and can focus on getting better at it.”

It takes dedication to put on such an inspiring performance.

Captain Sammi Young said, “ (We practice on) Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and sometimes Fridays [are the days] we rehearse with the band on the field, and on [Tuesdays and] Wednesdays we come back and practice from six to nine.”

The Color Guard season begins in May and ends at the end of the fall season. Practices are basically every single day of the week after school. The students carry all of their equipment out to the football field and practice anywhere from two to three hours.

After the season, Winter Guard then comes into play.

For anyone interested in Winter Guard, there is always more room on the team, so the overall performance and formations can be more unique. Tryouts will be in November this year. More information will be on the Windsor Senior High School page once it gets closer to tryouts.

Joining the Color Guard and Winter Guard can lead to lifelong friends.

Young said, “You don’t really need any prior experience so anyone can do it, and if you’re a boy or a girl it doesn’t matter… It’s really fun to be with the band, so basically you can find new friends.”