Over the weekend of April 3-6, TWHS Color Guard competed in the Winter Guard International (WGI) World Championships, in Dayton, Ohio, and secured a first place spot with a score of 98.00; the first Texas guard to win World.
This year marks the 4th consecutive year TWHS has made WGI finals. “Our first time, as a school, making finals was in 2019,” said Color Guard Captain Olivia Thomas. In 2022, they were the first-ever Texas World Color Guard to medal in the WGI World Class Championships. They have gone to state every year since then, consistently being the highest scoring guard team from Texas; with this year being the first they brought home gold.
In 2023, they won fourth place–the highest score from a Texas guard–with their “How To: Move” before moving up to third place with their “The Light You Cannot See” act in 2024. Alongside their World win for this most recent performance, they additionally won “fan favorite” after stealing the hearts and minds of everyone in the crowd.
For the competition this year, the girls performed their show, “Departures,” in black and white costumes that varied in style. The contrast between the blue props–representing the benches seen at airport gates–the costumes, and the bright blue and pink floor, created a colorful, exciting show. Performers spin rifles, sabers, and flags to perfectly capture the excitement one experiences before taking flight as well as the sleepiness and exhaustion of a passenger. Their flag feature at the end of this year’s performance was incredible, with the entire stadium on its feet.
“The hardest part about competing at this level is trying to stay calm,” explains Junior Lena Lee. Despite the inherent anxiety of performing, there is also excitement, “It’s kind of like a journey for a lot of us who were on the team, were on it since freshman year; seeing all our progress over the past four years and then getting into championships and finally winning–it’s just, it was so insane,” adds Thomas.
The Woodlands High School Color Guard is directed by Cynthia Robbins and assisted by Joseph Danforth and Tiffany Quinstein. The team consists of 60+ members who all perform together during the marching band season. They are, then, split into two teams for the winter season: “A” Guard competes up to the state level championships, and World Guard competes up to the international level.
Auditions for the World Guard–also known as the Winter Guard–take place in November and December, with 32 members having been selected for the competition this year. This year, half of this talented team are also seniors. They are selected based on proficiency in equipment skills, performance, and dance skills. Those chosen to be a part of the World Guard will then compete at the local, regional, and state competitions in order to become eligible for the World Guard International Championships.
For TWHS and all of the competitors involved, this is truly a memory that will never be forgotten. “We made history with the highest score a couple years ago,” expressed Thomas, “and then now making history again; it’s just so crazy.”
