Winter guard season is upon us again, and this year the show is sure to shine. The show will feature flags, rifle, and now include sabre, which hasn’t been showcased for several shows now.

Sabres resemble a long, thin sword and are metal. The metal is wrapped in tape to allow them to be spun.
The addition of the sabre has brought new responsibility to the color guard as a team, and pressure on sophomore

Jessica Zhang to execute the correct positions to maintain safety and achieve new choreography in their upcoming show.

When Zhang was asked about her nerves and intensity of her solo, she stated that “sometimes it’s scary because everyone is lying down on the ground and you’re afraid it could fall on their face.”

Jessica is advancing within color guard, making the team’s overall position and possibility for the upcoming season raise as well.

“It’s flashy,” Zhang said. “It’s also a sign of advancement because you can’t start off doing sabre. So only guards that have done other things like flags and rifle typically do sabre. So it shows we’re awesome.”

Zhang also stated, “I think our skills this year are definitely better than last years,” confirming that the Hickman winter color guard is moving up this year.

However, moving up in the ranks to spinning a new weapon has also proven to have its challenges.

“It’s a lot of practice and it’s more painful,” Zhang said. “I get a lot of bruises. It’s easier to throw and you don’t have to use as much force. It can get out of control, but it’s easier.”

The new show follows along to a poem read to the tune of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” which tells the story of humans being insignificant and meaning nothing. The guard members will resemble the stars in the universe with the lights they are going to put in the uniforms.

“The song is based off ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ and we are stars in the universe,” Zhang said. “The voice over is this British dude and he reads a poem. The coach cut pieces out and put it with the music so it’s pretty cool. At first it talks about being pretty useless according to the song, and pretty insignificant. But in the end it’s all happy. That’s the moral to it.”

Zhang and the rest of the Hickman Winter Guard will have their first competition on February 10, in Edwardsville, Illinois. Until the day of the competition, the color guard team will be rehearsing and perfecting the new performance.