Colorguard is a popular activity in many high schools across the country. Participants perform choreographed routines using flags, mock rifles, sabres, and other equipment. Colorguard combines dance, gymnastics, and theatrics to produce visually stunning performances. While colorguard is not yet widely recognized as an official sport, many colorguard members and supporters argue that it meets the criteria and should be considered a sport by high schools and colleges.
Colorguard emerged in the mid-20th century as an outgrowth of military marching bands. The visually dynamic flags, rifles, and sabres added artistic flair to band performances. Over time, colorguard evolved into its own competitive activity with demanding physicality and training. Today, hundreds of thousands of students participate in school, independent, and drum corps colorguard teams each year. Competitions are judged on criteria like technique, synchronization, visual effect, and general effect.
Despite its popularity, colorguard faces an ongoing debate over its status as a sport. Unlike football, basketball, and other well-established high school sports, colorguard is not sanctioned by most state athletic associations. However, colorguard shares many attributes with recognized sports. Participants undergo intense training to build the stamina, agility, and skills demanded by colorguard routines. Performances require strength, dexterity, flexibility, and impeccable timing. And competitions encourage the same dedication, teamwork, and competitive spirit found in any sport.
As high school colorguard members apply to college, their activity may not get the same consideration in admissions and scholarships as traditional sports. But colorguard requires athleticism, artistry, and perseverance like any demanding endeavor pursued at an elite level. This article examines the arguments for and against classifying colorguard as an official sport in high schools and colleges.
Athletic Attributes
Colorguard performances require a high degree of athletic ability. Members must have the stamina to practice long hours and deliver energetic routines. Performances often last over six minutes with only brief pauses, demanding aerobic endurance comparable to sports like soccer, basketball, or tennis. Colorguard also requires strength to manipulate heavy equipment like rifles and sabres. Members frequently incorporate dance elements into routines as well, needing power, agility, balance, and grace.
| Athletic Skill | Colorguard Demand |
|---|---|
| Stamina | Performances last 6+ minutes with few breaks |
| Strength | Routines use 3-4 pound equipment |
| Agility | Complex dance moves and formations |
| Flexibility | Extensions, leaps, kicks, splits |
The physical rigor of colorguard is clear during demanding practices. A typical practice lasts around three hours with only short water breaks. Members repeat technically challenging tossing sequences and dance moves until they are perfected. Building sufficient stamina, strength, and flexibility requires daily conditioning and cross-training throughout the year.
Specialized Skills
In addition to general athletic attributes, colorguard develops a diverse array of specialized skills. On flags, members must master the fast-spinning and tossing maneuvers that create visual effects. Rifles and sabres demand even more dexterity to spin, flip, and catch properly. All equipment work requires flawless timing and spatial awareness to avoid collisions.
The dance component also requires dedicated training. Styles like jazz, kick, pom, and hip hop are common in routines. Leaps, turns, kicks, and other technical elements must be executed with precision. Colorguard members spend hours drilling footwork, arm placement, and facial expressions to meet performance standards.
Training for colorguard is thus similar to mastering specialized skills in other sports. A star quarterback repetitively trains passing accuracy and arm strength. A top swimmer drills proper stroke technique for speed. Colorguard requires that same focused skill development over months and years of practice.
Physical Risks
Performing colorguard routines brings inherent physical risks, much like traditional sports. Members frequently toss equipment 20 feet or more into the air and must catch items on the return. A momentary lapse in concentration can lead to being struck by a descending rifle or sabre. Fails on dance moves also cause falls and injuries.
Repetitive strain injuries may arise over time as well. The constant spinning and manipulation of equipment can inflame joints and tendons in shoulders, wrists, and hands. Planting and pivoting during dance routines also stresses knees, ankles, and feet.
| Physical Risk | Potential Injuries |
|---|---|
| Dropped equipment | Head injuries, broken bones |
| Repetitive motion | Joint/tendon inflammation |
| Dance falls | Sprains, fractures |
Colorguard members must play through minor bumps, bruises, and soreness during the competitive season, just like any athlete. The activity’s physicality and risks support its qualification as an athletic endeavor.
Competitive Structure
Modern colorguard functions within a well-defined competitive structure similar to established high school and college sports. Teams participate in regional circuits and associations aligned by school size and skill level. Larger governing bodies like Winter Guard International and the Mid-Atlantic Indoor Network oversee competitive guidelines.
During the winter and spring competition seasons, teams perform at multiple regional shows and championships. Performances are evaluated in criteria like:
- General effect
- Presence, poise, and professionalism
- Creativity and imagination
- Technique and precision
- Difficulty and complexity
Scores from circuit events qualify teams for state and national championships. The competitive model incentivizes teams to develop more creative and technically challenging routines each season.
Colorguard’s well-defined competition structure is essentially identical to established high school sports. Teams train for months, compete locally, and contend for higher championships. The main difference is colorguard lacks official varsity status and governing bodies like state athletic associations.
Parallels to Evolving Sports
Many now-mainstream sports like cheerleading and dance faced similar journeys toward acceptance. Competitive cheer emerged from collegiate sidelines to earn sanctioning as an NCAA sport in the 1990s and high school sport in the late 2000s. Various dance styles followed the same path from school performing arts toward competition and varsity sport recognition.
As these activities gained participants and competitive structure, they lobbied high school athletic associations for designation as “emerging sports.” This status provided a bridge toward eventual sanctioning as full varsity sports. Competitive cheer and dance are now recognized varsity sports in most states.
Colorguard could follow the same model. The activity’s popularity and competitiveness make it a strong candidate to petition high school associations as an emerging sport. Elevated status would improve access to school funding, facilities, and coaches – fueling further growth. Just as cheer and dance overcame perceptions as purely “performing arts”, colorguard may be on a similar path toward athletic recognition.
Limits to Mainstream Recognition
While the case for varsity sport status is compelling, some inherent barriers may constrain colorguard’s mainstream acceptance:
Gender imbalance – Like cheer and dance, colorguard is a predominantly female activity at the high school level. Over 75% of participants are girls. The gender dynamic may reinforce perceptions that colorguard is more artistic than athletic compared to male-dominated sports.
Accessibility – Requires specialized facilities and equipment beyond fields, courts, and basics like balls and goals. Limits potential participation compared to more accessible sports.
Subjective scoring – Routines scored on artistic and effect criteria as well as technical execution. Perceived as more subjective than objectively measured sports like track and swimming.
Limited college varsity opportunities – Only around 35 colleges have sanctioned varsity programs. Constrains chances to compete at elite NCAA level.
While these dynamics pose challenges, they do not undermine the objective case for colorguard’s athletic merits. But overcoming tradition and perceptions may require generations of sustained advocacy from participants and leaders.
Importance for College Applications
Given constraints to mainstream acceptance, how should high school colorguard members present their activity when applying to colleges? Guard should be highlighted as a demanding, competitive varsity-level endeavor on applications.
Members should focus on tangible athletic attributes developed through participation:
- Physical strength, endurance, and body control
- Hand-eye coordination and reaction skills
- Mental discipline to master precision routines
- Competitive intensity during performances
The well-defined competition schedule and need for constant skill development should also be emphasized as similar to traditional sports. Admissions officers may be unfamiliar with colorguard, so applicants must make direct connections to recognized athletic merits.
For scholarship opportunities, colorguard members should highlight any available varsity designation or competitive achievements at state or national events. These recognitions help position guard as an elite competitive activity warranting athletic scholarship consideration.
In all cases, passion for colorguard is critical. Admissions officers want to understand the value of pursuits that have defined applicants’ high school experience, athletic or otherwise. Conveying colorguard’s personal importance provides essential context.
Conclusion
Colorguard undoubtedly requires the athleticism, discipline, and competitiveness of a sport. Participants train rigorously to execute physically demanding routines showcasing strength, stamina, and advanced skills. Yet the activity faces obstacles to mainstream recognition as a competitive sport at the high school and college level.
By emphasizing tangible athletic merits, competitive structure, and dedication, colorguard members can effectively portray the activity as a varsity-level sport on college applications. While colorguard’s status remains subject to debate, the case for its athletic merits is highly compelling. At the foundation, colorguard demonstrates the same values of exceptional commitment, teamwork, and perseverance sought by all academic institutions and athletic programs.
