The Chesterton High School Winter Guard began their 2010 competitive season this past Saturday by competing in the Indiana High School Color Guard Association’s (IHSCGA) first contest of the season. Some 45 color guards from all parts of Indiana traveled to Decatur Central High School to take part in this competition.

The units at IHSCGA events are divided into six different classes that are based on the group’s experience level and abilities. Six state and national level adjudicators judge very specific captions that scrutinize the student’s expertise with their equipment work, their dance and body skills, the coordination and physical demands of the show, and the effectiveness of the show itself.

The Chesterton High School Color Guard competed with 17 Class “A” units and missed capturing the first place trophy by a tenth of a point.

“While it would have been nice to win the show, our main goal at this early season competition was to simply get the production out on the floor, and get a first read from the judging community regarding any flaws in the construction of the show,” said Director Lisa Scheiber. “It’s another challenging Class “A” show for our girls and we’re really proud of the way they handled the pressure of this first competition.”

The first place trophy went to Brownsburg with a score of 59.9; second place to Chesterton with 59.8; third place to Muncie Southside High School with 57.7; fourth place to Zionsville with 56.1; and rounding out the top five places in the Class “A” competition was Scottsburg with 54.5. Chesterton’s Winter Guard production for 2010, based on an orchestral piece by English composer Benjamin Britten, features an exciting visual and musical tour of the symphonic orchestra.

The CHS Winter Guard is funding their season through the sale of raffle tickets. Tickets for the Guard’s “Mad Money Raffle” are only $10 each and they are available through the CHS Main Office, or any Winter Guard family or in the CHS Main Office during school hours. Only 3000 tickets are available, making the patrons chances of winning rather high.

First prize for the “Mad Money Raffle” is $5000, second prize is $2250, third prize is $1125, fourth prize is $200 and the fifth and final prize is $150.

The drawing from the raffle will be selected by CHS Principal Jim Goetz at 7:00 p.m. on March 1 in the CHS Gymnasium. The drawing will take place immediately following an exhibition performance of the CHS Winter Guard’s 2010 production.

The next performance by the CHS Winter Guard will take place on Saturday, January 23 at 7:37 p.m. at the Lake Central High School Winter Guard Invitational in St. John. This event will also include a 6:12 p.m. performance of the Chesterton Middle School Winter Guard’s 2010 show entitled, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.

Members of the CHS Winter Guard include: Amanda Dunahoo, Christina Gault, Ashley Gillespie, Sammie Hardin, Sloan Jones, Stephanie Leeth, Cassandra Marx, Julia Roldan, Brittany Seay, Courtney Sisson, Lindsey Stewart, Eva Thomas, Haley Thoreson, Charity Vallangeon, and Katie Vallangeon.

Additional staff include Jeff Wroblewski in visual design and Assistant Director Nichole Krance. Both the CHS and CMS Winter Guards are under the direction of Lisa Scheiber.

Posted 1/19/2010