SBHS Winter Guard Ranked 4th in U.S.

The  Winter Guard has a long history of success, but this year's squad is gearing up to bring the program to heights never before achieved. The team recently took first in two different qualifying competitions in New York and Connecticut for the Winter Guard International Championships, held in Dayton, Ohio next month.

"This has been an outstanding season. The show is fantastic and the girls' work ethic is unbelievable," said Coach Ginny Kraft. "They're achieving at the top of their game right now."

Winter guard, also known as "the sport of the arts," is a combination of the use of flags, sabers, mock rifles, and other equipment, in addition to dance and other interpretive movement. 

The Winter Guard is split into two teams, the Visual Ensemble (varsity team) and the Performance Company (junior varsity team), which compete in both the Mid-Atlantic Indoor Network and in the Winter Guard International.

Ranked number one in New Jersey, the SBHS squad finished 9th overall at the Winter Guard International Championships last year.

The team's scores this year in qualifying competitions for Winter Guard International has earned them the fourth highest ranking in the entire country. South Brunswick has finished third in the U.S. twice in the program's history, as the squad seeks to bring the championship home to the township for the first time.

"I think this year's team is the best show and the best guard that we've ever put out," Kraft said. "I think their work ethic is exceptional in this day and age when you don't always see that."

Due to the number of winter sports teams needing to use school facilities, the Winter Guard is left to practice whenever space is available. The girls sacrifice their own time by coming in from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays, and most of the day on Saturdays.

"We have a regular rehearsal night, and also have an open gym night where they can come in and work on what they need to work on," Kraft said. "They're 100 percent always there and willing to work and move ahead. It's hard when you get to this level of competition, when we're making changes all the time and refining things while learning more difficult maneuvers. It's both physically challenging and mentally challenging. I just can't say enough good things about how hard they're working."

The Winter Guard will be heading to Pennsylvania for a qualifying competition in Pittsburgh this weekend before hosting the South Brunswick Regional competition on March 24 and 25 at SBHS. The competition will begin at 10 a.m. on March 24 and run until about 9:30 p.m. On March 25, the competition will run from 9:30 a.m. until about 3 p.m.

In addition to the efforts of the team members, Kraft credited the hard work of the people behind the scenes in helping the girls reach the highest levels imaginable.

"We have such an exceptional staff of people working really hard and the support from parents has been tremendous," she said. “Everybody is working towards a common goal that's really special."