Michigan State's winterguard, State of Art, competed in Dayton, Ohio at Winterguard International Finals this weekend. The guard performed a show called "Against The Grain" which included the use of sand as a prop. The sand is spread from the flags, from the backdrops and by the performers in the show.
Our son, Peter Eichler, is the director of the guard, so this is a big, big weekend for Pete, the members of the guard, and the staff and parents. State of Art advanced from prelims on Thursday to the semifinals on Friday where they were bumped from further competition.
Ed and I hopped into my trusty Chevy Volt and drove 325 miles today, just to see their performance.
I am always amazed at the incredible stamina and creativity of kids in this sport. Tonight's performance included colors of sand that added extra excitement to the end of the show.
Maybe the judges were looking for something else, but in my eyes, State of Art had a great run through and entertained the crowd royally. Considering that they came in 24th of 39 guards competing this weekend, they had a great season.
Oh my gosh! We have even more in common! Our school has a Winter Guard and they also have a heavy winter competition schedule. They are VERY good, and I think came in 3rd in the circuit they compete in, here in PA. We have a fabulous marching band and they are 7 time in a row PA State Champions for the Fall season. I was a member of the majorettes when I was in band, many , many years ago and we competed in WinterGuard in it's beginning years. Now, we don't even have twirlers. My Dad was the announcer for our Marching Band and travelled with them for over 25 years and when he became too ill to do it anymore, I took over and announced for them for over 27 years. I haven't done it regularly for a few years, but I am still an avid supporter and still help with whatever I can. I work at our local High School, so I can keep up with their activities very easily. I sewed all the color guard flags for about 13 years, (I won't do uniforms) and I made a few quilts for them to raffle. I LOVE MARCHING BAND!!!!!!!!! CONGRATUALTIONS to your son and his group!!!
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