Though many University of Oregon students pulled drunken all-nighters before the ESPN College Gameday last Saturday, there were some who had to remain alert the next morning and be ready to sprint down Autzen Stadium’s field in front of thousands of football fans. But rather than a football, these students toss and catch flags and wooden rifles.
Colorguard is a mix between traditional militaristic color guard — which raises flags and spins real rifles — and ballet or modern dance. Some students might know them as “flag-twirlers,” to which many colorguard members roll their eyes. Colorguard senior Hannah Brumbaugh-Cunningham, who has done colorguard since freshman year of high school, said it can be entertaining to hear people’s guesses as to what are in the giant flag bags.
If you have seen the Ducks’ marching band halftime show, though, you have seen the colorguard in action. The team’s job is to provide a visual aspect to the marching band’s performance during football game halftime shows and on parade routes. They dance, spin and toss flags and wooden rifles, spin swing flags with long silks and small poles and sometimes spin metal swords called sabres. Flags and swing flags are considered starter equipment pieces, meaning everyone learns how to spin these first before they try “weapons” — rifle and sabre.
During the beginning of the season, tryouts are held for weapon line within the colorguard. Those chosen will spin rifle for a part of the show, while the rest of the colorguard stays on flag.
The colorguard team spent the last two weeks of summer at band camp. This meant being on a turf field with the band during the hottest part of the day — nine-hour days, five days a week, with hour and a half breaks for lunch and dinner. Water breaks are sometimes given, but often forgotten by band and colorguard instructors, according to many colorguard members.
“Being able to rest at the end of the day is the best thing ever,” said colorguard member Sarah Hartley.
According to the colorguard captains, the goal is for most of the halftime show to be ready by game day on the last Saturday of band camp. This year, for the ESPN College Gameday national broadcast, the routine had to be perfect.
“It was one of the longest days of my life, but also really fun,” said colorguard captain Lisa Millstein. She has performed colorguard since her freshman year of high school. “I’ve never performed in Autzen like I did that day.”
During practice, colorguard members separate themselves from the band to stretch and do cardio and dance warm-ups. After that, they’ll either work on their equipment routines or join the band to learn their “dot” — their assigned place to stand during every second of the show.
Preparing for a show requires memorizing the formations for the performance and learning either dance or equipment routines to execute while moving. Sometimes movements might require sprinting several yards in 16 counts of music, or tiptoeing backwards while tossing a flag overhead. With a nod back to its military roots, each move is done with precision to look like one cohesive performance.
“If you miss even a day due to being sick, you can be so behind in the routine that you might lose your spot in the next performance,” Brumbaugh-Cunningham said.
During the fall season, the colorguard practices three evenings a week at Autzen Stadium and performs at halftime during every home game, one away game and during Bowl games.
Even when they aren’t performing during halftime, the colorguard instructor and captains remind members to maintain a smile — from tailgate appearances to the final song at the end of a game. Most of the day is also spent standing up, as members don’t get to sit often while in the stands. This made for a particularly long day last Saturday. Stand tunes — the songs played by the marching band from the stands — were recorded at 5 a.m., though the game didn’t start until 5 p.m. Many members woke up at 3 a.m. to get their hair and makeup done with their signature green and yellow eyeshadow and “O” bows in their hair.
Colorguard has many similar elements to dance and cheerleading. They dance, support the football team, are stereotypically female-dominated, involve routines and require members to look their best at all times with flashy makeup, hair and uniforms.
Still, there are differences. Colorguard members perform with the marching band, and they use equipment in addition to dance.
For first-year students, it can be a challenge to learn everything. Millstein said the team tries to support all of its new members throughout the learning process. As members grow stronger and perfect their skills, routines are able to be made more intricate and challenging. Learning new equipment tricks requires using different muscles, said Millstein.
First-year colorguard member Oliver Cochener can attest to this. “Colorguard is hard at first,” he said. “Then you realize you are a part of something beautiful with people you would be proud to call friends.”