On Feb. 24, Bonita Vista High (BVH) winterguard competed at the Winterguard International (WGI) Regionals held at Del Norte High School. The Regionals were a two day event where winterguard teams from Southern California and Idaho competed to qualify for the Regional finals the next day. The Regional finals day tested the qualified groups a second time, then an awards ceremony was held for those that made it to the finals.
In previous years, we have either not been eligible for finals or came very close to qualifying, but did not placeThe winterguard came home with no placements in finals every year, however, we were able to land second place out of four groups this year—allowing us to qualify for the finals the next day.
This season, we placed decently at other competitions, but we fell subpar compared to other groups in our division. Before the WGI Regionals, we only entered two competitions where we placed second place at La Quinta High School and fourth place at Shadow Hills High School. Some of us in the winterguard team did not have hope that we would be placing finals at this big competition, saying things like because we didn’t make it in previous years, then our chances seem slim.
As we entered the gym for our performance on the first day, I heard the audience cheering “Go Bonita!” Once everyone got into position, I sensed adrenaline and excitement flowing through everybody. However, after the run was finished, It all felt so great to perform, as I caught my tosses on time. As the floor was being folded, I heard people in my group say that they had a good run, caught all their tosses or they gave the audience a smile.
As we approached our coach Jim Barton, everyone in the group was listening to what score we got from our run. We placed a 72.9 out of 100, giving us the second place. This created a ripple of happiness among us, since this means we qualified for finals for the next day for the first time.
Keeping this win in mind, I took time to reflect on my performance and how I could improve my run. Even though I was satisfied with my work, I believed that I could improve for finals the next day.
When I arrived at Del Norte High School at 5:30 a.m, we immediately began practicing for our final performance. Our coach explained to us that one of the triple rifle toss—when the rifle spins three times—was going to be extended into a quad toss—where the rifle spins four times. Hearing about this abrupt change made me feel more anxious, but as time passed, I began to take deep breaths before we entered the gym.
While the first run went well for me, this finals run fell slightly subpar. I made a slight mistake in our run, causing me to think negatively about the overall performance, until the awards. I felt as though I could have done much better.
As the day went on, me and my friends in winterguard watched other groups perform after ours was finished. There were various groups that put on an amazing performance—which made me feel ecstatic. But my thoughts came back to how I can further improve from our finals run.
Before the awards were announced, I felt fear radiating from me and others in our group. We were scared that we were not going to get a good placement. Once they started announcing the awards for our division, everyone crossed their fingers, hoping we would get at least third.
Once we heard “In second place, with a score of 72.48, Bonita Vista,” we all cheered with both joy and surprise. For the first time in a while, we made it to WGI finals and got second place in our division, it all felt unreal to believe. I realized in the moment that I shouldn’t bring myself down just because I wasn’t perfect in my eyes. Instead, I should be grateful that I gave my best performance for the audience, the judges and my team to enjoy.
