Winter guard members are preparing for a preview for friends and family on Jan. 27 and a competition on Jan. 28 at Brownsburg High School with rigorous rehearsal.

Guard members have two-hour practices on weekday mornings; three-hour practices on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; and six- to eight-hour practices on Saturdays. Winter break rehearsals lasted as long as 12 hours.

“We start off with conditioning and stretching, and then we do across the floors,” freshman Colleen Duffy said. “We also learn work for the show and stage.”

Duffy said that she doesn’t really mind the practice schedule.

“Sometimes (the schedule) is hard to deal with, but most of the time I enjoy practice because I get to spend my time with some awesome girls who are like family,” Duffy said.

Although winter guard is similar to color guard in some ways, each has distinguishing characteristics.

“We don’t have to be outside in the cold and wind. It’s not easy throwing a 6-foot flag or a big rifle up into the air on a windy or rainy day,” sponsor Rosie Queen said.

Furthermore, winter guard members perform to recorded music rather than music played by the band.

“While we love performing with the beautiful live music of the marching band, it is fun for the girls to compete in their own specific activity for color guards only,” Queen said.

“Winter guard is going really well. They are really trying to push us this year, so it’s been really hard,” senior Sally Ware said. Ware said that she feels like her last season will turn out well.

“I feel like we have a really good chance this year of ending on top. I don’t want to jinx anything, though,” Ware said. “But so far all the girls have been working really hard, and we have an amazing show concept. As long as we can carry it out, our chances are very high.”