After winning the Winter Guard International Color Guard Championship on April 13 and performing their show in a school-wide convocation, members of the winter guard are already preparing for next year’s season.

“It was such a fulfilling feeling to know that all of our hard work paid off,” said Samantha “Sami” Schweiger, guard member and senior. “The best feeling of the whole weekend was the feeling that we had coming off the floor after we performed. At that time, we were all so happy and that was when we knew that all our hard work that we put into it was worth it.”

The end of the season means goodbye for senior guard members, which, according to sponsor Rosie Queen, is a difficult transition for the guard to make.

“(Guard members) all bond very much and become family. The group is very tight by the end of the season,” she said.

According to Schweiger, everyone else is already working toward a repeat of this year’s victories at the Bands of America Grand National Championships and Winter Guard International Color Guard Championships by sorting through equipment and working on dance skills before tryouts for the fall season.

“(Winning) is a distinct feeling that I will never forget,” she said.