On March 18th, the winter guard headed to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and after scoring a 73.19 in 8th place, the team wasn’t able to advance to finals. Despite this, the winter guard’s spirit and enthusiasm haven’t wavered at all. 

According to NVOT captain of the winter guard, Denisse Renderos, the majority of the guard “woke up at 4:00 am to do their hair and makeup at home” even though the team didn’t have to come to the school until 6:30 am to “get the floor loaded, equipment, props, and costumes in the bus.”

Afterward, they took a 3-hour bus ride to Bethlehem and had only 16 minutes to practice before their performance at 10:14 am. They performed their program titled “Moon and Beams” and danced to ‘Moonlight Sonata.’ 

The winter guard doesn’t view this result as a defeat and instead celebrates their performance, Renderos adding that “my coach was so proud she was crying a little!” The team never planned to make it to finals anyway, originally expecting to be assigned a lower level instead of moving up to the WGI (Winter-Guard International) class. 

Renderos explains her team’s philosophy, saying, “To the captains and coaches, getting 1st or [2nd] or even 8th place doesn’t define how good your show is. If you come off that floor after you performed knowing you did the best you could and had a good show that’s all that matters. No placement can take that away from us. We scored 2 points higher from our last competition and we are so proud and excited to improve and work on our show this week!” 

The winter guard’s season isn’t over yet. On April 1, the winter guard will head to Stratford, Connecticut for the Musical Arts Conference Championships.