Twirls and grooves abound at indoor color guard competition

Rifles, swords and flags alike spun and flew through the air.

Their safe landing, in the hands of color guard members, brought cheers and claps from an attentive crowd Saturday at Susquehannock High School.

More than 20 color guard units and drum lines were judged on their performances at the Keystone Indoor Drill Association's Percussion & Color Guard Indoor Competition.

The shows, said event co-chair Jen Rohrbaugh, are no different than what the units would perform during halftime of high school football games.

"It's just inside," Rohrbaugh said. "This is something they can do inside during the winter that keeps their skills strong, and it's still a competition."

The competition's lineup originally featured 38 units, including some from Virginia and Maryland. After Rohrbaugh and other organizers decided to push the event up five hours in anticipation of the afternoon's winter weather advisory, 13 units had to drop out.

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This is the second consecutive year Susquehannock has hosted a competition. It's a chance to raise funds for the band's booster club, though last year the event only broke even. Rohrbaugh said she wasn't sure of the financial impact made by the loss of the 13 units' participation.

But the remaining units still put on a great show, she said. After the awards ceremony, students from various schools could be seen dancing together to the music playing in the gym.

"They make friends from all different schools," Rohrbaugh said. "They learn discipline and just the art of loving music."