1st April 2004
Four Medals at Championships
Following the WGI Regional in Holland there were three further contests before the British Championships. One in Chippenham, another in Burgess Hill and then finally Cannock. The Senior Guard were placed 1st once and 2nd twice, the A Guard 1st twice and 2nd once. The Cadets had a 2nd and a 3rd whilst the Juniors ahd a 1st and a 2nd so things were looking good for a successful end to the season.
So the big day arrived and all four Guards, along with over 100 supporters, set off in the early hours of Saturday 27th March to The Brentwood Centre in Essex for the British WinterGuard Championships.
First up were the Seniors in the Open Class prelims and they put on an excellent performance - a little jaded but it was early!!! As the scores were announced we were pleased to increase the lead over 4th and 3rd to remain in 2nd Place about 3.5 points behind 1st.
The Cadet Finals were next and there were 4 Guards in contest. The Rugrats had slowly increased the length of their show throughout the season and they did a brilliant performance and held onto a solid 3rd Place being awarded a bronze medal.
Junior Class followed and the Juniors had really stamped their mark on this class. Considering their young age their show had received great reviews and they were extremely pleased to finish the season in 3rd Place also being awarded a bronze medal.
The A Guard had had an superb season - winning 5 out of their 6 contests and hopes were high. The girls performed their hearts out and we were sure they had done enough. Unfortunately a couple of the judges disagreed and whilst slightly disappointed with the result, 2nd Place and a silver medal was still a great result for this young unit.
Following the morning prelims the Seniors were determined to "kill the demon" of last years disappointing Finals performance. Well what a performance - probably one of the best ever by an SK unit. With huge amounts of glittering ticker tape and as near a perfect display as you could get they pulled further away from the rest and moved up to only 1 point away from the eventual winners to become silver medal 2nd Place winners. What a night!
Well that was the end of the 2004 WinterGuard season. Four medals can't be bad and once again proves what a major player in the UK the Southern Knights are. Plans for the 2005 season are already being formulated and in the meantime our summer activities will be increased from last year to ensure we remain as strong as ever.
Huge thanks to all the instructional and support staff - SK wouldn't be SK without you. Thanks also to the people who have come along to contests to support the Guards - it really does help when you get an enthusiastic crowd.
Bring on 2005!!!