31st March 2005
2005 WGUK Finals Report
It was Saturday 26th March and the big day had arrived - The British WinterGuard Championships. The past 6 months worth of work was going to put to the test and all 4 colour guards had been putting the finishing touches to their performances during the previous two weeks.
The day started at 8am with two full coaches and numerous cars setting off from Blatchington Mill School taking the 42 members plus staff and over 100 supporters to The Brentwood Centre, Essex.
The Seniors were seeded in 1st place for their Prelims performance and had a lot to prove. Their performance was excellent and the new ending, complete with balloons appearing from the final set of flags (to say we were panicing over this is a slight understatement!!!) was rewarded by them keeping 1st place by over 2 clear points - but could this be repeated in the evening?
Following their successes in the contests leading up to the Finals, the Rugrats were felt to be our best chance of a Championships win. The 10 members, performing their Ice themed show to the Britney Spears tune Everytime, performed their little hearts out and put on the most fantastic show and when the results were announced it was revealed that not only had they been crowned the 2005 Cadet Class Champions but they had scored the first ever perfect score of 100 out of 100.
Next came the Juniors, who had been slowly moving up the rankings during the season as they had added to and improved their show throughout the season. Possibly spurred on by the performance of their younger compatriots and also with the added effect of a completely new ending (which finished off their Carpenters Love Story) the 10 members put out the most superb performance and the most unexpected and delightful shock of the day was when they were announced in 1st Place and became the 2005 Junior Class Champions.
Following the break the A Guard were poised with their Abba production ready to show everyone what they could do and boy did they show us. The energy displayed by the 8 members was by far the best all season and their show lit up the arena and really got the crowd behind them. The top 5 or 6 in the A Class this year had all been really close to each other and it was always going to be hard to move up the rankings and this was proved as they remained in 5th Place but still a massively creditable performance for this talented group of girls.
In the break between A Class and Open Class Finals the Champions of both the Cadet & Junior Classes have the opportunity to give a repeat performance and so our Rugrats and Juniors had the opportunity to show the evening audience what they could do.
And so to the Open Class Finals. Performing last, following the success in Prelims in the morning, the Seniors came out with a determined look and to an expectant audience! Having last won the British title in 1991 and missing out so closely last year could the 14 girls pull out the show of season. Well for those that were there they now know the answer was YES. From the first strains of Air On A G String to the fading notes of One Day I'll Fly Away you could tell we weren't going to let the title slip from our grasp. As the balloons rose from the final flag feature (the first Guard in the world to ever attempt this "trick") the audience also rose to give this show a standing ovation. The results were announced and also winning the High General Effect caption and High Ensemble Analysis the Seniors were crowned the 2005 British WinterGuard Champions capping a superb day for the Southern Knights.
The 2005 WinterGuard season has ended up as one of the most successful in the Southern Knights history but success is not just about trophies - it also about how much enjoyment was achieved gaining those results and ensuring the longevity of the organisation by continuing to bring in new members and new ideas - something which we can be proud of.
This success is not just down to the members who have performed and entertained us during the past few months but also the instructional staff, support staff, administration staff who have worked exceptionally hard and huge thanks to all these people that keep this organisation strong. Finally thanks to all the people who have turned out and supported the members over the past 3 months and we look forward to entertaining you all again next season.