The color guard will host a North Texas Color Guard Association competition Jan. 24 in the main gym starting at 4:30 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students with a student ID. This is the first time for the school to host an indoor competition. 

“We have 31 competing teams coming to the school, so we have to have our plans in place so they have a good experience,” color guard director David Sadler said. “It’s our first show of the season, our debut. We want to make sure that what we put out for the judges and the audience is our best product for Jan. 24.”

Being a host school helps promote the school’s guard and get their name out in the community. As a host school, the guard is responsible for helping other schools and judges throughout the day. 

“Color guard, when we start our indoor season, we perform with an association called NTCA which is like the equivalent to UIL,” Sadler said. “We’re really excited about the opportunity to bring a bunch of schools to Lovejoy and showcase our programs here.”  

The school has three guards, the middle school, JV and varsity. Their shows this season are Don’t Speak, Act 5, and Calamity respectively. Performance times are 6:35 p.m for the middle school, 7:55 for JV and 9:50 for varsity.

“I’m really looking forward to doing a style of show that we’ve never done before,” color guard captain and senior Elise Bell said. “ [Calamity]  is very different in terms of style than what we would typically do. Shows in the past have been very pretty, this is very powerful.”

Six years ago, the program consisted of one person. The program continues growing and gaining reputation throughout the area with marching band and the indoor circuit.

“Whenever you host, usually people look forward to seeing the host’s show,” junior Zowie Thornberg said. “They remember [us] because our director is amazing at choosing choreography and costumes.”

The contest is a potential profit for the color guard if they sell enough tickets and concessions. Any money they make goes back into their funds for their “big hopes and dreams,” according to Sadler.

“If you’ve never been to an indoor even, it’s loud and a fun environment,” Sadler said. “The kids love to hear people screaming for them, so if you can it would be great for people to come and cheer for them.