When the unexpected is thrown at people, they may freak out and give up, but the Etowah Winter Guard overcame one of its biggest obstacles at its first competition on Feb 2. 

“The competition was a showcase of talent and hard work from the Etowah guard,” Faith Spratt, sophomore, said. 

The show this year is to the song “Table for One” by AWOLNATION. The idea of the show is that a girl is stood up by someone she loves. As a prop, a table was placed in the middle during the performance that the guard danced on and around the table as it moved. 

“I think the theme is very heartfelt and relatable to a lot of people. It reflects a lot of high schoolers’ emotions,” Meagan Nocheherly, freshman, said. 

Many shows are not complete by the first competition. The coach, Abby Ammons, had misread how much of the show had to be done by the first competition. The E.T. Booth cadet team’s show was too short and placed last because of time penalties. Before the Etowah guard went to warm ups, the team realized they did not have enough of its show done either. Not wanting to face any penalties, the girls were quick to come up with a solution to make the three-minute time requirement by doing choreography that they learned for fun during rehearsals to “thank u, next” by Ariana Grande. 

“We just thought about how we could make the best of it and there came the ‘thank u, next’ addition of our show, adding in the dance for the sabres to do on the fly, which worked out better than expected,” Mia Jordan, senior, said. 

The guard placed 4th in its division and were less than half a point from 3rd and 2 points away from 1st. They were also first in general effect of the show, meaning the judges enjoyed and understood the concept of the song and performance. 

The season has only just begun, and the Etowah Winter Guard will continue to work diligently to have its show finished by the next competition on Feb. 16.