Fresno Christian color guard takes home first place in the South Valley Winter Arts Association Classification show, Jan. 29.

There was no winter guard circuit last year due to COVID-19, making this the first show since 2020.

They competed in the regional bronze division against Edison, Hoover, Mount Whitney, Roosevelt and Madera High under new coach Venessa Hinojosa. 

Some key elements to the performance include school color flags and rifles while the team dances. This years team is made up of 14 students, five of which are brand new to color guard.

Lola Fuller, ‘24, shares the differences between the old and new coach.  

“I really like the new coach. How she teaches and the style of the choreography is different than last year,” said Fuller. “I like how she takes time and goes slow to make sure people understand. The last coach went super fast but after teaching she went back to clean up the steps in the routine.” 

Since returning from break, color guard has been practicing their routine, but there were a few setbacks.

“It’s been difficult to train because we’ve been missing individuals during competitions and sessions,” Fuller said.

This years color guard team is composed of middle and high school students that are competing against strictly high school students.

Ava Lee, ‘27, expresses her feelings about having a combined team and competing with high schoolers.

“It’s really not that different because we work as a team and get things done.”

The team will head to Mission Oak on Feb. 11, for their second competition of the year.

For more photos, go to the media page. for more articles, read The Private Life of Scott Bucher and Joel Sartore: the Modern Noah.