Why Is Colorguard Not An Olympic Sport?

[Mermaid711 0]

For those of you who don't know what colorguard is, it's where you spin, toss, march and dance with different objects, such as mirrors, flags, rifles, butterfly wings, swing flags, sabors, airblades, streamers, and many many other objects while the band plays. We spin at football games, pep rallies, basket ball games ect.Now, if there are olympic sports such as ping pong and bad mitton, isn't there room for colorguard or winterguard?(Winterguard is mostly dance and it's inside.)ANYWAY if you think about it, it's not much different from floor excersize in gymnastics (except you're not flying through the air.) And there is potential for injury so it makes it interesting. And you can mess up. It's just a thought. What do you think?

[Saint_Michael 3]

I would ask if your hard up on credits but I am not to sure , besides that there is real challenge or difficulty for it at an Olympic level. Color guard is most artsy and so it would be mostly be used in opening and closing events then an actual event. It is about competition and if you heard they are getting rid of softball, and of course I doubt it is because USA is the dominate country . Of course, you don't have to convince me you just have to convince the IOC and that is no easy task.

[jlhaslip 4]

If they drained the pool, the colourguard competition could be held at the same venue as synchronised swimming. :)As noted above, the judged might be too subjective and difficult to handle. Similar to figure skating, it is as much Art as Athletic.

[bishoujo 0]

It sounds too complicated, and furthermore, it would be difficult to come up with a judging criteria for which the points can be awarded for. Besides, it does sound more like a a performance than a sport. More importantly though, I would think it is not considered an Olympic sport because it is not popular. I have never heard of Colorguard until today. It may be popular from where you come from, but an Olympic sport should be one that is known to many all over the world. If colorguard should be considered an Olympic sport, many other games could be too. My friend complained about Billard not being an Olympic sport. If Colorguard was considered an Olympic sport, then why not Billard? Billard reminds me of air rifle where it requires concentration, good aiming and stamina (from standing and bending). We would probably have an Olympic games that lasts 16 weeks rather than 16 days

[Bluebear 0]

Of course US is dominating... I have never heard of Colour guard, and I still have almost no idea what it is. It is just like we have no cheerleading here. Strange... Oh well, I do not miss it. We have some "sports" that you have probably never tried or maybe even not heard about. There are some sports that are very hard to judge in. It may not be anything very specific to judge; technique, style and other stuff. Haha, this was probably not the right topic for me to reply to as colourguard is unknown to me.

[sylenzednuke 0]

ANYWAY if you think about it, it's not much different from floor excersize in gymnastics (except you're not flying through the air.) And there is potential for injury so it makes it interesting. And you can mess up.

Honestly, there's more to gymnastics and Olympic sports in general than that. Gymnastics is a 100 times more complex sport than it looks.
I don't think popularity has really something to do with a game being an Olympic sport. Otherwise many Olympic sports would've been out and really bad "sports" like Cricket would've been in the picture. But yes, as many said it does look like more of a performance than a sport. Something you can have in between events but not as an event. I view it as good as cheerleading. And thankfully, cheerleading is not an Olympic sport.

And again, there's the judging criteria. You can't really judge such an event. A factor that could be defining in a certain groups performance would not even be present in another group's performance or the entire layout of the performance might make that factor irrelevant.

There are many things people compete in, but having all of them in the Olympics, we would have it running all 4 years straight. XD

[Mermaid711 0]

Oh trust me, there's room for judging criteria.1. Diffaculty of the routine.2. Form breaks.3. Stepping out of rythym.4. Dropping your equipment.5. Not catching equipment at all or right. (BIG at colorguard competitions)6. Fundamental breaks.8. Loss of a buttcap (The caps at the end of the pole)9. How you end your routine.10. Jazz run technique.And there's a few more BIG things that escape me right now (It's only 8:15 in the morning.)And I want to see some of you guys jazz run as much as our highschool colorguard does and tell me it's not a sport. boy will your thighs be on fire :)Anyway as for the it's not challenging part, I know of people who can do a toss, flip, and catch the pole.And for God's sake, there's olympic ping pong. Ping pong is not a sport!

[grizzlies8320 0]

I absolutely think color guard should be an Olympic sport, but the indoor version known as Winter Guard. This is a fantastic sport that involves dance, artistry, choreography and tons of athleticism and skill from team members. There is a scoring system and there are competitions already, so this isn't something that needs to be invented. Yes, it's a little subjective, but they are judged on technique, complexity of routine, and other criteria, similar to figure skating. There are 5 judges (1 for Equipment, 1 for Ensemble, 1 for Movement and 2 for General Effect). Each judge provides a score from 1 to 20, for a maximum total of 100. Typical scores range from 50 to the high 90's.

 

The judging is not all that different from the floor exercise in gymnastics, figure skating or sports like freestyle skiing and snowboarding, all of which have a technical and artistic element to them. Winter guard also adds a team element - and it isn't just synchronization. Some elements of a routine may feature all team members in unison, but other parts may features some members dancing, some spinning sabre, some spinning flags, and others spinning rifles all at the same time. Anybody who thinks this is a simplistic sport, or doesn't have the complexity of gymnastics doesn't know what they're talking about.

 

If you want more information on it, check out the Wikipedia article and the WGI (Winter Guard International) site. I have to admit that I'm biased. My daughter is on her high school team. I had never seen it or heard of it before she got involved, and now I'm hooked. These kids put in more practice time than the basketball teams do. The sabres and rifles they spin are heavy and I have seen many bruises and cuts from missed catches - and don't think for a minute that 20 kids tossing a flag in unison is easy. My daughter spins sabre and i can tell you that catching that thing is like sticking your hand in a moving propeller. It's steel, heavy and rotating at a high rate of speed.

 

Also, if you have never seen winter guard before, you've got to check out some of these videos on YouTube.

Edited February 5, 2010 by grizzlies8320 (see edit history)

[iGuest 3]

It sounds too complicated, and furthermore, it would be difficult to come up with a judging criteria for which the points can be awarded for. Besides, it does sound more like a a performance than a sport. More importantly though, I would think it is not considered an Olympic sport because it is not popular. I have never heard of Colorguard until today. It may be popular from where you come from, but an Olympic sport should be one that is known to many all over the world.
If colorguard should be considered an Olympic sport, many other games could be too. My friend complained about Billard not being an Olympic sport. If Colorguard was considered an Olympic sport, then why not Billard? Billard reminds me of air rifle where it requires concentration, good aiming and stamina (from standing and bending). We would probably have an Olympic games that lasts 16 weeks rather than 16 days

First off it is already international competition there is already a set judgeing criteria in place for guards from multiple countries. It is jst as much as sport as rythmics gymnastics or figure skating. I think the reason its not an Olympic sport was like you said its not popular enough there are only a hand full of countries that participate.

[iGuest 3]

i think it is possible for colorguard to be a olympic sport. Ever since my son has been in football my family and friends have watched the half time shows and they are so wonderful to watch. This sport is getting more widley known year after year. And i do consider this a sport my son sais there is no way on earth he would be able to count, throw a flag, rifle or a sabre in the air. While runing across a field in 8 to 10 minutes. He sais that just the fact that they spend more time practicing in the summer to prepare for marching season is showing that they are dedicated. I think peoples should consider having colorguard as a olympic sport. The judging could be on how well they perform to the audience, how they incorporate the dance and techniques into the show, how good there dance is and the overall effect of the show. I hope i get to see colorguard or winter guard soon at the olympic's. Get a group of people and contact the olympic programme commision. good luck:)

[iGuest 3]

I've been in colorguard for three years now and because so many of us have dancing experience and what not we get to do so much with our competition routines. A lot of the high school teams and college teams do put girls up in the air and its amazing when they do, they just practice ALOT! And we do conditioning too, just to build up our stamina and muscle strength, i can do a lot more than i was able to and tbh i think that it should be an official sport in the Olympics, not just an exhibition. We work our tails off just as hard as the other sports.. I also enjoyed cheer but i love color guard, i actually want all of the people that read this to try and twirl a flag, or even a yard stick that's atleast five feet long. You will enjoy it more than you think. I know i did. Trust me, you'll love it. #colorguardismylife

[iGuest 3]

It sounds too complicated, and furthermore, it would be difficult to come up with a judging criteria for which the points can be awarded for. Besides, it does sound more like a a performance than a sport. More importantly though, I would think it is not considered an Olympic sport because it is not popular. I have never heard of Colorguard until today. It may be popular from where you come from, but an Olympic sport should be one that is known to many all over the world.

 

If colorguard should be considered an Olympic sport, many other games could be too. My friend complained about Billard not being an Olympic sport. If Colorguard was considered an Olympic sport, then why not Billard? Billard reminds me of air rifle where it requires concentration, good aiming and stamina (from standing and bending). We would probably have an Olympic games that lasts 16 weeks rather than 16 days

I definitely think it should be an olympi sport. Like people have already said, it is already an international competing event, and there is already a scoring system set up. I don't know why it isn't one other than the fact that not a lot if countries have it, or even know of it. But it is really similar to rhythmic gymnastics which is already a summer olympic event. J am in colorguard and I know firsthand that the possibilities, and the things you can do with it are endless. Look up some WGI videos on YouTube, and see how hard and impressive it is. It is very artistic and athletic at the same time, and can be just as hard as figure skating, its just way different.

[iGuest 3]

Honestly, there's more to gymnastics and Olympic sports in general than that. Gymnastics is a 100 times more complex sport than it looks.I don't think popularity has really something to do with a game being an Olympic sport. Otherwise many Olympic sports would've been out and really bad "sports" like Cricket would've been in the picture. But yes, as many said it does look like more of a performance than a sport. Something you can have in between events but not as an event. I view it as good as cheerleading. And thankfully, cheerleading is not an Olympic sport.And again, there's the judging criteria. You can't really judge such an event. A factor that could be defining in a certain groups performance would not even be present in another group's performance or the entire layout of the performance might make that factor irrelevant.There are many things people compete in, but having all of them in the Olympics, we would have it running all 4 years straight. XD

 

Honestly, there's more to gymnastics and Olympic sports in general than that. Gymnastics is a 100 times more complex sport than it looks.I don't think popularity has really something to do with a game being an Olympic sport. Otherwise many Olympic sports would've been out and really bad "sports" like Cricket would've been in the picture. But yes, as many said it does look like more of a performance than a sport. Something you can have in between events but not as an event. I view it as good as cheerleading. And thankfully, cheerleading is not an Olympic sport.And again, there's the judging criteria. You can't really judge such an event. A factor that could be defining in a certain groups performance would not even be present in another group's performance or the entire layout of the performance might make that factor irrelevant.There are many things people compete in, but having all of them in the Olympics, we would have it running all 4 years straight. XD

Yes you can judge an event like this!!!!!!! I am in winter guard and we go to competitions almost every single weekend! And there are judges in the categories movement, equipment, General Effect, Time, Design, etc... There are trophies (1st, 2nd, and 3rd) similar to the Olympics. Yes I understand that not every sport can be in the Olympics, but the fact that You compered it to Cheerleading obviously shows that you no nothing about thee sport!! I bet you have never even been to a winter guard competition! If you looked up on you tube the world class guards (the highest most advanced category) some of the stuff they do is amazing!!! It is incredibly difficult. I have seen a girl pass out from hitting her self on the head with a rifle while tossing a 6! I have bruises all over my body from Guard! When you actually try to do the things winter guard teams due and you been to competitions then you can talk, but until then I think you better get your facts strait!