Hard work to reach the top in marching

Press, 13 March 1984, Page 22

Hard work to reach the top in marching

More than 600 girls will be putting their best foot forward at Queen Elizabeth II Park this week-end.

dedicated to take part. Girls aged seven and over < can join marching teams. Boys are excluded, although recently there has been talk amongst marching administrators about including boys’ teams in the future.

They are the members of 62 marching teams from all over New Zealand who will be competing in the national marching championships. For the marching teams and their supporters, these championships are the climax of a build up involving many hours of practice. To take part in the nationals, teams have to qualify in local contests. In the Christchurch area there are 23 marching teams, and nine of these have qualified to compete in the national championships. There will be three Christchurch teams in each of the three grades, midgets — for girls aged 8 to 12; junior, 12 to 15; and senior, over 15.

In the championships the teams perform a set march plan, and then a display of their own choice. In recent years the own choice displays have become quite adventurous and are exciting to watch. A lot of hard work goes into preparing a marching team for competitions. At practices the team, under the guidance of their instructor, perform basic turns and movements as well as practising display patterns.

An important person in the marching team is the leader. She blows her whistle to signal to the nine other members of her team when to ’change direction or make some other movement which is part of the display.

At the top level, teams practise on a week night for about three hours, then all day Saturday and Sunday, so girls have to be very

The leader also has the responsibility of getting the team ready for an inspection before they start to march — she measures out the distance between the team members and makes sure that the rows and lines are straight.

The leader has to have a very good memory to remember the sequence of steps. In the set march plan at a contest she has to hit with her foot various discs which are placed on the field by the judges — careful judgement of the length of pace is necessary to achieve this. The skills learnt at marching are not forgotten even after leaving the sport. Marching girls learn to hold themselves well and walk nicely, qualities which will be useful throughout life.

Members of marching teams have to help raise money so that they can travel away for marching competitions. Some girls are attracted to marching by the smart uniforms, which are usually made of brightly coloured material such as red, yellow or blue, sometimes with rich gold brocade and shiny silver buttons. Skirts are worn short so that the movements made by the marchers can be clearly seen. The whole body has a part to play, with special attention to eyes, shoulders, knees and feet.

Special white marching boots which come about half way up the calf are worn. Girls generally buy these themselves, at a cost between $36 and $4B.

A yearly subscription to belong to a marching team, which includes the hire of the uniform, can range from $3O to $2OO.

Further information on marching can be obtained from Mrs C. J. Panirau, phone Christchurch 495-550.