A sport as seen by dictionary.com is an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.

Now, what exactly is Color Guard? To our school, Color Guard is a team who dances with flags, rifles, sabers, and swing flags. They perform at the halftime shows during football games and march at parades with the band. During the winter, they break off from the band for ‘winter guard season’, which is a competition between the various guard teams of different schools.

Now, here’s the real debate: is Color Guard a sport? A topic that has raged on the Internet, starting with the furious guard teams who demand that Color Guard be recognized as a sport, has now come to our community. A poll was set up on Instagram, popping the question to students of not just Santiago, but other schools as well. A total of 66 students voted. The results were: 73% voted that yes, Color Guard is a sport, and the other 27% voted no. Students’ opinions were also collected on the matter.

• Quocan Nguyen, Freshman at Santiago High School: voted yes – I think Color Guard is a sport because you have to have tryouts right? And you have to practice your routines, similar to what cheer does with theirs.

• Varshitha Alisetty, Freshman at Santiago High School: voted yes – I think yes because it’s a physical activity that requires skill.

• Ryker Rainwater, Freshman at Santiago High School: voted yes – I mean, off the top of my head, it takes practice and physical activity like any other sport, so I would say yes.

• Anonymous: voted yes – Well, you see, the definition of a sport involves skill, and Color Guard is a physical activity which requires skill. But, the only part where it does not relate to a sport is that it is not a competition for entertainment.

• Grace Hoang, Freshman at Eleanor Roosevelt High School: voted yes – It is a physical activity and you go to competitions for it. Strength is needed for carrying flags and you need a decent form to perform dance moves.

• Karissa Lee, Freshman at Centennial High School: voted yes – Yes, because we mix dance, gymnastics, and other things that require physical energy, all at the same time while using our equipment. We also have 3-hour practices, three times a week or more.

• Heidi Nguyen, 8th Grader at Raney Intermediate School: voted yes – The definition of a sport is an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature. You guys have to be active to do Color Guard and you guys obviously compete.

• Kaylee Kramer, Sophomore at Santiago High School: voted yes – Color Guard is a sport because as said in a definition of a sport, we do a physical activity such as conditioning and running. We also compete against other teams for entertainment.

• Ethan Lara, Freshman at Santiago High School: voted yes – It is skill based and is a competition, so therefore it is a sport.

• Ashley Nguyen, Freshman at Eleanor Roosevelt High School: voted yes – First, since marching band is also considered a sport, Color Guard is also a sport. Color Guard counts for P.E. requirements and you spend extra time outside of school for it.

• Diya V., 8th Grader in San Francisco: voted yes – A sport is defined by physical exertion which Color Guard definitely has. If eSports can be considered as a sport, then Color Guard definitely can.

• Tyler Vu, Sophomore at Eleanor Roosevelt High School: voted yes – It requires physical activity and there are competitions, so it is, therefore, a sport.

• Serena Duttera, Junior at Santiago High School: voted yes – Color Guard combines dance with hand-eye coordination of equipment.

• Chantal Le, Freshman at Eleanor Roosevelt High School: voted yes – It’s a sport because it involves “physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment,” which is the definition of a sport.

• McKenna Baker, Freshman at Centennial High School: voted yes – It requires athleticism.

• Landon Tyner, Freshman at Santiago High School: voted yes – It requires repeated, strenuous activity.

• Tristan Brown, Freshman at Santiago High School: voted yes – I’m in it, and I can tell you that we work as hard as any team out there. It takes time, effort, and a lot of pain, including the possibility of getting a concussion, so yes, it is a sport.

• Natalie Price, Freshman at Santiago High School: voted yes – Color Guard competes and earns awards. It also replaces P.E and has coaches and tryouts.

• Sarah Petelo, Freshman at Santiago High School: voted yes – Yes, because it still requires athletic clearance (which is for SPORTS). It is a TEAM with COACHES, and includes arm strength for spinning.

• Andrew Tyler, Freshman at Santiago High School: voted yes – In all we do during band and Color Guard practices, there is a lot of physical activity. Color Guard may be “dancing,” but it is very difficult. Also, you go to competitions and win trophies, so therefore it is a sport.

• Sidra Keissieh, Sophomore at Santiago High School: voted yes – Yes, Color Guard is a sport because we do just as much physical activity as others and it’s just as important. It takes a certain criterion of skill to be in Color Guard, just as it takes a certain amount of skill to play football or basketball. Color Guard is also dangerous, probably more dangerous than any other sport out there.

• Ethan Warfield, Freshman at Santiago High School: voted no – If there is no risk of broken bones or a bad injury (getting hit with a flag doesn’t count), then it’s not a sport.

• Grace Gitau, Freshman at Centennial High School: voted yes – You compete and it takes physical activity and practice 🙂

• Anonymous Freshman: voted no – No, because it’s more artistic than a sport.

• Anonymous Senior: voted no – I don’t believe Color Guard is a sport because I see it more as an activity than a sport. Even if massive physical exertion is placed into twirling the flags, the routines are more organized like a dance. From my observations, the members of the Color Guard team seem to be dancing rather than truly participating in a sport.

• Julia Nelson, Junior at Santiago High School: voted yes – Yes. It’s a physical activity with a ranking system. It’s the same as cheerleading.

• Lauren Bulanek, Junior at Santiago High School: voted yes – Yes, a large extent of Color Guard’s activities qualify as a sport. The history of Color Guard is based around military duty, with military training as a strong foundation.

• Scarlet Rodriguez, Sophomore at Santiago High School: voted yes – Yes, I believe it’s a sport because Color Guard does a lot of things that can injure them way worse than an injury you can sustain from tennis or even golf, and they are considered sports.

• Christina Suarez, Senior at Santiago High School: voted yes – Yes, I believe Color Guard is a sport because they require physical training like any other sport. Color Guard is a sport that requires more energy to be exerted than other sports such as golf. Also, Color Guard can and should be able to be added to a college application as a sport.

• Anonymous Junior: voted no – No, although it is quite a neat skill to have, it is just that. An obtainable skill. It is hand-eye coordination that can be learned with enough practice. Whereas, sports like golf, volleyball, football, etc. requires more than hand-eye coordination.

• Hanna Rauls, Senior at Santiago High School: voted no – I do not believe that Color Guard is a sport. I think it to be solely relying on coordination and although many other sports have this fact as well, I think a sport is more classified as significantly more physically taxing and vigorous.

• Matthew Damian, Sophomore at Santiago High School: voted no – I don’t believe Color Guard is a sport, but instead a physical art like dance or movement theater. Nonetheless, Color Guard requires vigorous training and coordination, similar to many sports.

Is Color Guard a sport? This is the question that had been asked too many students throughout the CNUSD district of different grades. As we can see, the majority of students agreed that Color Guard is a sport, although the minority disagreed.

Color Guard – a team that dances with flags, rifles, and sabers. They perform with the band during football games, march on parade days, and compete during winter guard season.

Would you consider them a sport?