Pace count for Color Guard Comp

[RickFranz]

I just returned from judging a Region Color Guard Competition.  The one thing that really stood out to me how slow the teams where moving.  I had read in that the pace count for this event was between 100 to 120 beats per minute.  At the out brief we asked each team why they where going so slow and each team stated that when they go to National, the AF Honor Guard marks them down in points for moving to fast if they go at the rate stated in our guidelines.

It would seem that we need to make sure that one or two things happen.
1) The AF Judges be made aware of our rules for this event, including pace counts or,
2) We change this to an Honor Guard Competition, with all the slower movements and pace count.

Thoughts???

[PHall]

What does CAPM 52-4 say? I don't see a "pace count", just a minimum and maximum time to complete the eval.

[RickFranz]

One of the Judges looked it up, I believe it was on page 32 para K.

[RickFranz]

see
32 CAPM 52-4 ATTACHMENT 1 (CONT'D) 2 JUNE 2009
Attachment 12). Also prohibited are stomping, high stepping or "goose" stepping, and slow (death)
marching cadence.
k. The color guard will march with normal arm swing and normal cadence.

[coudano]

As always there is a tension to pull between following the rules precisely, and being impressive to subjective judges.  Many times the case has been made that for wing and region competitions to enforce the rules more strictly, places those teams at disadvantage at national where the teams that do it get better scores.  So do you want to be right, or do you want to win?

How "high" is high, on high steps?  or how high can you step to maximize "ooh ahh" points without getting busted for prancing silly...
Can you do flourishes, pauses, or slow counts on rifle movements?
Can you slow down to 100 steps per minute (cadence is the word you are looking for).  Can you get down to 95 without getting caught???  If it gets you more points... right?  I don't think anyone is going to get out a metronome...

It's a subjective/moving target.  That's part of the show.


Also check out conflicting data between CAPR and USAF Regs for things like flag handling for outdoor practical, and placement at places like auditoriums.  I've seen teams get penalized for things that are *required* by CAP reg, but prohibited by AF reg.  And don't even start me on "the honor guard way", which is a whole NOTHER ball game.

[tsrup]

I believe there is a NCC ROE that was published that should have all of the information you are looking for, I'm in the process of moving so I don't have it readily available, but if the judges are going against the ROE than that is an issue for dispute.  Regional competitions should strive for the same standards as National for consistency. 

As for the extra flare, I'm all for the KISS approach when training cadets, the less stuff you add to it, the less likely they are to mess things up.  Follow and perfect the ROE and you cant go wrong. 

Side note, anything other than "natural" is obvious and looks silly.  High stepping should allow for the cadets to point their toes toward the deck while tracing the calf, but any higher looks awkward. 

[Maj Ballard]

My team won NCC in 2008 and used the proper cadence. They were not downgraded. Sounds like an urban legend/excuse to me. YMMV.