The Emerson color guard made history this season by competing at the Winter Guard International Color Guard World Championships in Dayton, Ohio, from April 3 to 5, 2025. They placed fifth after competing against sixty five other schools in their division. Not only was this a victory for the team, but it was also a historic moment as the Emerson Color Guard was the first FISD team in nine years to compete at the world’s championship. 

The Emerson color guard season is split into two sections: The outdoor marching band season and indoor winter guard season. During the fall, the outdoor season performs alongside the marching band while in the winter season,  the color guard is on its own to showcase several performances in indoor competitions. 

“The outdoor season is when we develop training and culture for the winter season,” Director Bryan Ayala-Orellana said. “The winter season allows the color guard to fully showcase the program through competitions in an indoor setting. The training continues from the fall, then we advance on the skills and concepts learnt during that time.”

The team earned their spot at worlds based on evaluations of their regional performance from last season and this year’s season. 

“Frisco ISD required us to show that we are eligible to compete at the world level,” Ayala said. “We did well in last year’s regional competition which consisted of schools from different parts of Texas. Due to this competition we were able to prove to the district that we were capable.”

To prepare for such a high level of competition, the team made some vital changes in their audition process and team practices. 

“We started the auditions for varsity much earlier this year and to determine who could be on varsity we set a benchmark for the auditioners to meet,” Ayala said. “The world competition is against the best of the best so we had to ensure our varsity team had the top performers. This allowed the rest of the team to grow their talents while the varsity team was just a polishing of their skill set. We added a few more tricks and shock factors.  We also committed more time to practice, like during class and any days off school. We knew the payoff would be worth it.”

As the first Frisco team to attend worlds in nearly a decade and also Emerson’s first time competing at such a high level there was lots of pressure to do well.

“It was very exciting to be at this competition,” Tanisha Malhi, 12, said. “This was the first time Emerson was competing at world’s and I was so proud to represent the school and Frisco ISD. There was definitely some pressure to do really well and represent the district excellently.”

Due to the immense effort and time they put in, the team built bonds and created memories that will last a lifetime.

“From the very beginning I realized that this was the last time I would be performing with my team,” Lucia Patino said. “I have been with them since freshman year and seeing the growth we have had since makes me so proud of how far we have come as a team.”

Congratulations to the Emerson Color Guard on their fifth place finish at the world championship. They had an astounding season that is evidence of their hard work, dedication and passion.