User:Citrusaries/Western Illinois University Marching Leathernecks

Westernaires Color Guard
The Westernaires Color Guard is a subsection of the Western Illinois University Marching Leathernecks. The Westernaires, similarly to the Marching Band itself, is a performing group that is open to any student on the Macomb campus, regardless of academic major. There is no required audition to join, except for leadership positions including captains and co-captains.

History
The first recorded instance of a "Color Guard"-like entity being introduced to the Marching Leathernecks is in the Fall semester of 1972. A "Flag corps" with eight female members joined the Marching Leathernecks for their half-time performance for the first time. From then on, the Westernaires became a staple of the Marching Leathernecks band.

Instrumentation
The Westernaires performances consist of two main types of instruments.


 * Flag
 * Wooden Rifle

During the season, each performer is required to spin a six foot flag pole with accompanying silk during all performances. These flags are weighted specifically to suit the needs of their unique choreography, and have a variety of designs. The traditional design choice consists of a purple silk with golden paw prints. In addition to the flag, performers have the option to audition to perform a segment of the half-time show with a wooden rifle. These rifles are white taped all the way around, with a silver bolt and accompanying black strap.

Choreography
Westernaires choreography is created and developed by the selected captains for each Marching Band season. These captains are given recordings of the show music, in which they must spend a select amount of time creating a routine using the flags and/or rifles. These routines consist of a variety of moves and work to interpret and complement the music of the Marching band ensemble.

Westernaires Traditions
In addition to performing the Marching Leatherneck traditions including Georgia On My Mind and You'll Never Walk Alone (song), the Westernaires have several of their own traditions. After every rehearsal, each member gathers into a circle where the captains provide information, praise their work during practice, and encourage the members of the team. Then, each member will insert either their right hand or the tip of their flag into the circle, where they all chant "Toss high, aim higher!" while simultaneously lowering their flag during "toss high" and raising it during "aim higher."

Another tradition of the Westernaires is their unofficial mascot, Ollie the blue whale. He is a stuffed whale used to recognise members for their accomplishments during the season. The members of the team nominate and vote other members to receive Ollie. During Band Camp, Ollie is given to a new member each of the five total days. During the season, Ollie is given to a new person each Friday. The Westernaires ensure each member is nominated once before allowing a nominee to receive Ollie a second time. However, a captain cannot be nominated to receive Ollie. The nominee will take Ollie home and take a selfie with him, which will then be posted on the social media pages for the WIU Westernaires to display the nominee's accomplishments. In past seasons, Ollie has been dressed up in many different costumes for these photos.

During games, when not performing the half-time show, the Westernaires can be found in the stands performing traditional choreography and chants that accompany the Marching Band's stand tunes set, which is played depending on situations in the game. Each member stands against the banisters for the entirety of the game's play-time, rallying on the Western Illinois Leathernecks Football team.