Virtual Solo and Ensemble

Hello Spinthusiasts!

I want to tell you about a cool program that we started this summer at Spintronix called the Virtual Solo and Ensemble. It's an online color guard contest where you send in a video of yourself or you with a group of friends spinning and you are put up against other videos to compete for the virtual championship! My purpose in doing this is to help color guard performers constantly push one another to get better. If you are at home spinning during the off-season you might not be pushed to do your best simply because you are out in your yard or at a Wal-Mart parking lot or something without an audience. This contest will give you a HUGE audience and also some competitors to go up against. This way, when you see your competition tossing a rifle six and spinning around underneath it, you will be more inclined to practice your sixes!

There are also two versions of the contest, because I want to make sure we reach everyone and have different levels of judging available. First, there's the free version. It's a cool contest that is set up using a YouTube playlist, then fans "judge" the entries by liking their videos. The videos on the playlist will constantly change positions during the judging period based on the most popular video, and the one with the most likes will be the winner and move on to the next level of competition. Judges who want to give feedback will leave it in the form of comments on the videos and my hope is that they will be able to give you plenty of advice to get better at color guard! Plus, in order to keep everything positive, thumbs-down votes will not be counted against anyone, and negative comments will be deleted.

The second version of the contest is the paid version. In this version, your video will be looked at by a color guard professional and the winner will be selected based on technique, musicality, choreography, and performance. The entry fee is only $5 so it's accessible to everyone who can pay using a credit/debit card or PayPal account. The winner of the paid contest will receive a cash prize of half of the contest entry fees. That means if there are 10 entries, the winner will receive $25, if there are 50 entries, the winner will receive $125! We won't launch the contest until we have a minimum of 10 entries so the prize can stay a little sweeter.

Entry into the contest is simple. Just go HERE and click on the entry form that you want to use (free vs. paid), fill it out, and include a link to your video. The best part is, there are NO age limits! This would be a great way for you to get to spin with your siblings, instructors, students, friends, family members, and basically anyone you would like! So don't wait around, go get that video ready and enter it in our contest TODAY!!

Some other questions I've been fielding that I DEFINITELY want to answer for you guys;

Q. When will How to Color Guard videos be coming back??

A. As soon as I have time! I'm currently planning my wedding for this summer, plus remodeling a house, and writing for four color guards. Look for our instructional videos to start coming back around August.

Q. But I made a request, are you ever going to get to it?

A. YES! Our request list is long, but I promise we will fulfill EVERY SINGLE VIDEO on that list!!

Q. What happened to Makeup Mondays?

A. Sam has had a busy summer as well, but keep an eye out for more of her videos to come back around DCI championships week... AND she's fulfilling requests still so submit those at any time!!

Q. What's next for Spintronix?

A. Our 2018 winter guard auditions will take place this OCTOBER, so if you have been thinking about trying out, don't hesitate.

Q. I want to be a member of SIG! What do I need to know??

A. For a comprehensive list, check out this page HERE. Otherwise, I would definitely advise you to practice your basics at least on flag this summer. If you know how to do weapons, that is also a plus!

Q. Does it cost to try out for SIG?

A. Yes, but our membership fees are WAY below your average independent winter guard! For starters, auditioning is only $10 per person.

If you have more questions or suggestions, please don't hesitate to contact us! You can send an e-mail to me, Jackie, directly at spintronixguard@gmail.com or you can get a quicker answer by sending a message on our Facebook page and any one of our staff or volunteers will be happy to help you out!

<3 Jackie