How big should my flag be?

Here's a frequently asked question from many of our viewers and readers:
HOW BIG SHOULD MY FLAG BE IN PROPORTION TO MY POLE?

There are a lot of schools of thought on this concerning effect and design and all kinds of other ideas. However, the majority of you are probably just curious as to standard sizes. I present to you, the standard sizes:


Now, what if you have a big, beautiful ballad and you want to have just lots of fabric everywhere? Can  you put a flag with a 45" sleeve on a 6 foot pole? Absolutely! These are just the standard sizes according to the rule of halves. You generally want your normal spinning flags to have a sleeve length that is half the length of your entire pole. This is not a set in stone sort of rule, or one that judges are looking for you to follow with every single show. It's always going to depend on the effect you want to create on the field. However, this is great to know for training purposes or for ordering flags that are the same size. 

Need to order a practice flag? Here are some direct links!

• Flag pole (with caps and weights)
• Silk
• Tape

Good luck this season!

<3 Jackie

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

Taking color guard to Illinois

This weekend let me tell you. It was so great I loved it, it was so fun and full of surprises! On friday we had practice and made sure everything was perfect! We had so much fun. We had to go to bed at 10:00 because we had to wake up at 4 IN THE MORNING!! LIKE WWWHHHHAAAATTTTT?! haha. In the morning we got on the bus and basically everyone fell asleep haha. I mean it was 4:30 am so, everyone was super tired. Oh and by the way we were on our way to Illinois for a competition. We then got there and got ready to preform. We went in the hallway and did our "ritual's" haha. We then preformed. We didn't do our best. Alot went wrong. Some of us did our best and some of us messed up but that's OK. We then had where they told us what place we got. And we thought we would get 2nd like a really low grade. BUT THEN WE GOT A HIGH GRADE.... AND 1ST!!!!! We then celebrated by eating Culver's. And then went home.

<3 Kirsten

Spinning in Memphis

This year we were invited to come to a color guard competition in Memphis, TN. I have a very solid history with Memphis since I marched Memphis Sound Drum and Bugle Corps many years ago before they tragically folded. I am still very good friends with many people who I marched with, as several of them are members of the staff at Spintronix in addition to teaching at their own schools. We decided to rent an Airbnb instead of getting a hotel, and the benefits of that choice have been astounding. It brought our group closer together as there were common spaces, and they could go to one another's rooms. There was also plenty of space in the yard for rehearsal! Winning at Memphis and also breaking our all-time score record was almost easy because of the closeness of bonds that the performers had, and how excited they were to be in a new place. I highly recommend doing a trip to any group who needs to initiate a closer bond between group members.

Jackie

Memphis weekend was one weekend I'll never forget. We all showed up early to help pack and then headed out that same night! There was no sleeping at the Angelica building. 🙂 After a long ride we arived at our temporary home sweet home and all proceeded to pass out into our beds. We woke up the next day and became an out door guard, that includes fighting sticks, marching around the block, and learning popcorn marching. We left for the school and rocked the socks off our show before sprinting across the road for food! We spent a second crazy night (with no bedtime) then headed back to Angelica to unpack. 🙂

<3 Shandon

Hard Work with the Fam

The First time I walked into Spintronix I thought to myself, "Man I will never make this team because they are all very good at guard." I didn't think that I was good enough to be on it.  The team showed me different. As the saying goes there is no I in team. You learn how very true that is. We work very good as a team, but we work great as a family. This weekend we did a lot of cleaning, anything to make us better. We broke down all the weak parts and re-informed the members of the counts so that everyone was together. We did a lot of warm-ups that made our muscles hurt so bad from a long weekend of hard work. Getting ready for our next competition in Memphis. 

- Dannie

Let's see how far we've come

I will never forget the first time I walked into Spintronix rehearsal seven years ago. The lobby was tiny, the rooms were cold because we did not have heat, and we had to bring our own sleeping bags and blankets because we did not have beds. Our rehearsal space did not have heat either, which meant we had to wear lots of layers. We also cooked our breakfast on a hot plate. Despite all of these things, walking through that door was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

     Over the next few years, we made major improvements both in performance and in our rehearsal facilities. However, our greatest improvement was how we grew together as a family. Sure, we had some members leave and new members join, but everyone knew that we could depend on each other both on the floor and in everyday life. We celebrate life’s milestones with each other. Everything from birthdays and graduations all the way to weddings and having children.

     Today, we have heat in our whole facility, a real bed for each performer and staff member, and a full kitchen to prepare meals in. As the last remaining charter member, it is awe‑inspiring to stand in rehearsal now and look back on where we started. We have come so far in the last seven years, and I cannot wait to see where we are seven years from now. Because of this organization, I have discovered my passion and am on the path to making a career out of it. It has been a great honor to be a part of the growth and development of this amazing group through the years. 

Alicia Cernetisch

Seven-year veteran

First Competition!!!

This weekend was our first competition. Friday we did run-throughs all night. When we were done with that we finished taping our guns and loaded everything in the BUS!!!!! We got to use the bus finally. Also Friday night we learned that Sasha, Jackie’s dog, can go to competitions with us. Saturday morning we woke up at 7:00 am, then ate cinnamon rolls and loaded anything that we didn’t load that night. At 8:00am we left for Republic. We arrived at 10am, got signed in, and dressed. We did Neon and then went to warm-ups. Now it was time to perform! The performance went great. After lunch was awards. At awards we got 1st place!!! We got undressed and loaded up to go home.

- Cheyenne