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1. When is the next Spin Camp you offer?
Our Next Spin camp is Saturday, July 24, 2010, from noon until 5 pm. It will be held at Hyde Park Baptist Church gym on 40th and Avenue F in downtown Austin, TX.
We also have "pre-auditions" on Sunday, August 22 from 1 pm -5 pm at St Louis Catholic School at 7601 Burnet in Austin, TX. This is the day before most high schools in the area start classes, and it is move-in weekend for many of the local colleges. Those who are interested in auditioning are welcome to join us on that day to get feedback prior to our actual auditions in September.
We also have "pre-auditions" on Sunday, August 22 from 1 pm -5 pm at St Louis Catholic School at 7601 Burnet in Austin, TX. This is the day before most high schools in the area start classes, and it is move-in weekend for many of the local colleges. Those who are interested in auditioning are welcome to join us on that day to get feedback prior to our actual auditions in September.
2. How many participants did you have at the last Spin Camp?
We had about 25 participants at our June Spin Camp. We also held an open gym in May that had about 28 participants.
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3. How many male participants do you have and has that number increased in the last year?
Do you mean how many male guard members did we have? In 2009, our first year performing, we had 5 males and 4 females. In 2010, we had 6 males and 9 females to start the season, so the number did increase. We had 10 males audition for the group, but only 6 actually participated in learning the show.
If you mean how many did we have at the Spin Camps-- we didn't hold spin camps prior to this year, and I didn't keep track of the male-to-female ratios at this year's spin camps :-)
If you mean how many did we have at the Spin Camps-- we didn't hold spin camps prior to this year, and I didn't keep track of the male-to-female ratios at this year's spin camps :-)
4. What is the average age and length of participation of your members?
This is a funny question because a few months ago I posted this information to our Facebook page and was ridiculed for "being a nerd" and knowing this information! Anyway, the average age in 2009 season was 17.8 years old. In 2010, the average age was actually lower! It was 17.6 years old.
The average length of guard experience in 2009 was about 2.5 years. In 2010 it was 4 years of guard experience. What I mean by that is that the performers had that many years of experience before joining our group.
Since ATX has only been around two years, I haven't estimated the length of participation in ATX yet
The average length of guard experience in 2009 was about 2.5 years. In 2010 it was 4 years of guard experience. What I mean by that is that the performers had that many years of experience before joining our group.
Since ATX has only been around two years, I haven't estimated the length of participation in ATX yet
5. Do you find that current high school guard members are aware of your summer Spin Camps and would you like to raise awareness in that group if not?
We advertise our spin camps on our website, on Facebook, and on Twitter. So, if a high school guard member is a fan of our page on Facebook, or follows us on Twitter, or goes to our website, they are hopefully aware of the spin camps. Also, we encourage our instructional staff and performers and the people who attend spin camp to tell their students and friends about the camps and about our group.
Of course we'd love to raise awareness for our spin camps and our organization! Things like this interview and the upcoming (Sunday, July 4) News8Austin story will hopefully help!
Of course we'd love to raise awareness for our spin camps and our organization! Things like this interview and the upcoming (Sunday, July 4) News8Austin story will hopefully help!
6. As an independent organization, where do you find your biggest supporters?
I'm sorry, I'm not quite sure what you mean by this question. Do you mean who tends to be our biggest fans? or do you mean, who tends to support us financially?
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7. Where did you rank in competition last season and what is your goal for next season?
One thing I have to highlight - we are not overly concerned with rankings, scores, or "winning". If you push the "win factor" as I call it, you just set yourself up for disappointment when you don't win. At our level (A class), we are seen as a "training ground" to set our students up for success at a higher level.
We wholeheartedly believe in training our performers to be strong and confident, and to never give up. Our goal every season is to make our performers better, to put out an entertaining or interesting show and to help our performers grow as people and as performers.
To directly answer your question, though: Who doesn't love to do well when you're in a group that competes? Last season we finished in 3rd place in our class for our local circuit (Texas Color Guard Circuit - which encompasses the area between Central Texas through Houston and parts of San Antonio).
One of the guards that was ranked above us (Black Gold from Houston) ended up winning a bronze medal in international competition at WGI World Championships! Another Texas group in our class (Ars Nova from Dallas/Ft Worth) won the silver medal at WGI World Championships. We're very proud of our friends at Code Black and Ars Nova for their achievements in the Independent A class!
We wholeheartedly believe in training our performers to be strong and confident, and to never give up. Our goal every season is to make our performers better, to put out an entertaining or interesting show and to help our performers grow as people and as performers.
To directly answer your question, though: Who doesn't love to do well when you're in a group that competes? Last season we finished in 3rd place in our class for our local circuit (Texas Color Guard Circuit - which encompasses the area between Central Texas through Houston and parts of San Antonio).
One of the guards that was ranked above us (Black Gold from Houston) ended up winning a bronze medal in international competition at WGI World Championships! Another Texas group in our class (Ars Nova from Dallas/Ft Worth) won the silver medal at WGI World Championships. We're very proud of our friends at Code Black and Ars Nova for their achievements in the Independent A class!
8. Your staff is volunteer, do local high school guard directors volunteer with your group?
Some of our staff are high school guard directors and instructors. Some are not currently, but have been in the past. All of them have been involved with colorguard at various levels, including performing and teaching in some of the top winterguards and drum corps in the country. Their experiences are all listed on our website on the Staff page.
9. What is your main fundraiser of the year?
Well, an independent guard works a little differently than a guard sponsored by a school.
We hold fundraisers all year long rather than holding one or two main fundraisers. Because we have to pay for everything - uniforms, rehearsal space, props, music rights, insurance, equipment, transportation, etc. - we can't rely on just one or two fundraisers during the season.
We actually charge the performers tuition. We have a donation page (http://www.easy-fundraising-
Our non-profit status also allows us to work concessions at University of Texas events, Cedar Park Center, and Dell Diamond. Every performer who works events gets credit toward their performer tuition costs. They even get credited if their friends and family work an event! The amount varies based on where they work. We also hold carwashes, bakesales, and other fundraisers throughout the year.
This year we are hoping to also host a winterguard competition at a local high school. We are going to split the money made with the high school band program at that school to help them buy guard uniforms, flags, etc.
One thing we try to do is give back as much as we can. We've held guard clinics at local high schools in exchange for rehearsal space, we hold a food drive every September for the Capitol Area Food Bank. We've let members from other local independent guards participate in fundraisers with us to help earn money for their guard programs. Right now, we're actually helping out some local high school guards by allowing them to work concession stands with us to raise money for their marching band season.
We believe in creating a guard community and showing support - not just saying we support other groups, but actually helping support them however we can.
We hold fundraisers all year long rather than holding one or two main fundraisers. Because we have to pay for everything - uniforms, rehearsal space, props, music rights, insurance, equipment, transportation, etc. - we can't rely on just one or two fundraisers during the season.
We actually charge the performers tuition. We have a donation page (http://www.easy-fundraising-
Our non-profit status also allows us to work concessions at University of Texas events, Cedar Park Center, and Dell Diamond. Every performer who works events gets credit toward their performer tuition costs. They even get credited if their friends and family work an event! The amount varies based on where they work. We also hold carwashes, bakesales, and other fundraisers throughout the year.
This year we are hoping to also host a winterguard competition at a local high school. We are going to split the money made with the high school band program at that school to help them buy guard uniforms, flags, etc.
One thing we try to do is give back as much as we can. We've held guard clinics at local high schools in exchange for rehearsal space, we hold a food drive every September for the Capitol Area Food Bank. We've let members from other local independent guards participate in fundraisers with us to help earn money for their guard programs. Right now, we're actually helping out some local high school guards by allowing them to work concession stands with us to raise money for their marching band season.
We believe in creating a guard community and showing support - not just saying we support other groups, but actually helping support them however we can.
10. Are you traveling to DCI this year?
The summer is our "off" season. We encourage our members to perform in DCI groups. We hold our spin camps for those performers who aren't marching drum corps. ATX is a winterguard only at this point, so, as a group, no, we will not be traveling to DCI, which is a summer activity.
However, we are planning to return to WGI World Championships in Dayton, Ohio next April. Last year was our first year going, and the performers really learned a lot and are motivated to improve from last season!
However, we are planning to return to WGI World Championships in Dayton, Ohio next April. Last year was our first year going, and the performers really learned a lot and are motivated to improve from last season!
Please feel free to edit these questions or add to them if you want, especially is there is something you want to promote I did not ask. I usually interview in person, and email was a little harder than I thought it would be :)
Another group we've created is ATX "Senior" for performers who are aged 23 and older. We will train people who have never spun before but are interested in learning, and we'll take performers who are very experienced. This will be mostly an exhibition group, but we will also compete at a few shows in the San Antonio area as a "Senior Guard".
And of course, PLEASE tell your readers that we can't continue without their support! There are tons of ways people can help without being members of our groups. We always accept donations in person or through our website. Donations don't always have to be money. A case of water or some healthy snacks donated to the program can really help a lot! Donations of time to work a concession stand, or to help transport our floor to a local show, or to help sew some ripped flags or to help paint our props are wonderful!
If you want to show support but aren't sure how, please contact us! If people have questions, they can e-mail us or ask at http://www.formspring.me/
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