Olivia Malanchuk is part of the ICT Independent Winterguard, the only competitive winter guard team in the Kansas area, according to Malanchuk.
Malanchuk, a senior studying integrated marketing communications, is in her last year to compete in Winterguard before she ages out at 22. Since the scene is so small in Kansas, she would have to move to a larger city and join a world guard.
“I did color guard all throughout high school, and I knew I wanted to do it since I was, like, 4 years old and saw it at a football game,” Malanchuk said. “I had known about ICT, and I saw that they were having auditions, and I really wanted to keep spinning.”
Winterguard is similar to high school color guard and is derived from military performances.
“Color guard is what you do with a marching band, on a football field or marching field,” Malanchuk said. “Winter guard is specifically an indoor activity, but it is just like the more advanced version of color guard. Since you’re inside, you have to be more detail-oriented with the moving pieces.”
The practice season for the ICT Independent Winterguard starts in November, and competitions start in February.
The ICT team is completely independent, meaning it has no sponsors, which often puts the team at a disadvantage when competing in larger competitions.
“We don’t have a solid rehearsal space that we can spin in all the time,” Malanchuk said. “We rehearse at whatever church or school will let us use their gym.”
The lack of permanent rehearsal space doesn’t stop Malanchuk or the team. During competition season, the team travels to Missouri to compete in the Mid Continent Color Guard Association (MCCGA) in Missouri.
In April, the team placed second at the MCCGA Championships. Malanchuk said that this year has been the most successful for the team.
Recently, Malanchuk’s team went to Dayton, Ohio, to compete against other winter guard teams from across the country in the Winter Guard International World Championships. The team competes here every other year.
As a student, Malanchuk often finds it difficult to balance her school work and competing in winter guard.
“I pretty much know that I’m going to have a few missing assignments every spring semester,” Malanchuk said. “It’s a give-and-take that works for me since I only have so long to do this activity before I age out.”
In her time competing, she has found that her professors are mostly understanding, not questioning when she misses classes as long as her work gets done.
Malanchuk’s teammate Kaitlynn Morel, a junior majoring in finance and minoring in accounting, said Malanchuk is a great leader.
“She’s very motivating and very fun to be around,” Morel said. “She really lifts the spirits of everyone, which is really nice.”
Morel also said that the team can never tell if Malanchuk is having a bad day because she doesn’t show the team.
“That’s a big part of our culture; at practice, you don’t bring that (negative) energy because it brings down morale,” Morel said.
Because Malanchuk is in her last year of competing in her current winter guard circuit, she is looking at what her plans are after graduation.
“If I wanted to keep competing, I would have to move to a larger city like St. Louis or Dallas, places with open circuits,” Malanchuk said. “Maybe in the future, I’d move, but for right now, I want to stay in Wichita.”
