The Winterguard unit of the music department at Riverbank High School last weekend won the WGI Union City Regional competition for Scholastic Regional A Class, according to RHS Band Director Joey Aguilar.

Winterguard is an indoor color guard sport and performance art derived from military ceremonies.

Modern winterguard is a competitive, performance-based activity which incorporates choreographed staging, dance, and manipulation of equipment such as flags, prop rifles, and sabers (also known as “spinning”).

Unlike traditional color guard, winterguard performances and contests are held indoors, usually in a gymnasium or an indoor arena. Performances typically last three to seven minutes and are generally accompanied by recorded soundtracks rather than live music.

The RHS Winterguard took top honors over 14 other schools from California, Nevada, and Canada with an overall high score of 80.46, Aguilar said.

“This is a huge win for the winterguard,” Aguilar noted. “This win is a continuation of their winning streak that started last season and has continued on into this season.”

Aguilar also went as far as to predict the Riverbank Winterguard will win the Central Valley Guard and Percussion Alliance Championships at Enochs High School on March 29.

“However, it is going to be a tight race for the first-place spot as Merced High School Winterguard and Turlock High School Winterguard are only a point or two behind our winterguard, and both groups are wanting to finally beat our winterguard. Anyone familiar with winterguard knows that anything can happen at championships,” Aguilar said. “It is our wish to have a large amount of school and district support for our winterguard as they head towards championships. If they win, this will be the third championship win for the Riverbank Winterguard within the last four years.”

The 2025 Riverbank Winterguard members include: Captains Felix Pasillas and Katie Alvarez, Alexia Medina, Lydia Rands, Xiomara Martinez-Lazaney, Keylee Heiskell and Aiyana Robinson.