Auditions for Georgia Southern University’s first winter guard team will be held this Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will test those auditioning in flag, rifle and sabre skills.

“Nothing like this has ever been done in Statesboro.  Georgia State and UGA both had teams and I thought it was about time we got one,” Kristen Martin, winter guard instructor and auxiliary coordinator for marching band, said.

Martin, a GSU graduate, was inspired to create the team after marching in Southern Pride for five years.

The team will be comprised of 20 to 30 members and can be any student from GSU. The theme this year will be “The Great Gatsby.”

“Anybody can audition, it’s completely open. We’re looking for all kinds of talent,” Martin said.

The audition will also have a dance portion due to the dance-intensive nature of winter guard.

Try outs will be held at the RAC and equipment will be provided, but there is a $10 fee.

“We really want to see what Georgia Southern has to offer beyond just people in fall guard,” Ebony Turner, sophomore psychology major, said.

The major differences in winter guard and fall guard are the lack of a live band and the difficulty level.

“It’s just the color guard and we do one song for our whole show.  It’s really intense work that we couldn’t do otherwise,” Turner said.

Turner plans on trying out for the team after doing it in high school.

“We had a winter guard at my high school. I kind of started it and it was really fun.  I think it’s a better experience doing it because you can do things that you couldn’t do with the band,” Turner said.

Turner said those trying out should be willing to learn and take criticism, as well as being open-minded and outgoing.