Alex Hall can throw a rifle or flag 10 feet into the air, have it spin multiple times, and catch it with both hands.  

This is because of her love for the art of color guard. 

Her dedication recently landed her a spot in the Chimera Winterguard as well, a selective color guard program based in Macon that performs difficult indoor shows and has a rigorous practice schedule. 

She is the first student at Stratford to ever be accepted to a winter guard. 

Although Alex is passionate about this skill now, she joined color guard originally just because she knew she did not want to join a sports team and wanted more extracurriculars. 

 It was not until she began practicing during the summer before eighth grade did she realize she actually enjoyed tossing flags and spinning rifles. 

“When I first took home all the practice props, I was like this is my thing; I’m liking this,” she said. 

She began practicing nearly every afternoon after that.  

Her interest in winter guard was piqued last year when she heard about the Mercer winter guard. She had missed the audition for that one, but it inspired her to search for other winter guards in the area. That is how she came upon Chimera. 

She decided to sign up and auditioned this September. 

The audition was much longer and difficult than she anticipated. It was eight hours long and required her learning a routine. People were considered based on their abilities and willingness to work hard. 

“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” she said. 

She found out she was accepted at the end of the audition. 

“I was really excited,” Alex said. “I had hope that I would make it, but I didn’t think it would be that easy and that he would tell us there.”

Their show this year is Greek mythology themed. 

Alex hopes to gain new skills from this guard and bring them back to the Stratford guard by teaching others.