Coronavirus – it’s been in the news, all over the internet, and through everyone’s social media feed and now it is officially in Virginia. With a total of 9 confirmed cases and a huge spike in infected people within the DMV area, people are trying to be as cautious as possible.
D.C has recently issued a state of emergency that will allow them to enforce quarantines and closures and Virginia is following in similar cautionary practices.
FCPS, the largest county in Virginia, has mandated that any out of state field trips or school sponsored events be canceled or postponed until this virus blows over. They are doing their best to lessen the amount of travel between states in an attempt to prevent state to state spread of this virus.
Although this preventative measure is crucial to community health many students are suffering due to its effects. School sponsored events, competitions, sport events, that were stationed out of state have now all either been cancelled or postponed and this is bad news for McLean’s Colorguard. They were expected to compete at the WGI Colorguard World Championships in Dayton Ohio after years of practicing and preparation.

“This sucks because we’ve worked so hard for so long and now we can’t even compete,” senior Nandini Shine said

Dayton & Montgomery County said it is moving into the “mitigation state” of the coronavirus pandemic and due to this WGI Winter Guard championships have been officially cancelled.
The Colorguard will not have the opportunity to compete in this event and this has left many grossly disappointed.
“We we’re doing really well this season and we could do better had we had the chance to do so”
Not only has Coronavirus cancelled MHS Colorguard’s competition but it may also cut their season short. There are still competitions scheduled for guard but all of them are at different schools in the county. If FCPS closes for corona prevention or they deny travel between schools this forces the guard season to end abruptly.

“This Friday could be our last everything. Everything we worked hard for could be over in just a few days. The seniors, we’ve been doing this for four years and everything we dreamed of is just over,” Shine said.

Although there is a chance for these competitions to still continue as scheduled or be postponed, coronavirus has still hit McLean’s award winning Colorguard hard. A decision for their last two competitions will be made by Friday March 13.

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At the direction of Dayton & Montgomery County Public Health, and in consultation with the Ohio Department of Health, and Governor DeWine, WGI Sport of the Arts is canceling the 2020 WGI World Championships for Color Guard, Percussion, and Winds. The numbers involved in an event of this magnitude urge caution in light of recent national and international health concerns. Over nine days of competition, groups from 41 states and five countries would travel with over 16,000 participants. While we are deeply saddened to cancel these prestigious events, our priority is, and always has been the health and well-being of all those involved with our organization. Creating opportunities for young people is the foundation of WGI. The world championships are the culmination of a competitive season and this will mark the first time in 43 years this tradition of excellence will be interrupted by an unprecedented situation. We are grateful for the support and guidance of Dayton & Montgomery County Public Health as well as Greene, Hamilton, and Campbell counties in arriving at a decision in the best interest of all parties. Although it’s true the 2020 WGI World Championships will not take place as we hoped, WGI as an organization will continue our mission – to provide a venue for young people to achieve the extraordinary through performance and competition. Over the coming weeks WGI will be working to untangle the complexities of this situation and we appreciate your patience and understanding.

A post shared by WGI Sport of the Arts (@wgisportofthearts) on Mar 11, 2020 at 2:39pm PDT