Our Guards
Our top unit is called the Mount Markham "Mustangs" Colourguard, started in September of 1999, and we are sponsored in part by the Mount Markham Central School District. Our group is for students from 8th grade (8th graders or younger must try out) through senior and we are a real "family" when it comes to how we practice, what we do for each other and how we perform.
We were started by Mrs. Carrie Abate', a math teacher here at Mount Markham HS in 1999, and even though she's tough on us sometimes, we know it's because she wants us to do our best to make
ourselves, schools and community very proud.
We do many fundraisers, have some corporate sponsors and we host a color guard competition show in March each year to help raise money for all of our groups.
Our varsity guard rehearses approximately 9 hours a week, and we travel to competitions in Upstate, New York, New England and occasional Winterguard International events. We rehearse from 5:30PM-8:30PM at the Leonardsville school, Mondays and Thursdays then selected Saturdays (which are also show days!). Membership in the Mount Markham Mustangs Varsity Guard is open to students in good standing in Grades (6***)-12 in the Mount Markham Central School District and any shared services school district.All Mustang members must sign and agree to the Members Handbook and Contract of Academic Responsibilities that is strictly adhered to. You can fill out a membership form online!
If you are a student in grades (3**)-8, you can also participate in a Mustangs Colourguard.The MTM Ponies JV guard is especially designed to train young people in the art of colorguard while allowing them to slowly get introduced to the world of pageantry and competition.
The Ponies perform at a minimum of 6 local shows between January and April with rehearsal hours of approximately 6-8 hours a week on the average. Students must be in good standing and also have their parents permission and signed contract of membership responsibility.Most rehearsals will be after school, along with some Saturdays as the season starts (January through April) and your willingness to practice at home is a must. All MTM Ponys and their families are considered part of the Mustangs Colourguards Associates organization.If your student is "waiting to join the Mustangs" we suggest that they join the Ponies first to learn the appropriate skills and training so that they can be successful at the Mustang level
If you are student of any elementary school in our districts, we have a colourguard group for you too it's called the "Colts" and we meet on selected Saturdays for 2 hours a day from October through March. Membership in the Colts is for students in grades K-4. If you are a parent of a student in these grades, please go to our online membership page and fill in the information as requested.
The Fillies are the perfect starter organization that develops a sense of team work and camaraderie with students aged K-1st grade. This is the ideal organization for a student who may never have been in a sport before and the limited (short) rehearsal times (1 hour specific Saturdays from December through March) allows the group to focus more on the fun than the "work of guard". They will prepare a short routine for presentation at our home show (Sport of the Art) and will receive a t shirt for successful participation. The next logical step from the Fillies is of course our ever growing Colts. Sign up for the Fillies here.
