Color Guard, Instructed by Maria Rienzi
The color guard carries the American, State of Ohio, and City of Akron flags, also the Canadian flag in out of country parades. The flags are accompanied on either side by the rifle carriers. Color guard is usually an easy start to get used to the feeling of marching in Chapparells, requiring its members to stay on step and salute when necessary. Color guard has no age limit and no tryouts.
Twirling Silk, Instructed by Maria Rienzi
Twirling silks carry the colorful and bright smaller flags, twirling them in choreographed routines that are mostly independent of the music being played. Silks are required to be very precise and quick in their movements, usually involving quick arm movements and very snappy routines. Their uniforms are slightly different from the majorettes, with a long angled skirt in place of the usual mid-cut. Twirling silk is usually a good alternative to Senior Majorettes, as the routines are mostly less complicated. However, tryouts are still required to meet the skills necessary for the section.
Senior Majorettes, Instructed by Samantha Lucas
The seniors are somewhat the showcase of Chapparells, usually being what the focus is on in the parade. For this reason, members are required to tryout close to the beginning of the year to place their scores. Being in seniors requires a lot of practice and concentration and pride. Their routines are usually the most complicated and take the most practicing to fully remember. No prior experience is necessary to be a senior majorette as long as the minimum scores are met at tryouts. Seniors are also taught by an instructor with many years of twirling experience.
Music, Instructed by Andy Bellios
The music section is a small percussion band, with bells, cymbals, snares, tenor drums and the basses. The music provides the tune of the parades, with songs like You'll Never Walk Alone, God Bless America and our own original creation, More, among others. Tryouts aren't necessary for music section, but a good understanding of music is appreciated. Most people in music start out on bass, or cymbals for the littler ones, bells involves a little more skill, and snare and quads usually are the hardest instruments to learn. This season a couple more songs are going to be added to our set list.
Junior Majorettes, Instructed by Laurie Guysick
The juniors are the younger majorettes, with members usually ranging from 8-12. Juniors are a great way to start out in Chapparells, learning the basics of twirling batons and routines. If someone also doesn't make the score for seniors, juniors is always an option to fall back on if they wish to still twirl baton. Juniors do much less complicated routines but are still somewhat based on the seniors.
