Team 'really excited' to compete

A Dunedin marching team will be putting their best foot forward as they line up to perform their routine at an international competition this Saturday.

Onyx Militaires performed their routine at the Edgar Centre to a thrilled audience yesterday, before heading off to compete against 23 marching teams at the inaugural 2023 Australia and New Zealand Drill Dance and Marching Tattoo.

Straight off the back of their last season, the under-18 team have been training tirelessly and raised $38,000 in a matter of months.

After all the hard work, Onyx Militaires co-coach Shona French said the girls could hardly contain their excitement.

"They’re on cloud nine, really excited."

Ms French said the girls had worked hard to master their routine in such a short time, having hardly had a break since last season.

They had been training every Sunday, alternating between three and six hours at a time, to get them to the level they were at now.

The under-18 team even featured members from the under-13 squad, who had to learn everything from scratch.

Ms French was proud of the work they had put in and was amazed at how far they had come.

"It’s fantastic. They come along really nervous, not believing they can do it, and then to get to this stage where they’re actually getting excited to want to do it.

"The personal growth, development and confidence is what I get the most out of it."

Onyx Militaires had been selected for the competition based on their previous merits, having won several national titles before.

They would be performing their display routine, which had more freedom than the standard technical routine.

Display routines showcased the excitement, expression and projection of marching, whereas technical routines resembled a typical army drill to normal marching music, Ms French said.

It gave the girls an opportunity to put forward their ideas and contribute to the creation of the routine.

The competition takes place on the Gold Coast, Queensland, on Saturday.

tim.scott@odt.co.nz , PIJF cadet reporter