Association Huizer ‘Winter Guard’ at the World Cup in the United States: ‘almost a ton needed’

Choreographically waving flags and sabers in gymnasiums, that’s Winter Guard sport in a nutshell. This sport is not very well known, but in Huizen the association The Pride doesn’t take care of anything else. They can participate in the World Cup in the United States. But the small association could need financial support for this, says Henri Jacobs, member of the board of directors, in the radio program Start NH Saturday.

Due to the fact that “flags in the gymnasium” are not well known in the Netherlands, The Pride cannot count on government support. Therefore, the association must pay the participation fees and other costs out of its own pocket. A total of 48 people from The Pride are due to travel to the United States.

“We want to pay for that with a membership fee, bring in sponsors and do campaigns for members,” says Jacobs. “We’re talking almost a ton.” To raise this considerable sum, the association launched a crowdfunding campaign.

“The sport originated in America and came to the Netherlands in the 80s,” explains Jacobs. “So we’re trying to get to the Mecca of our sport, Dayton, Ohio, where the World Cup will be held.”

So it’s no surprise that the sport is dominated by Americans, but that doesn’t mean the Huizers will have to pack their bags again after one day. “We always aim as high as possible. It takes three days in total and the finals are on the last day. We only failed once. Our best result was fourth place in our category”, proudly states Jacobs.