Color Guard is a combination of military drill, the handling of flags, sabers, mock rifles, shields and other equipment, as well as dance and other interpretive movement.

Color guard is a sport that combines many different performance elements, ranging from military pageantry to interpretative dance. Accompanied by a marching band, color guard squads use flags, rifles and sabers to express a visual element of the band's sound. Routines are usually performed on football fields, and are widely seen during halftime of football games.

Perform intricately choreographed routines alongside a marching band.

Color guard squads only perform alongside marching band performances. Other than this, there are no formalized rules for color guard as it is generally not a competitive sport.

The first color guards were used by the British army in the late 18th century. When marching, a company of soldiers would feature a group charged with the task of playing music and displaying the company's flags and banners. The practice soon spread to other country's armies, and became a standard part of military procedure. As warfare evolved and fewer armies marched in large groups over land, color guard became more associated with pageantry than combat. During the 1970's and 80's, non-military color guard grew in popularity due to its inclusion in collegiate drum and bugle corps. The spinning and tossing of flags, sabers and rifles wowed audiences to the point that by the 1990's, nearly every major university band included color guard. Today color guard is a popular activity nationwide, especially at the high school and college level.

Flags
Gloves
Rifles (wooden)
Sabers (wooden)

The spinning and tossing of flags, rifles and sabers can cause serious injury if improperly handled. Caution must be used when attempting any such manipulation.

A background in dance or marching band is helpful in learning routines set to music. Well-developed hand-eye coordination is also a plus in regards to the spinning and tossing of equipment.

Prop - any object used in perfomances; flags, rifles and sabers are the most commonly used

http://colorguardcorner.tripod.com/colorguard/id20.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_guard