111 Pegasus Squadron Drill Team

Saturday April 2nd, 2016, was the day the Lower Mainland Drill Team Competition was held at Sherman Armouries, home to 655 Richmond Squadron. With a wonderfully prepared parade square, excited spectators, and lively judges, the day marked a total of eight month's work, finally coming to fruition. The competition officially began with an inspection held by the officer judges to gauge the level of our team's dress.  Impressively, we received a 90% mark. Afterwards, the team waited in anticipation for our opportunity to perform.  In these moments, we practiced the full routine, which consists of the Compulsory and Precision drill routines. The compulsory routine is 10 minutes of fundamental drill, while the precision routine is a five minute memorized performance.  Both routines were crafted by the hard work and time of the cadets involved.

The Drill Team performing an Open Order movement during the Compulsory routine

In the moments before stepping onto the parade square, though the team was nervous, everyone felt prepared to display the skills they had learned.  The routine was not without its flaws, however, the entire team came together in a remarkable fashion.  In the same manner, the success we ended up drawing from the competition, was accomplished as a team. Throughout the year I can definitely say that I have seen everyone on the team improve in drill, dress, and deportment. With almost half the team being first year members and still managing a fourth place (out of a total of 13 teams) finish is an achievement unto itself.  I would not take back this experience for anything as I have learned a lot about being part of a team, bonding, struggling, and ultimately improving personally, mentally, and in all aspects related to drill.  With an amazing experience like this, I hope that the success of the team this year will encourage more cadets to join the team, and enable the 111 Pegasus Squadron Drill Team to reach even greater heights next year.

-WO2 Paul Opeda

The Drill Team lines up for a photo, after successfully completing their routine