On Sept. 18, the Silver Spurs step out onto the field before kickoff. The crowd is electric and the Friday night lights shine bright, illuminating the debut of their new fringe uniforms, the first new uniform the Spurs received since 2012. Head Director Alexandria Thomas began the process of designing and ordering them immediately after the fine arts department told her it was the team’s turn for new uniforms.

“I wanted something that was going to be sleek and professional looking, something the dancers could feel proud and confident in,” Coach Thomas said.

The first ever uniform for the Silver Spurs included a fringe brief with a sequin overlay. Over time, the fringe was retired and the team adopted an A-line skirt instead.

“I knew that I wanted to bring the fringe skirt back, as it has been requested for a long time,” Coach Thomas said. “I am quite literally obsessed with them.”

Senior Victoria Kerley eagerly awaited the arrival of the new uniforms, a long-desired change to the uniform rotation after four years as a Spur.
“Fringe is so fun to dance in and move around in so I was very excited,” Kerley said. “The fringe was also such an iconic thing that the Spurs had many years ago, so I think bringing it back is so fun.”
However, according to the team, the uniforms have some negatives to them as well. The uniform body suits don’t exactly fit most of the girls’ bodies perfectly like previous uniforms have.

“A downside would be that most of them don’t really fit, so we had to kind of go out of our way to get them altered,” Kerley said, “but beside that they’re great.”

Now, the Silver Spurs will rotate between their Tradition Uniform and the new fringe ones, retiring the sequin outfits and passing them down to the JV team.

“The Tradition Uniform will always be a part of our history, but I also knew we needed a refresh and rebrand, which is why the new uniform looks completely different,” Coach Thomas said. “I think they are beautiful.”

As the Silver Spurs continue to adjust to their new style, the Bronco Band members will soon have a new look to debut as well. This past school year, the band learned they would be receiving new and improved marching uniforms. Head Band Director Peyton Lee now oversees the arrival of the new uniforms, which he hopes will come in any day now.

“Band uniforms have become a lot more modular, which is really cool because it allows you to augment the uniform in a way that matches each show,” Mr. Lee said.

The new uniforms will include a vest with a long sleeve show top underneath. Red show tops can be worn for football games while gray and black show tops can be worn for competitions. Additionally, show tops can be modified to match the theme of each year’s show.

“The freedom and flexibility of the uniform I think is really cool,” Mr. Lee said.

The new vests will also have some attachments, and the shako, or hat, will be an open-top visor with a wrap that goes around the ring as a lighter, cooler version of a shako.

“Really the only big drawback is that it’s a lot more pieces,” Mr. Lee said. “We go to a lot of places, so it’s easy for kids to lose small things – that’s the danger in the organization.”

While the shakos have already arrived, the band still awaits the new uniforms. The arrival date was postponed, but over the summer the band was told they would be here by mid-September.

“I would really like to wear them to at least a couple competitions and our last few football games,” Mr. Lee said.

Mr. Lee received word that the uniforms should arrive on October 10. Parents agreed to quickly organize the pieces and get band members fitted by next gameday. Uniform Manager Abigail Rhodes,12, will help facilitate the transition.

“It’ll be a tough process because we have to resize everyone,” Rhodes said. “It’s gonna be kind of stressful.”

The students will face big changes to their current uniforms that consist of bibbers, which are overall-like pants that will stay the same, and large, polyester jackets.

“They’re fine, I just think they’re old and a lot of the clasps are broken,” Rhodes said. “The new uniforms are a lot more up-to-date.”

After years of being worn, many of the tops are ripping or pulling apart at the seams. Band students like the idea of fixing these problems with a new design.

“I think they’re really fire,” Rhodes said. “From the pictures we’ve seen, the concept is really cool and could be used in a lot of cool ways for our shows.”

Overall, the uniforms introduce a more modern look for marching bands that will prove easier for band members to play and breathe in.

“Gone are the days of the bulky polyester jackets,” Mr. Lee said. “These uniforms will be cooler for the students temperature-wise and beyond.”