[Ansteorra] Flags for Flag waving

[Emeline de Neville]

If you are thinking of flags used by color guards as in marching bands, i.e. flag and rifle teams, the making of your own flags is a bit more complicated.  

Generally 5' to 6' aluminum or fiberglass poles are used and generally plastic/rubber stoppers (like those used on furniture) are used on the ends to avoid injury when 'tossing'.  Poly China Silk, Lycra, Chiffon and Lame are what is commercially used for flags.  I've seen single color square designs as cheap as $6.50, curved or cut designs as cheap as $8.00.  

The most important aspect of a 'flag' is balance.  If you want to be able to toss and catch a flag without braining yourself or your neighbor, it has to be balanced or it won't fly true (and wind is NOT your friend).  Velcro is the most often used fastener on marching band flags, since halftime shows often required a flag change.

In some more advanced color guards, there is a hybrid of the flag and rifle called the swing flag.  They are smaller 2' to 2.5' poles, with smaller flags of course and can be spun much faster with a single hand flip as used for rifle spinning.  They of course can be tossed higher, due to their lighter weight, but again balance is the key.

Color guards tend to go through flags quickly, wanted to change them to match the theme of each show.  There a tons of websites that sell used flags.  You could possibly stumble on a good color combination/style that might suit your needs.

Okay, so now you know more than you ever wanted to know about color guard.   

Emeline