Highlandettes fans need not panic – no changes will be made to the drill team’s uniform.
“People were very misinformed and worked up over nothing,” says Vicki Colman, the drill team’s director for the past six years. The 65-member drill team dances during half-time at football games.
Several letters protesting a rumored change in uniform style and material were sent to school board members and to the Lake Highlands Advocate last month.
“The decision to change the look of the drill team should be a community decision, not that of a handful of people,” one anonymous letter read. The letter writer went on to complain that some team members’ mothers had been “plotting and scheming” to change the look of the uniforms.
The original replica was developed in 1961, and the skirt didn’t contain any starch, says Anita Everhart, the Captain Mom (her daughter is the team’s captain).
In the mid ‘70s, a previous drill team leader decided to add starch to the uniforms, and since then, the team has gradually reduced the amount of starch used, Everhart says.
“This is heavy stuff,” Everhart jokes.
The team last purchased new uniforms in 1989 and usually buys uniforms every six or seven years, Everhart says. This year’s pending purchase of replacement uniforms may have led to the rumors, Everhart says.
And just in case you’re worried, the new skirts will have the same amount of starch, Everhart says.
