Drill team A drill team can be one of four different entities : Military Drill Team . A Military Drill Team is a marching unit that performs routines based on military drill . These teams often perfect their proficiency and then choose to compete against other programs . These competitions are generally called " Drill Meets " , and are held all across the world . The top American bladed ( bayonet - only ) independent drill meet is Pro America and the top American independent armed drill meet is the Isis World Drill Championships for post high school professional exhibition drillers in the nation . There is also the National High School Drill Team Championships held in Daytona Beach , Florida for high school students where schools from across the US descend on Daytona Beach and the Ocean Center for a wonderful weekend of competition and camaraderie . There are two divisions for competing , Unarmed , and Armed . This year ( 2013 ) Patriot Pride from Francis Lewis High School NY , had won the overall first place in the unarmed category . Also see high school " military " drill teams in high school . Washington , Idaho , California . United States . All of the United States military service branches have an official drill team part of their respective service Honor Guard . The service academies have drill teams , as well as many college and university ROTC ( Reserve Officer Training Corps ) and high school JROTC ( Junior ROTC ) units . Additionally , many community - based organizations such as the Army Cadet Corps , Naval Sea Cadets , Young Marines and Civil Air Patrol maintain military drill teams . Formerly , some of these units were called Crack Squads . Canada . The Canadians have the Canadian Cadet Organization . The organization consists of the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets , Royal Canadian Army Cadets and Royal Canadian Air Cadets . All three branches of the organization have drill competitions throughout the year . Some of these competitions are hosted by the Regional Cadet Support Units Canadian Drill Competitions consist of the following : Norway . The Norwegian military consist of only one single drill team , consisting of a band and a drill platoon . The team is one of five infantry companies that are assigned the mission to protect His Majesty the King of Norway as well as the castle , his family and are also used to represent the Norwegian armed forces at state - related matters such as state - visits , ceremonies , national festivities and were also prominent in the winter world cup 2010 as guards . As of 2012 , His Majesty the King ' s Guard is also responsible for the safety of the capital of Norway ; Oslo in case of a national crisis . These five companies make up His Majesty The King ' s Guard ( Hans Majestet Kongens Garde ) Battalion , and is a part of the Norwegian army . The band is hand picked through interviews and playing tests prior to the draft date . The band consists of signal horns , a drumline , a pit and the main band . Most of the members year goes to practising and basic military training as the year is a part of their military service . The band is probably the only troop that almost never have " green " duty ( as in field duty ) . Also , the band never stand guard at the castle nor the other guarding posts around Oslo ( the capital ) , neither does the drill platoon . The drill platoon consists of 32 - 40 , first - year servicing soldiers . These are all hand picked through a rigorous selection process that lasts from their drafting at the start of October till December . The soldiers go through basic military training as well as having to learn how to march , weapons drill and how to perform synchronically . Throughout the selection process the soldiers have to prove themselves worthy a spot on the drill team , as these soldiers will be representing not only the King ' s guard , but also the Norwegian military and the Norwegian state both national and internationally . Everything in their daily duty from the bed , room , facilities , closets , uniforms and physique needs to be at excellent standards 24 / 7 . These men strive for perfection in all that they do and are often seen running around the various woods nearby the base as well as working out at the gym . Every year , these soldiers finish their service with one of the highest average physical results in the army . Their uniforms are spotless and wrinkleless , in addition their boots are so well polished that you can literally reflect yourself in them . As opposed to what one might think , these soldiers draft year have been compared to as even harder than what the first - year service in the special forces is . Though most likely not as hard physically , the mentality and the pressure in being the best of the best puts these soldiers under a tremendous amount of pressure every hour of every day , every day of the year . Their rigorous training results in being one of the best drill teams in the world . The band and drill platoon ( 3rd company ) is the only drill team that have been invited to the legendary Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo nine times , 2012 being the most recent . The Drill Meet . A Drill Meet is a competition for Military - style Drill Teams . The US military ’ s Honor Guard units have drill teams ; however they do not compete against each other in a drill meet such as this . The only exception to this is Pro America where individuals compete , but not the full drill teams . What is common across the US is high school JROTC and college ROTC teams competing against each other . Phases . Each meet has different phases : Many drill meets differ regarding what events are offered and what divisions of competition are presented . Drill meets generally include both an armed and unarmed divisions . Events offered generally include several different phases : Inspection , Color Guard Regulation Drill and , in addition , ( drill based on a service ' s manual ) and Exhibition Drill in which they march intricate maneuvers along with manipulating equipment including rifle s , sometimes with fixed bayonet s . Weapons . Each of the above phases can be marched by an armed ( with a military sword , saber , or rifle ) or unarmed team . NOTE : Many drill meets allow the use of a sword in the unarmed division , but never a rifle of any kind . All drill teams can march a guidon ( United States ) . Dance Teams . Texas . School drill teams were started in 1928 by Gussie Nell Davis . She created the first drill team , then called a pep squad , at Greenville High School in Greenville , Texas . They were called the " Flaming Flashes " and they performed at every halftime show . After creating the Flashes , Davis was called to Kilgore College to form a college drill team . She created the world famous " Kilgore Rangerettes " to perform at halftime at the college . The Flaming Flashes and the Rangerettes set the stage and almost all Texas drill teams now consist of a line of performers with the officers in front of the team leading them at every game . The second college drill team to be created in Texas was the Tyler Junior College Apache Belles in 1947 . Ever since then there has been a fierce rivalry between the Apache Belles and the Rangerettes . There are several hundred drill teams in the state of Texas alone . The traditional uniform for these teams usually consist of a white ( sometimes other colors ) cowboy hat with white boots . The officers of the teams also typically wear all white and the line members wear school colors . Texas drill teams perform visual routines in the stands during football games and at halftime . Texas drill teams are also usually all female . These teams are known to use large props during halftime shows and visual crowd pleasing dance routines . Some drill teams compete at various competitions in the spring in other dance styles such as hip hop , jazz , lyrical , clogging , and kick . Washington . In Washington state , the phrase " drill team " usually refers to high school performance / spirit teams that compete in the " Drill " and / or " Military " category at local , regional and statewide " Dance / Drill " competitions . Drill routines ( sometimes referred to as " drills " ) typically entail ( indeed some argue " should " entail ) : Judging is currently known as Ordinal judging and ratings categorized by Superior , Exceptional , Excellent , and Good . The WIAA Dance / Drill competition is the annual Championship event for qualified dance and drill teams held annually in the last weekend of March . A Washington drill team member , or " driller " , is not a dancer , but a dancer can be a driller . Since the foci of Drill are presentation and spatial precision , drillers do not necessarily need attributes typically ascribed to dancers , such as a high level of flexibility ( although this is a large portion of what many teams exhibit in their rouitines and part of their score ) or an aptitude for expressing emotions with the body . This generally allows for larger team sizes , with most teams having about 20 or more members . Utah . In Utah most 3a , 4a , and 5a schools have a drill team . This sport is incredibly competitive in this state , probably due to the high number of dancers . Tryouts are normally held during the months of April and May the school year before the season . The reason for this is because most teams work on their technique , go to camps , and perfect their smaller routines over the summer for the performances they do at the beginning of the school year . The summer preparation gives teams more time to perfect their main routines for the winter competition season . Teams usually compete at 3 - 4 competitions before taking their routines to their schools region competition . The teams that place in , usually , the top 4 at region get to go to state and compete against many other school districts . The dance styles for drill include lyrical , hip hop , officers , and camp dances ; which are the smaller routines performed at school functions and optional at competitions . The required pieces , and only routines performed at region and state are dance , military , and kick . Dance . This routine features flexibility , grace , leaps , pirouettes , fuetes , and many other skills . Good technique , a visual routine , and a performance face is what will get you high scores for this routine . Military . The style and technique of a military routine is very different , and often surprising when first viewed . They have intricate formations , walking patterns , arm sequences , kicks , drop splits , and up until the recent ban , they included headstands as well . It should look as though the team is one person . Every move should be incredibly precise and hit hard . Faces are typically scary or serious . Music is mostly instrumental . Kick . Kick routines are all about the legs . The majority of the routine is kicking , either in a kickline or alone . The judges score based on the number of kicks in the routine , how high your kicks are , and how straight and pointed your legs and feet are .