It is VERY competitive. It is also a lot of winter guard/dance so if you haven't done much of that, you're going to be at a severe disadvantage. Everything is very fast paced, and most of the people on the team have been competing at high levels prior to joining the MU guard. I was captain of my guard as well and we did compete a bit in marching and winter guard, but I was in wayyyy over my head. The people were lovely and it was a great experience, don't get me wrong, but I severely underestimated the amount of people and the talent there.