The Trojans and Sigma Theta Chi social clubs will look to defend their Sing Song titles from last year. Winners are announced at 8 p.m. on Saturday in Moody Coliseum.

Both clubs are counting on high-intensity shows that not only wow the crowd but also leave the judges with something they have never seen before, said the directors.

“I think you can expect an entertaining show and for Trojans to be represented well this year,” said Andrew Tate, Trojan Sing Song director. “Producing a successful Sing Song act comes down to group motivation and a large part of motivating a group of men is tapping into this desire to go to battle.”

“We have all poured our heart and imagination into this act,” said Kayli Huddleston, president of Sigma Theta Chi. “I think our performance will show that this year and hopefully we make everyone proud.”

Last year, the Trojans ended the Gamma Sigma Phi run of ten championships in 11 years with a performance that launched the crowd into space. Their show entitled “The Sky is No Longer the Limit“, had the Trojan members dressed in astronaut suits. Their program featured many recognizable songs, including the finale which was a rendition of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic“ along with the revealing of the American flag as the concluding move on a memorable performance.

“I believe we are right around where we were last year as far as being prepared,” Tate said. “I probably began thinking about this year’s act as soon as we stepped off the stage last year, but the actual planning process began in late Fall.”

For the Siggies, they will look to follow-up their “When It Rains It Pours“ act from last year, which debuted a creative performance full of familiar songs such as “Singing in the Rain”, “You Are My Sunshine”, “Let it Snow” and many others. One of their most captivating moments from last year’s Sing Song was their humorous line “it never rains in Abilene.”

“I feel like we are very prepared,” Huddleston said. “We have made more subtle last minute changes to different aspects of the act this year than last year, but that doesn’t come as a result of being unprepared. Instead, it’s a result of us fine-tuning every aspect of the act that we can. We are prepared to take the stage and perform to the best of our abilities.”

The desire to repeat as Sing Song champions is very important to both clubs, but the final goal is to represent themselves well and, above all, have fun and grow as a club.

“Personally, it would mean a great deal [to win] but not for the sake of repeating,” Tate said. “For me, it’s not about the winning or losing or who’s holding the trophy at the end of the night. It’s about looking at the club my brother rechartered in 2008 who hardly had enough guys to even get an act on the stage, much less compete, and seeing where we are now as a successful club competing to defend our title.”

The women of Sigma Theta Chi look to defend their title. (Optimist photo by Deanna Romero)