Winter guard
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Winter guard is an indoor color guard activity, derived from the outdoor summer activity that is commonly part of marching band or drum corps. Unlike colorguard, which performs outdoors on a football field (is part of a marching band), winterguard is performed indoors, usually in a gym or indoor arena. Also, there is no band involved. A winterguard team performs using dance, acrobatic features, and most of all, with various pieces of equipment. While guard equipment can vary from anything to everything, flags, rifles, and sabres are the main pieces of equipment. Guard members toss, spin, and do much more with their equipment, which can change throughout their show. Their show has a selection of music, classical to contemporary. Major competitions worldwide are sanctioned and managed by Winter Guard International.
Winter guard is similar to outdoor color guard (marched with a drum corps or marching band), except the performances are indoors on gymnasium floors through the winter season. The traditional marching band seen during fall season is replaced with a recording of various musical genres. The gymnasium floor may be covered by an individually designed tarp (called a floor by members), one that generally reflects the show being performed on it. Winter Guard International (WGI) is the major sanctioning body for the activity in the United States. While dominant in the United States, there are many other winter guards existing in Europe, and Asia.
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[edit] Winter Guard International
Winter Guard International (WGI), founded in 1978, is a non-profit organization that functions as the governing body of the winter guard and winter percussion activities. Frequently associated with WGI is the phrase "Sport of the Arts". WGI describes winter guard and winter percussion, saying "it brings music to life through performance in a competitive format."
Though WGI national competitions are held in Dayton, Ohio annually, the WGI Staff, Boards, and Steering Committees work throughout the year to help perpetuate the colorguard program. They authorize official WGI-sanctioned regional competitions that are used as qualifier competitions to be accepted to compete at WGI nationals later in that current winter guard season.
[edit] Divisions and Classes
Not every color guard has the same skill level, population or resources available, and judging them against all the other guards of different levels and abilities would be unfair. WGI uses a class division system to help remedy this. There are two divisions, Scholastic and Independent. There are also classes: A, Open, and World.
[edit] Scholastic
The Scholastic division is made up of guards that have members that all attend the same high school or a feeder school of that high school. Scholastic guards vary greatly in their ability and resources because they are much more dependent on support from outside of the members themselves.
In the Scholastic division, there are three: Scholastic A, Scholastic Open and Scholastic World (note: more divisions may exist at the regional level). Scholastic A winter guards tend to be guards a step above the regional level. These guards either are still adopting the mindset of the upper division or do not have the monetary resources to bring in the personnel or ability to compete in the next level. These are typical of most high school programs. Scholastic Open guards are an effective intermediate level for competition. Scholastic World level guards are the winter guards that consistently can perform very high caliber performances and are made up of experienced and superior members. These represent the best of the high school guard programs.
[edit] Independent
The Independent division is made up of guards that do not associate themselves with a school. Additionally, their members are not all of the same age and these kind of guards can be much more selective of their members, choosing to be gender-specific or to only have certain numbers of people.
In the Independent division, much like the Scholastic division, there are the three classes: Independent A, Independent Open and Independent World. The breakdown of skill level and placement is mirrors that of the Scholastic division. Members of Independent A and Independent Open guards "age out" after their 23rd birthday, meaning guard members whose 23rd birthdays fall after March 31st of a given year may march that season. Afterwards, they are too old to march. Independent World guards may compete with members of any age.
[edit] External links
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