Winter Guard International
Winter Guard International (WGI) is an American governing body that sanctions championship events for three competitive performing arts activities: winter guard, percussion ensembles, and indoor wind ensembles. WGI was founded in 1977 in response to inconsistent adjudication and rules of competition which made it difficult for color guards to compete nationally.[2][3] Today, WGI publishes and maintains an adjudication handbook, with an accompanying "Rules & Regulations", that has been widely adopted.[4][5]
Abbreviation
WGI
Winter color guard competitive season
May 15, 1977
31-1421760
Active
Color guard, percussion ensemble, and winds competition circuit
Ron Nankervis
Ed Devlin
US$8.025 million[1]
US$4.334 million
WGI championship events are hosted from January to March and conclude with WGI World Championships in April.[6][3][7] The first World Championship was hosted at Conant High School in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on April 15, 1978.[8] World championships for percussion ensembles began in 1992, and indoor marching bands, called winds, in 2015. A series of field band competitions, promoted as the WGI Friendship Cup were hosted from 1997 to 2003.[3] The next World Championships is scheduled for April 2024 at UD Arena.
A majority of WGI's championships are hosted in the United States, however regional championships have been hosted in Japan, Malaysia, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Philippines, and Costa Rica.[9]
History[edit]
Prior to the formation of WGI, national color guard championships, or other high-prestige championships, were held in conjunction with drum corps or marching band championships, such as: VFW, American Legion,[2] CYO, or DCI World Championships.[2][3][10] The quality of hosts varied widely, as did as the quality of venues and adjudication. As an example, the 1977 "national" color guard championship was held in conjunction with DCI World Championships in Denver.[8] The venue was far too small, there was no functional air conditioning, and the performance area required color guards to maneuver around structural columns.[3]
In 1977, then director of the Seattle Imperials, Stanley Knaub, secured a sponsor—Western Youth International—and a potential venue for a new national championships. However, Knaub was encouraged to seek input from others in the activity by Shirlee Whitcomb and Bryan Johnston.[2][11] Knaub invited color guard educators from across the country to a meeting on May 14, 1977 at the Sheraton Palace Hotel in San Francisco.[10] Those in attendance included: Don Angelica, Marie Czapinski, and Linda Chambers, in addition to Whitcomb, Johnston, and representatives from Western Youth International.[2][3] All agreed any future national championship should be held independent of any drum corps or marching band events. Knaub suggested scheduling the championship during the winter months when most color guards competed locally—after marching band season when scholastic bands focused on concert events, but prior to the drum corps season. Whitcomb, Czapinski, and Chambers, advocated for a regional championship system with a national championship at the end of the winter season. The name "Winter Guard International" was suggested by Don Angelica.[2][3]
A follow-up meeting at the December 1977 DCI Rules Congress included representatives from thirteen color guard circuits and adjudicator associations. The representatives adopted a draft adjudication system and rulebook, as well voting on an organizational structure. Lynn Lindstrom, director of the Midwest Color Guard Circuit, was elected the first Executive Director of WGI. Four competition circuits each donated $250 to fund WGI's first competitive season of fourteen regional championships and a two-day national championship called WGI Olympics.[2][3] The first WGI Olympics was hosted at Conant High School in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on April 14–15, 1978.[8] In attendance were more than twenty-five color guards, fifteen advanced to the finals competition. The national championships would later become the WGI World Championships.
In Film and Television[edit]
"On Guard: A Story of American Youth"[28] is 2023 documentary film directed by Allen Otto and executive produced by Jim Czarnecki. The film follows the journey of an all-female color guard team at Bel Air High School whose goal is to qualify for the 2020 WGI World Championships, which were ultimately canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a performance dedicated to the victims of the 2019 El Paso Shooting.[29]
Contemporary Color is a 2016 documentary film directed by Turner Ross and Bill Ross IV featuring the performances of winter guard teams. The film was produced as a collaboration between David Byrne, Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey and Josh Penn.