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Post by WoodlandsMom4ever on Nov 13, 2023 18:00:54 GMT -6
Marching season is over… time to start talking about indoor season! What are you excited for?  I’ve been watching the guards down in Texas really elevate the past couple of years. I’m excited to see what groups step up this year and really think there could be a couple more world class groups soon. |
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Post by Allohak on Nov 13, 2023 19:58:21 GMT -6
Just had the parent meeting for the start of my daughter's first year in elementary guard tonight, so even more excited than normal around here!
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Post by josephbandfan on Nov 13, 2023 22:16:08 GMT -6
Just had the parent meeting for the start of my daughter's first year in elementary guard tonight, so even more excited than normal around here! Elementary?!? No wonder so many color guards outside of Texas are so good. I know a couple schools where a good chunk of their guard had never picked up a flag before that year 😅. Also doesn’t help how big drill teams are in Texas. I remember letting out a silent tear when my cousin chose drill team over color guard. |
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Post by Allohak on Nov 14, 2023 5:58:46 GMT -6
Just had the parent meeting for the start of my daughter's first year in elementary guard tonight, so even more excited than normal around here! Elementary?!? No wonder so many color guards outside of Texas are so good. I know a couple schools where a good chunk of their guard had never picked up a flag before that year 😅. Also doesn’t help how big drill teams are in Texas. I remember letting out a silent tear when my cousin chose drill team over color guard. 2nd grade, if you can believe it! |
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Post by ilikeguard on Nov 14, 2023 12:52:03 GMT -6
Elementary?!? No wonder so many color guards outside of Texas are so good. I know a couple schools where a good chunk of their guard had never picked up a flag before that year 😅. Also doesn’t help how big drill teams are in Texas. I remember letting out a silent tear when my cousin chose drill team over color guard. 2nd grade, if you can believe it! Wow!! It’s great that something like that exists for them! |
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Post by paddy on Nov 15, 2023 8:17:24 GMT -6
Our local school starts in 4th grade and has a short fall skills camp/club for guard kids not in marching band.
This is relatively recent but it is important to recruiting.
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Post by WoodlandsMom4ever on Nov 15, 2023 18:13:54 GMT -6
So with groups starting so young- what do they use for flags? Smaller sized ones?
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Post by okie7494 on Nov 15, 2023 20:41:37 GMT -6
New to this guard thing (as a sax player), is anyone able to just like give me a rundown on this whole thing?
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Post by paddy on Nov 15, 2023 21:21:47 GMT -6
So with groups starting so young- what do they use for flags? Smaller sized ones? Depends on the size of the kids. We have 4’ and 5’ poles with smaller flags. |
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Post by BandHomer on Nov 18, 2023 14:28:07 GMT -6
New to this guard thing (as a sax player), is anyone able to just like give me a rundown on this whole thing? Super high-level: WGI is to Guard what BOA is to Marching Band. There are 3+ scholastic (high school) levels to WGI. Scholastic A, Scholastic Open, Scholastic World. World is the top level with only ~30-40 schools nationwide competing at that level (I think). Open is a mid-level with more participants and shows that generally are in the middle tier of complexity. Scholastic A is the largest group by far and runs the range of complexity of show design. Schools are promoted out of A into Open and then into World once they reach a level of achievement and to prevent schools from "sitting" in a class that they've mastered without adding additional challenges or giving other schools a chance to excel. Besides the Scholastic classes of WGI, there is Independent class. Independent WGI is similar to DCI for marching band. These are generally (all the time?) post-high school groups with varying rules for age requirements. Like Scholastic, Independent guards compete at A, Open, and World levels. To me, the absolute BEST part about WGI events and winter guard in general is that both Scholastic and Independent groups compete at the same events. To the high school kids in scholastic groups, they're at these events with the rockstars of the color guard world. I've seen my daughter's team get hallway ovations and hugs and all sorts of encouragement from Independent groups...and it's the coolest thing ever to see how much they all soak it up. For these competitors to be able to perform on the same stage that their "idols" and even their INSTRUCTORS perform on is so cool. Last point...the competition season is similar to high school marching season only it runs from Feb to April. There is a mix of local and WGI shows usually during the season with WGI hosting Regionals, Power (Super) Regionals, and then the World Championships in Dayton OH in April. Most of the top high school marching programs have winter guard programs, but the level that they compete at varies. I've watched winter shows for a number of years and can be equally entertained by class A shows as I am by World class shows. In the end, it's an extension of the vibe in marching band season where these groups love each other and also compete against each other. Scholastic staging camps are starting already where I live...competition season will be here before we know it. |
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