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Bellbrook High School Percussion, Scholastic A Class.
A Lifetime Of Fun With WGI Sport Of The Arts The annual WGI World Championships events will be coming to Dayton during the first two weeks in April. By Kaylee Duff Photos courtesy of WGI Sport of the Arts
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GI (which stands for Winter Guard International) Sport of the Arts is the world’s leading non-profit organization for indoor color guard, percussion and winds competitions. Many times, when performers are asked what indoor color guard/percussion/winds is, they’ll answer something along the lines of, “The color guard with the marching band but inside with pre-recorded music/the drumline with the marching band but inside/marching band but inside.” But to the thousands of performers and fans that WGI Sport of Arts reaches every year, it is much more than that. “WGI Sport of the Arts provides a venue for young people to achieve the extraordinary through performance and competition,” said Trevor Jordan, Marketing Manager of WGI Sport of the Arts. The organization offers educational performance opportunities around the world, such as clinics to regional competitions — many of which lead to the WGI World Championships held in Dayton every year. 22 | MARCH 2019
WGI is the governing body for the multitude of indoor color guard (also often referred to as winter guards), percussion and winds ensembles that compete throughout the season. The non-profit sets standards, rules and provides the resources groups need to succeed. WGI Sport of the Arts is the international circuit through which ensembles around the world compete; many groups also belong to local circuits, where they compete with other local groups. “It is called the Sport of the Arts because it brings music to life through performance in a competitive format,” explained Jordan. Groups are divided up into several classifications, depending on a variety of things such as association and experience. The classifications include scholastic (associated with a high school) or independent (not associated with a school); and A Class (beginner-level experience), Open Class (intermediate) or World Class (advanced). Percussion ensembles also have the option of a Concert Class, meaning they don’t march during their performances.
WGI started in 1977, after a group of people met to standardize the growing world of indoor color guard performances and competitions. In 1992, the Percussion division joined the thriving Color Guard division of WGI; in 2015, the Wind division was launched. “Even with over 40 years of history, the sport continues to evolve and grow,” Jordan shared. Today, there are WGI ensembles across the globe — in the U.S., Canada, Belgium, Holland, Germany, England, Ireland, Korea, Japan and Africa. World Championships — typically held in April — bring over 500 winter guards, percussion ensembles and winds groups to compete over two separate weekends. With so many groups from so many places, people often wonder why World Championships are held in Dayton, Ohio. Originally, the site for World Championships rotated throughout the country, making sure to occur in each region equally (East, Midwest and West). This was mainly because, back then, many ensembles were unable to travel as much or as far. TRUE Q MAGAZINE
