What is WGI?

As I said many times in my past blog post, Ayala High School went to Dayton, Ohio to compete in the WGI or the World Guard International for the world championships. I was very curious about the organization's history thus I decided to do some research.

All the way till 1978, the national color guard championship was held in the summer at the DCI Drum and Bugle Corps Championship or at the National contests of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. In the August of 1977, at the DCI Championships in Denver,  the color guard championship was held in a basement. The basement had structural column in which the guards had to maneuver around and the judges had to twist and turn their necks to see. It also didn't  have any air conditioning which didn't help the performers what so ever. However, despite these obstacles, it was an extremely close competition. The Holley Hawks, from Holly, NY, became the national champions. They defeated St. Anthony's Imperiales  who had received a penalty for "trailing" which is a flag code violation. However, little did people know that the color guard world was about to change in a big way.
During that time, all the judges' score sheets, training, show requirements, and even the length of the shows varied from one part of the country to the next. From a style standpoint, the Eastern guards favored using equipment, the Midwest drill, and the West dance. It was very apparent that the activity had outgrown its connection to the summer contest it had during their "season." It was time to create a place specifically for Winter Color Guard.
In the spring of 1977, a group of six people met in San Francisco to discuss the creation of an organization to oversee the color guard activity from coast to coast. The attendees at the meeting were Don Angelica, Shirlee Whitcomb, Stanley Knaub, Bryan Johnston, Marie Czapinski, and Linda Chambers. Together, they introduced the name Winter Guard International (WGI).
At the first meeting, their mission was made clear: All parts of the country, spreading from the west coast to the east coast would be equally represented in the development and maintenance of the activity, color guards would take charge of their own activity, and shows would take place within during the winter season. Also rules and regulations would be uniform, and there would be a championship contest. This contest would be held in a rotation around the country, taking place for two consecutive years in each of the three major regions. This would offer an equal opportunity to all guards. Also, travel for guards was very uncommon at that time was the site rotations would be important. The next step which was the organizational meeting was held in October 1977 at the site of the DCI Rules Congress in Chicago. Many of the leading guard instructors at the time were also teaching drum corps and would already be in attendance. The meeting was an open for anyone to attend. All of the established color guard circuits across the nation had invited representatives. Thirteen associations attended the meeting.
It was agreed that Lynn Lindstrom, the current Commander of the Midwest Color Guard Circuit, would head the newly formed organization for the first year.She would subsequently hold this position for twenty-four years. In order to provide the initial $1000 for the debut season, four existing guard circuits each donated $250.
In WGI's first year, it was run through the color guard circuits. Three individuals shared the responsibilities of the Chief Judge position, emphasizing the importance that there was an equal representation of East, West, and Midwest. The first WGI Regional featured an ambitious 14 contests which was to be held in venues from Los Angeles to Boston.

The first year there were two floor sizes because some regions used a 40 x 60 floor and others used a 50 x 70. Every guard carried the American Flag and many guards carried wooden dowels with bicycle grips as sabers. WGI also added many rules throughout this year. Three GE judges shared responsibility for the subjective scoring of the effect of the program.
Another requirement, which was common in the East, was the Manual of Arms. However this was not included in the structure at that time. The starting line was always from the court to the left of the audience and the finish line was to the right of the audience. It was mandatory for guards to start and finish their shows over those two lines. Equipment such as rifles and flags were clearly defined including the description of the rifle and that flags could not be larger than the National Flag.

Today, WGI has involved from a simple organization with the support of thirty color guards to an organization that serves hundreds of guards and percussion lines. Around 400 color guard and percussion groups compete on two separate weekends for their own World Championships and about 200 volunteers manage the Championship Contest and over 135 trained staff members serviced
the guards and percussion lines during the season.

The link I used was http://www.wgi.org/contents/History.html. It was a very reliable source because it gave copy write information proving that an organization holds authority to the website. Also, the domain of the website is a .org meaning it is a nonprofit organization. By these two test I can conclude that my source is reliable. The website provided a great amount of information talking about the performing world before WGI, the early years, and then the present. My first year performing at WGI was remarkable and I cannot wait to go back to Dayton, Ohio to compete again. Walking around inside the stadium, seeing all the signs, and just the atmosphere of what WGI brings, makes me look foward to indoor season again. WGI made my first experience amazing, memorable, and most importantly fun. 

WGI. "WGI Sport of the Arts." History. WGI, n.d. Web. 03 May 2016.