2024 WGI Discussion Thread

[LeanderMomma]

1 hour ago, Rubisco said:

Flo will be streaming the South Carolina Regional this weekend -- a two-day event. I'm especially looking forward to watching Paramount (reigning world champion), Etude, and Dobyns-Bennett. I've seen glimpses online already, but it will be nice to see how they've developed.

I can’t wait for my first glimpse of DB this season!  

[LKendrick]

Excited to see Holly Springs too.  LOVED their Pinocchio show last year.  

[packwick]

liked Lexington's concept even if it wasn't the cleanest show lol. worked their way through a maze w/ a timer going. kinda limiting from a staging persp which is prob why they broke their own rules and had the kids sometimes step over the lines.

Holly Springs was the best. was more like an 82 tho. okay perf, strong vocab, a bit boring. Arvo Pärt's Spiegel im Spiegel didn't help. i'd rather listen to Schoenberg which is saying something. impressed by that guy doing all the a la seconde turns even if his form could use work, esp coming out of them.

[Rubisco]

15 minutes ago, packwick said:

i'd rather listen to Schoenberg which is saying something.

Hey, what's wrong with Schoenberg?

Rhetorical question. Pretty sure I know the answer. 😄

I liked Holly Springs well enough.

[LeanderMomma]

DB was sooooo good. Some drops here and there but HUGE potential!  Loved it!!

[packwick]

Dobyns has one of my fave floors ever. poor Frosty. LOL. very clever. guard is solid, show isn't as thrilling or dramatic as last yr, or as campy lol. respect for not doing the same thing over again. will benefit from some cleaning.

tw has met their tossing superior in Paramount LOL. super talented members, super big guard, sky-high difficulty and risk which unlike in SW is actually a POC on the sheets in IW. didn't like the show design that much tho. kiiinda vaguely organized chaos lol. not sure what were they trying to communicate, besides showcasing their members' incredible tossing talents.

[Rubisco]

I think Dobyns-Bennett has potential, if they can clean the show. Most of the stuff they fumbled tonight seemed to be soloist or small ensemble moments. So, very exposed, but also probably easier to clean or change.

Paramount has enough talent on the floor for two Independent World guards. Like others, I'm waiting for the show itself to click with me. That may take until Dayton, if it happens.

I really enjoyed Etude. Obviously, they don't have the top-to-bottom talent Paramount has, but they maximize what they do have.

[Hard Core Band Fan]

On 3/9/2024 at 4:23 PM, packwick said:

Holly Springs was the best. was more like an 82 tho. okay perf, strong vocab, a bit boring. Arvo Pärt's Spiegel im Spiegel didn't help. i'd rather listen to Schoenberg which is saying something. impressed by that guy doing all the a la seconde turns even if his form could use work, esp coming out of them.

Hey, I'm a Pärt fan! You are,  however, correct about being boring for a guard show. Schoenberg as well.

[urmom292]

Scores From TCGC Vista Ridge

Cadet Novice

Rouse Spin Club 83.540 (1)

Lockhart Cadets JV 77.420 (2)

Henry Middle School Gold 69.880 (3)

Hays Cadets Red 66.980 (4)

Lake Travis Cadets JV 66.880 (5)

Cadet Regional A

Lockhart Cadets Varsity 72.960 (1)

Lake Travis Cadets Varsity 70.100 (2)

Henry Middle School Black 68.840 (3)

Novice

Killeen High School 67.980 (1)

Wharton HS 67.700 (2)

Waco HS 61.060 (3)

Cuero High School Winterguard 61.000 (4)

Texas Leadership Winter Guard 56.360 (5)

Nixon-Smiley High School 53.640 (6)

Scholastic JV Regional A

Hutto HS JV 79.560 (1)

Hendrickson HS JV 79.100 (2)

Hays High School JV 76.520 (3)

James Bowie HS A 75.940 (4)

Lake Belton HS JV 73.880 (5)

Scholastic Regional A

Southside High School Colorguard 77.140 (1)

Liberal Arts and Science Academy 73.240 (2)

Shoemaker HS 71.960 (3)

Lehman HS 71.400 (4)

Cedar Creek HS 70.980 (5)

Temple Winter Guard 70.700 (6)

McCallum HS 69.080 (7)

La Grange HS 68.560 (8)

Manor HS Winterguard 65.960 (9)

Axtell Winter Guard 65.540 (10)

Scholastic JV A

Georgetown JV

65.650 (1)

Scholastic AA

Bastrop HS Varsity 73.250 (1)

Pflugerville HS 71.580 (2)

Belton HS 67.620 (3)

Manor New Tech Winterguard 67.390 (4)

Harker Heights HS 67.120 (5)

College Station HS 64.520 (6)

Elgin HS 63.460 (7)

Jarrell HS 59.530 (8)

Scholastic A

Hutto HS 80.040 (1)

Copperas Cove HS 76.310 (2)

Liberty Hill HS 72.870 (3)

Lake Belton HS Varsity 71.260 (4)

Scholastic National A

Dripping Springs HS 84.640 (1)

Hendrickson HS 80.820 (2)

Georgetown HS Varsity 80.440 (3)

Louis D. Brandeis HS 78.890 (4)

John B. Connally HS 75.890 (5)

Vista Ridge HS 75.890 (5)

Lake Belton HS 74.390 (7)

Scholastic Open

Lake Travis HS

68.200 (1)

[packwick]

most recent tarpon world vid!! from this past wknd at FFCC Riverview methinks. home of the sharks lol. doesn't seem like tarpon's best run but i like how vivid the colors are in this vid compared to other vids. also finally get to see the ending.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VwCkuyWXz1E&pp=ygUMVGFycG9uIGd1YXJk

[packwick]

On 3/9/2024 at 7:59 PM, Rubisco said:

Paramount has enough talent on the floor for two Independent World guards.

flatout dislike the new membership size rule. firstly from a staging persp, but also from a talent poaching one. the rule primarily benefits the indie guards that are already at or near the top, allowing them to monopolize even more of the available talent.

also don't like that most decisions are being made by an advisory committee of mostly world class finalists that benefit from these rules and have little incentive to change them. always chuckle when i hear ppl *cough*Karl*cough* praise the generosity of the committee, recently for letting the lower class guards explain their shows to judges this season on CompetitionSuite via spiel sheets. first of all that shouldn't even be a thing, a guard should be able to communicate their show without explaining it to you. secondly, who keeps wgi afloat financially again? it ain't the world class guards. not directly anyway. the talk of generosity is.... misplaced, at best.

[Rubisco]

1 hour ago, packwick said:

flatout dislike the new membership size rule. firstly from a staging persp, but also from a talent poaching one. the rule primarily benefits the indie guards that are already at or near the top, allowing them to monopolize even more of the available talent.

also don't like that most decisions are being made by an advisory committee of mostly world class finalists that benefit from these rules and have little incentive to change them. always chuckle when i hear ppl *cough*Karl*cough* praise the generosity of the committee, recently for letting the lower class guards explain their shows to judges this season on CompetitionSuite via spiel sheets. first of all that shouldn't even be a thing, a guard should be able to communicate their show without explaining it to you. secondly, who keeps wgi afloat financially again? it ain't the world class guards. not directly anyway. the talk of generosity is.... misplaced, at best.

I didn't mean to trigger anyone with that comment. 😂

Definitely some valid points. We could probably have a whole new thread on WGI rules and committee-related stuff. I think if the A and Open (and non-finalist World) directors were really upset by the current structure and wanted to push for more representation, they'd probably just pull out of WGI, right? Make a point by spending their money elsewhere? Anyway, probably for another thread. I'd like to complain about talent poaching being the reason Houston doesn't have a top IW guard anymore, but I'm pretty sure it's because most kids leave Houston for college, or just because they want to live elsewhere. 😭

[packwick]

triggered!!!!

lol. u should start a thread so i can also complain about tcgc, ntca, and wtca needing to come together (at least at the end of the season) for an actual Texas state color guard championship. also to implement an all-state color guard process to encourage individuals to practice and to reward exceptional students stuck in guards that are way less talented overall than they are.

[Rubisco]

On 3/11/2024 at 9:44 PM, packwick said:

also to implement an all-state color guard process to encourage individuals to practice and to reward exceptional students stuck in guards that are way less talented overall than they are.

I would LOVE that for Texas guard students. 😍

Some circuits hold late-season contests for individuals, but the participation rates for them are always abysmal -- not at all like the all-region/area/state process for band students, where pretty much every band in a region sends most of their kids, or at least the kids in their varsity concert bands. Curious what the "scales" and "etudes" would look like for guard auditions. Also whether there would be an actual All-State Guard performance at a convention. 🤔

Another big weekend for guard coming up. WGI returns to Texas with the Southwest Power Regional in Dallas and a "regular" two-day event in New Braunfels. The various Power Regionals will be streamed on Flo. I hope the Texas guards that are going to Dayton post some great numbers for the final standings.

This season is going by so fast!

[Tubalord11]

7 hours ago, Rubisco said:

I would LOVE that for Texas guard students. 😍

Some circuits hold late-season contests for individuals, but the participation rates for them are always abysmal -- not at all like the all-region/area/state process for band students, where pretty much every band in a region sends most of their kids, or at least the kids in their varsity concert bands. Curious what the "scales" and "etudes" would look like for guard auditions. Also whether there would be an actual All-State Guard performance at a convention. 🤔

Another big weekend for guard coming up. WGI returns to Texas with the Southwest Power Regional in Dallas and a "regular" two-day event in New Braunfels. The various Power Regionals will be streamed on Flo. I hope the Texas guards that are going to Dayton post some great numbers for the final standings.

This season is going by so fast!

Super excited for Denton, currently planning on watching both days, might do to super in-depth reviews as we’ve seen a pretty good amount of the guards but will definitely provide some updates.

Very excited to see the out-of-state programs, with four Oklahoma and one Colorado guard coming down for the weekend

[LKendrick]

On 3/11/2024 at 9:44 PM, packwick said:

triggered!!!!

lol. u should start a thread so i can also complain about tcgc, ntca, and wtca needing to come together (at least at the end of the season) for an actual Texas state color guard championship. also to implement an all-state color guard process to encourage individuals to practice and to reward exceptional students stuck in guards that are way less talented overall than they are.

As a West Texas native and working here we desperately need something in our area.  CCGC tried but went through a lot of different owners/organizers before it died off.   A lot of the Permian basin groups are going to NTCA/TCGC so there is a market up here, at least for a NTCA sponsored show.   There was a NTCA west event on their calendar in the fall and then that disappeared.  
 

You've got Permian, Odessa, Midland, Legacy, Frenship, San Angelo Central, Lubbock-Cooper, Lubbock, Coronado, and Monterey all with guards and most with at least 2, some 3.  All of them are going to NTCA in DFW and doing very well in their classes, same with San Angelo Central in TCGC.  
 

West Plains has made the dive into NTCA this year.  Canyon has a great winterguard program as well and I know Pecos, Andrews, and some other 4As have guards.  One NTCA sponsored event a little farther west in Abilene/San Angelo/etc.  would potentially do very well.   And we would love it. 

[packwick]

On 3/13/2024 at 2:29 AM, Rubisco said:

Another big weekend for guard coming up. WGI returns to Texas with the Southwest Power Regional in Dallas and a "regular" two-day event in New Braunfels. The various Power Regionals will be streamed on Flo. I hope the Texas guards that are going to Dayton post some great numbers for the final standings.

im def curious to see how grand oaks does in scholastic A this wknd. been flying under the radar recently. their placement at Houston, esp prelims, was quite surprising based on what id seen leading into the contest. bit of a comeback in finals, ended up 4th a couple points off the top. at tcgc the next week they were only a little over a point behind wgi houston champ twhs. i see them as being around the same neighborhood as the top 3 Texas As (pearland, twhs, hebron in some order), even more curious bc they're the only one going to Dayton, could make a case for Azle as well.

[Tubalord11]

42 minutes ago, packwick said:

im def curious to see how grand oaks does in scholastic A this wknd. been flying under the radar recently. their placement at Houston, esp prelims, was quite surprising based on what id seen leading into the contest. bit of a comeback in finals, ended up 4th a couple points off the top. at tcgc the next week they were only a little over a point behind wgi houston champ twhs. i see them as being around the same neighborhood as the top 3 Texas As (pearland, twhs, hebron in some order), even more curious bc they're the only one going to Dayton, could make a case for Azle as well.

Ik Hebron has been on top all season, but watching Azle and Hebron "battle" all season long has been so fun, wonder if Azle will be able to close the gap this season, would be some huge momentum for the rest of the season, both are sooo good this season 

[packwick]

wgi steering committee interview w/ Cyndi Robbins from twhs.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fCTJ4Sb38oU

her life seems.... stressful... LOL. i like that she takes near complete ownership of the creative process in addition to the teaching. super impressive, tho i fear it will lead to burn out. the guards are only getting bigger lol.

[Rubisco]

5 hours ago, packwick said:

wgi steering committee interview w/ Cyndi Robbins from twhs.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fCTJ4Sb38oU

her life seems.... stressful... LOL. i like that she takes near complete ownership of the creative process in addition to the teaching. super impressive, tho i fear it will lead to burn out. the guards are only getting bigger lol.

The Goddess of Guard.

Truly, it's crazy to me that the biggest and best color guard program in the country, consisting of something like 200 students, is taught by only two full-time staff members, and that the director mostly designs and choreographs all FIVE competitive indoor shows herself -- even crazier when you take into account how dominant all 5 guards are. The two at the junior high level are undefeated (again) this season, with the varsity guard only clearly surpassed in talent by PDCMS's varsity (2-year program versus 3-year program). Meanwhile, all 3 guards at the high school level scored above an 85 the weekend of WGI Austin -- rarefied territory for the very beginning of March -- and are either obviously the best in the state in their respective classes, or very close to it.

Unheard of. But then so was taking a non-finalist A guard to World class in less than two seasons right after being hired.

Robbins is a VERY rare talent. And yet I still firmly believe that every guard everywhere would benefit from implementing similar changes to their feeder programs, like she did in 2019. You don't have to be a genius to reap the benefits of that.

[packwick]

one of the groups of guard directors i mentor is quarreling over Fantasia's show concept LOL.

what do you think @Rubisco? exploitative or no? i don't think ive even watched it yet.

[packwick]

okk i just watched it, well sort of, skipped through it, not the most gripping thing in the world. i would have had no idea what this was about just watching it. "another blackbird show?!" hahahaha.

performers are fine, im sure the designers worked hard on it. i find the ending w/ the Babs music unbearably maudlin, all thematic considerations aside. lays it on quite thick. Lifetime movie-ish. it doesn't make me esp angry however LOL.

[Rubisco]

2 hours ago, packwick said:

what do you think @Rubisco? exploitative or no? i don't think ive even watched it yet.

I had to look this up. I knew the show title was For Gabriel, but I let the show wash over me aesthetically and didn't really bother parsing the theme. I had no idea it's about a real-life child abuse/murder situation.

I'm hesitant to use the word "exploitative" and call it a day, as it seems to imply the designers had nefarious motivations, like they sat around asking each other, "How can we use this dead child's awful story to score maximum points and manipulate the audience into crying?" Granted, any time you make art based on a true story, it's going to be at least a little exploitative.

But I'd like to think the designers simply saw the Netflix documentary or whatever and were so moved by it that they thought it was an important story to tell. At the same time, I wish they had more of an actual personal connection to the story that they're telling. It's one thing to do a show "milking" Stanley Knaub's death for effect points (if you want to call it that 😂), because those designers back in 2004 had an actual relationship with Stanley. It's another thing to tell somebody's story when you don't have any direct connection to them and the person isn't a major public or historical figure. I think that's what cheapens Fantasia's concept a bit, and makes me wish they had gone with something else.

All that said, I'm not offended in the slightest. It's quite difficult to offend me. And there are guard shows every year that are debatably of poor taste. Not unusual.

[Tubalord11]

Good morning everyone! We are here via Flo at the Denton Southwest power regional. As mentioned, I probably won’t be doing huge breakdowns, maybe for finals but will def be giving commentary. Good luck to all the guards competing this weekend, excited to see some more polished shows! 

[Tubalord11]

Forney was quite impressive. A couple big drops, but the demand on the equipment side is very high, and they are performing very well. Not a super easy show to read, but there were some really challenging tosses they killed! 

Lovely performance from McNeil! Really expressive body work, and their soloist are great. They do a very good job at bringing out the theme, and their big flag work was so clean! 

Azle-WOW! Such a mesmerizing show, talent is very high in this group. A decent number of uncharacteristic drops, definitely have a cleaner run in them tomorrow, but they are going to be making some noise at Dayton. GE is so high, and they just move so smoothly, just wow Azle, so freaking good!