WGI Colorguard World Championships Thread (Including Detailed Schedule)

[LKendrick]

Anyone else watching having some pretty bad framerate issues?

[LKendrick]

Nicely done Southlake Carroll, very pretty show!  They move so well!  

[Rubisco]

My favorite from the first half of Scholastic A finals was definitely Somerset Academy. The show was called Whispers Offshore and featured these really striking ghost ships. Like most A Class shows, the musical selection was just an emotional (bordering on sentimental) pop tune, but the performance was strikingly good. Actually, on that note, I think we hit the 90+ scores really early on in the finals competition -- starting, I would say, with Southlake Carroll, when I perceived a jump in performance quality. I was kind of surprised, because I thought the shows early on would be weaker than this. I thought I might be crazy thinking that we had already hit 90+, but then I looked at the semis scores. 25 (!) groups hit 90+ scores in semis. Only 10 did so last year. Scholastic A this year is really deep.

 

East Lincoln was another first-half favorite. The show was called Sprout. I didn't think their skills were quite as well-developed as the groups they were sandwiched between, but I absolutely loved the floor design. Lush green grass with these giant potted plants. Probably the most interesting floor design from the first half. And they gave an excellent performance as well.

 

On to the second half!

[LKendrick]

  On 4/6/2019 at 1:20 AM, Rubisco said:

My favorite from the first half of Scholastic A finals was definitely Somerset Academy. The show was called Whispers Offshore and featured these really striking ghost ships. Like most A Class shows, the musical selection was just an emotional (bordering on sentimental) pop tune, but the performance was strikingly good. Actually, on that note, I think we hit the 90+ scores really early on in the finals competition -- starting, I would say, with Southlake Carroll, when I perceived a jump in performance quality. I was kind of surprised, because I thought the shows early on would be weaker than this. I thought I might be crazy thinking that we had already hit 90+, but then I looked at the semis scores. 25 (!) groups hit 90+ scores in semis. Only 10 did so last year. Scholastic A this year is really deep.

 

East Lincoln was another first-half favorite. The show was called Sprout. I didn't think their skills were quite as well-developed as the groups they were sandwiched between, but I absolutely loved the floor design. Lush green grass with these giant potted plants. Probably the most interesting floor design from the first half. And they gave an excellent performance as well.

 

On to the second half!

 

Somerset was great, crowd REALLY liked them.  

 

Also, congratulations to Dripping Springs, Little Elm, and McNeil on advancing to tomorrows Open Class finals!  That class is super competitive, Dripping Springs is only .4 out of 1st, Little Elm shot up to 5th, and McNeil is RIGHT behind in 6th.  4th - 7th or so is separated by a point.  Who knows what could happen there.  

[LKendrick]

Pflugerville had small prop issue in finals (curtain fell over) but they performed through it like nothing happened, it takes a lot to hold it together like that when something unexpected goes awry.  Really like the quirkiness to their show and I also love when a show teaches me about something I didn't know before.  Isadora Duncan sounds like a fascinating person who died in a very strange way.  Loved that flag feature at the end, it was tight!  Pfantastic job this weekend!  (did I do that right?)

[Rubisco]

I loved how the crowd cheered Pflugerville on after the curtain fell. The performers showed a lot of maturity by not letting it faze them too badly.

 

I don't think it's a coincidence that most of the top groups' shows had more variety (either musically or visually) than your typical A Class show, which traffics heavily in pop ballads and beautiful, but spare floor design. (After years and years of watching this activity, I swear guard directors haven't found a pop ballad they don't like.) My favorite show design of the top groups was Rancho Cucamonga's. I think the show was called The Eulogy. It had church pews with these large, darkly stained windows, and a wooden looking square for the floor that didn't occupy the full space of arena. Unfortunately, I don't think they had quite the run they needed to move up from 3rd, or maybe even to maintain 3rd place, but I enjoyed the show nevertheless. Sunlake's show, Hush, Keep It Down Now, I didn't quite understand (what was with the mannequin?), but it was very well performed. It featured a strange arrangement of Til Tuesday's song, "Voices Carry." Fleming Island was pretty much a classic A Class show with a fantastic performance. I give them a little bit more of a pass on the ballad thing, if only because I adore the Fleetwood Mac song, "Dreams."

 

Lots of great performances tonight. Congrats to all, but especially to Pflugerville and Southlake Carroll!

[LeanderMomma]

I forgot A class finals were tonight. Wahhhhhh. I hardly slept last night so I ended napping when I got home today, and then hubby and I went out for a late dinner. I wasn’t expecting there to be any finals at all tonight. Boo.

[LKendrick]

Congrats to Pflugerville on 9th place and Southlake Carroll on 15th place out of over one hundred and forty Scholastic A guards this weekend!  That is easily the most competitive class so that's no small feat by a long shot.  

[LKendrick]

Icons 98.055 is an Independent A record, no one has ever broken 98 in that class.

[Rubisco]

No disagreements from me with the Scholastic A results. Top 2 seemed clear-cut, top 5 seemed clear-cut, and pretty much every place I perceived a significant increase in performance quality was accompanied by a significant score increase. Glad to see Somerset Academy jump up to where I would have placed them. As I said earlier, I probably would have started the 90+ scores earlier (starting around Southlake Carroll with an 89 or 90), but numbers management is a thing!

[SpartanBandAlum]

  On 4/5/2019 at 8:08 PM, Rubisco said:

 

(That show, In the Cradle of Odin, is still probably the best Scholastic World show of all time, though many of the skills performed today are more difficult.)

On a brief off-topic side note, how have I not seen this show until now? It’s amazing!

[LKendrick]

Great run for Black Gold Open this morning, what an athletic show! They’re running all over the place the whole time.

[LKendrick]

Fantastic job by ORIGINS as well, their big ensemble moments are so powerful, they nailed that last big rifle toss in the Chopin part of the show.  Amazing job today!  

[LeanderMomma]

Oh Choctaw, that was so lovely!

[LeanderMomma]

I can totally get into this El Capitan HS music. Sort of a Brother Where Art Thou vibe. Great guard work too.

[LKendrick]

LOVE Ben Davis’s Dada show.

[LKendrick]

McNeil is so pretty! Love that rifle sequence right up front especially, and the musicality of that flag feature is just off the charts. Very nice!

[LeanderMomma]

  On 4/6/2019 at 4:48 PM, LKendrick said:

LOVE Ben Davis’s Dada show.

Loved the show. Hated the music. ‍♀

[LKendrick]

Little Elm has one of my favorite designs this year, I love how there is always someone on that back platform with the red flag, it changes who has it throughout the show, but that element remains constant.  Hugely improved since I saw them in Denton.  

[LeanderMomma]

Geez Oviedo FL, that might be my new favorite!

 

But Dripping Springs is next. They are extraordinarily good this year!

[LKendrick]

Dripping Springs is one of the few groups I've managed to see all three days this week and that was by far and away their best run.  They're definitely a medalist in my eyes, though it remains to be seen which one.  They were only .4 out of first yesterday.   

[LeanderMomma]

That was beyond words BEAUTIFUL Dripping Springs! Made both me AND my hubby cry!

[LeanderMomma]

Arvin and Fishers were incredible as well. Idk how to pick tho I did see one small mistake in Arvin’s show. I’m going to say Dripp, Fishers and Arvin. Being bold in my prediction!

[LeanderMomma]

Congratulations on the bronze medal in WGI World Championships in your first year of Open Class Dripping Springs! And to McNeil HS for moving up to 4th Place! Go #TeamTexas!

[LKendrick]

George Mason's 99.0 is .05 shy of the 1998 Independent Open record of 99.05 set by the Patriots.