Winter guard
[1] Modern winter guard is a competitive, performance-based activity which incorporates choreographed staging, dance, and manipulation of equipment such as flags, prop rifles, and sabers (also known as "spinning").
Performances typically last three to seven minutes[2] and are generally accompanied by recorded soundtracks rather than live music.
[6] Scoring attempts to rank units on the repertoire and achievement of aspects of each performance such as unity, quality, range, precision, skill, design, and effect.
[7] A winter guard generally consists of performing members under the direction of instructional staff.
Most regional color guard circuits adopt the minimum and maximum performer requirements set by WGI, which varies by division.
Unlike traditional color guard teams, which perform outdoors on a football field or parade route accompanied by a marching band or drum corps, winter guard teams perform indoors to recorded music.
In competitions, winter guard teams are judged in the areas of talent, precision, creativity, and horizontal orchestration (how all the elements create the larger picture/effect).
The judges record the score on a designated sheet to be reviewed by the individual guard instructor(s).
These flags are often incorporated into the artistic element of the performance, even though they are not practical for tossing or spinning, due to the weight and length of the silk.
Longer flags are not practical to spin or toss but generally serve as holders for large pieces of material.
Some people may not like plastic rifles because they can become slick and hard to handle, either when it's raining or just from the sweat from the user's hands.
Some say that, after a prolonged period of regular use, a plastic rifle will tend to smell like sweat because of the performer's hands.
Other metal sabres are decorated with intricate engravings or etchings along the blade, which most often carries a much higher price.
Unlike other traditional sports, the rules and regulations have been changed and altered many times since the activity has started.
Because this activity not only exists in the United States but all around the world, major competitions worldwide are sanctioned and managed by Winter Guard International.
The rules that are written by WGI apply to every winter guard group competing in the World Championships no matter what country they are from.
Because not every color guard has the same skill level, population, or resources available, WGI uses a class division system to help remedy this.
For every competition, any team which achieves a score higher than a predetermined threshold is automatically moved up, or "bumped", to the class above its current position, even mid-season.
The Scholastic World division includes the highest caliber of winter guard teams.
A member can perform with an Independent Open class group if they are 23 or younger as of March 31 of that year.
In Europe, Color Guard Nederland (Netherlands) (CGN) and Winter Guard United Kingdom (WGUK) have recently affiliated with organizations from France and Germany to form the European Indoor Arts Alliance (EIAA) with the goal of creating a European Union-wide platform for the growth of the color guard activity in Europe, where the scholastic branch of the activity does not exist.
"On Guard: A Story of American Youth[16][17]"[18][19][20][21] is 2023 documentary film directed by Allen Otto and executive produced by Jim Czarnecki.
The film follows the journey of an all-female color guard team at Bel Air High School whose goal is to qualify for the 2020 WGI World Championships, which were ultimately canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a performance dedicated to the victims of the 2019 El Paso Shooting.
The film was produced as a collaboration between David Byrne, Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey and Josh Penn.
