With the WGI World Championships wrapped up, proposals are already on the books to be presented to the 2019 WGI advisory board. Proposals can be submitted by any group that participated in a 2019 WGI event. Proposals for Color Guard, Percussion, and Winds are now available for public view. Here are some thoughts on the proposals for each activity.
Notable Color Guard Proposals:
Every year there are always proposals dealing with how groups advance and are scored. Proposal #9 (Submitted by Marcus Lewis of Black Diamond Independent) recommends that judging for A class guards should change to have all captions weighted evenly. He argues that “A class is intended for training,” and putting too much focus on more effect captions can sometimes negate this training.
Another proposal submitted by Rosie Queen of Carmel HS suggested that all Guards should transition to using only MP3 files for their respective soundtracks. She argues that the process would be more streamlined for the WGI sound staff if everyone just used MP3s. I give great props to the sound guys who always have the track ready for each group. Organizing this task is quite difficult, and any step to make it easier should probably be taken.
Notable Percussion Proposals:
What is always refreshing about proposals usually presented by Percussion groups, is the application they could have to all pageantry groups. John Mapes of Pulse Percussion wants to define exactly what captions will be adjudicating visual performers. He recommends that judges take into consideration that visual-only performers should be critically judged and visually compared to members who also marching and playing. I can totally see why this would be an issue. Yes, all judges see the visual program on the floor, but demand and effect should also take into consideration those who are not playing a percussion instrument.
A fun proposal (#10) that I think should be seriously considered is having a short synopsis of each program so the judges can understand what the staff is trying to achieve. This would be an optional addition for groups to decide on their own if adding this to the program booklet would be worthwhile. Although some shows have titles that speak for themselves, it could certainly give judges a look into each program coordinators eyes so they have a better understanding of what effect is being generated. The creativity we are seeing by groups in 2019 might necessitate this as judges are seeing more and more varied shows and an ever-increasing volume of groups.
Notable Winds Proposals:
The WGI Winds division has only been around for about five years. There is still much growth that would need to occur in order for the wind activity to reach the participation levels seen with the Winter Percussion and Color guard activities. To increase audience exposure, Bob Thomas of the Cleveland Arts Winds Performance ensemble maintains that Winds groups should go after percussion groups at regionals where they are in combined settings. He also advocates for winds group to only be judged by winds panels at the regional level. Thomas argues this would facilitate more growth within the Winds activity.
