By KAYLA J. MARSH
Staff Writer
For nearly 40 years, the nonprofit youth organization, Winter Guard International (WGI) Sport of the Arts, has provided a venue for young talent to excel in both performance and competition through the production of indoor color guard, percussion and wind ensemble national and regional events.
On March 19 and 20, Monmouth University’s Multipurpose Activity Center in West Long Branch will play home to the Eastern Color Guard Championship, which brings together premier color guard teams in the region to compete for top honors.
“When you ask someone if they know what color guard is, they either have no idea or they immediately think of flags and parades, and I think once they see something like this event and the performances the schools put on, that preconceived notion goes away and they realize how much talent and skill and practice and dedication it takes,” said Irving Lopez, WGI marketing and communication manager.
According to Lopez, WGI was founded to provide leadership and guidance on the growing and evolving sport, which involves a combination of flags, sabers, mock rifles and other equipment that is mixed with dance and other interpretive movement.
Events include about two dozen Regional and Elite events, which lead to the three-day World Championships where more than 300 guards and 200 percussion ensembles from more than 40 states and countries compete.
“All WGI contests provide two divisions of competition — scholastic where any school can participate and independent which is for teams not necessarily associated with a school,” Lopez said.
He said the teams are also divided further into either A Class, which is designed for beginning or starting color guards where they learn the most basic skills; Open Class, which is for guards ready to push it to the next level and push the boundaries of their performances; or World Class, which is for the best of the best color guards who are constantly pushing the boundaries and bringing something new to the table with their performances.
“Each year the event continues to grow, and it is a huge honor for these schools and students to be a part of it, and audiences are just blown away people can create something like this,” Lopez said.
One school competing in the Scholastic Open division is South Brunswick High School.
“We have been very successful, and I think we are the longest running high school in WGI,” said Virginia Kraft, choir and marching band director with the school’s music department.
“Our team practices about three and a half to four hours three nights a week and all day Saturday, so the kids are putting in a ton of work and are so dedicated.”
With only six other schools competing in the Scholastic Open division, Kraft said the event is about having fun and putting on a great performance the teams are proud of.
“It is fun to be creative and different and outside the box,” she said. “This is a sport that builds an incredible amount of teamwork and responsibility, and it is great to be in a place where this craft and the dedication the students put in is appreciated.”
This season there will be more than 36,000 participants at the regional level, and more than 12,000 participants at the World Championships in April, according to Lopez.
For more information or to purchase tickets to the Eastern Color Guard Championship, visit www.wgi.org.
