WINTER GUARD INTERNATIONAL

WGI requires all those interested in competing at WGI contests to become a member. Membership can be obtained here.

All Members may login to the director's only website (in the lower left hand navigation on the wgi homapage) once you have received your username and password. To enter contests, simply log in and then select ENTRIES (on the far right along the choices at the top) to begin the process. If your membership has been purchased and processed (processing may take up to 2 days before you get your directors only log in information), you will be able to place your contest registration online by clicking your unit's name.

2008 WGI Sport of the Arts General Information

1. This is the official entry form for all twenty-one (21) Regionals, four (4) Power Regionals and the 2008 World Championships. Please have separate entry form for each unit.
   
   
2. All deadlines for contest entries will be strictly enforced. THERE WILL BE NO EXCEPTIONS.
   
   
3. All contests will utilize WGI Rules and Score Sheets as defined in the 2008 WGI Adjudication Manual and Rule Book. WGI Contest Administrators and/or their designee will act as Contest Director for each contest. For more detailed information on rulebooks, contact the WGI office at 937.434.7100.
   
   
4. No entries will be recorded as being postmarked prior to September 25, 2008. If they are postmarked prior to September 25th, they will be recorded as that date. Standard Members may submit by first available date of September 28, 2008. Appearance order in regional prelims will be determined by postmark date of entry. Earliest postmark date performs last in prelims competition of the class entered. In the event that rounds are utilized, units are randomly placed into rounds and then sorted by postmark date of entry. Those with earliest postmarks perform last in their round. Rounds will be used at all regionals in classes that have over 24 entries.
   
   
5. AN ENTRY FEE MUST ACCOMPANY ENTRIES. Entry fee per unit is $200.00 for each Regional and $350.00 for each Power Regional until December 15, 2008. Regional entries postmarked after that date are $250.00 for each Regional and $400.00 for each Power Regional. Entry fee per unit for the World Championships is $500.00. World Championship entries postmarked after January 15, 2008 are $600.00. Checks must be made out to WGI and payable in US Funds only. Entry fees may also be paid by Visa, MasterCard and Discover. School purchase orders are also accepted but must include a valid purchase order number and authorizing signature. Entries not accompanied by payment or complete school purchase order will not be accepted and automatically returned to sender and unit will forfeit original postmark date.
   
   
6. All entry fees are NON-REFUNDABLE AND NON-TRANSFERABLE. If you sign up for a regional and cannot attend, those funds may not be transferred to another regional.
   
   
7. Any unit who withdraws from a regional after the entry deadline or fails to appear will be assessed a penalty of $200.00 that must be paid prior to next appearance. Units who pull out after March 15, 2008 or fail to appear at World Championships will be assessed a penalty of $500.00. Units withdrawing from any contest must do so in writing to the WGI office prior to the penalty deadline date to avoid penalty. Unit must be prepared to show proof of mailing or fax transmission to avoid penalty. No verbal changes to entries will be accepted.
   
   
8. All members of any color guard competing in any scholastic class must be approved for participation by the principal of the sponsoring school. Each color guard unit shall submit a notarized form prepared by WGI listing all approved participants of that school's color guard.
   
   
9. Each unit must be prepared to show proof of age on each performing member at any WGI contest. Scholastic units must be prepared to show the notarized scholastic form that is provided to you by WGI.
   
   
10. Any unit having outstanding balances due to WGI will not be allowed to enter any contest until the debt has been satisfied.
    
    
11. Regionals may close when reaching the maximum number of entries as dictated by the schedule. Units still wishing to enter the contest will be placed on a "wait-list." Once the entry deadline for a contest passes, the wait-list is dissolved and the contest is closed to any further entries. If a unit withdraws after the entry deadline, no wait-listed unit will be added to the schedule.
    
    
12. Units attending WGI contests will receive passes for all unit members plus seven staff passes for all preliminaries and semi-final contests only. Finals tickets at a reduced rate for non-performing units will be available for purchase separately (unit members plus seven staff). Only units performing in that finals contest will receive passes.
    

Units must provide proof of $1,000,000 general liability coverage and $10,000 accident medical coverage per school or organization to the WGI office no later than January 15, 2008. More information on this requirement is available at www.wgi.org or by calling the WGI office.

Color Guard Contest Information

1. All WGI Contests where Color Guard is offered will have the following color guard classes available:
   

   Independent World (IW) Independent Open (IO) Independent A (IA)

   Scholastic World (SW) Scholastic Open (SO) Scholastic A (SA)

   Any unit may declare itself in any classification; however that unit may only compete in the class in which they entered their first regional unless reclassified to a higher class. If any unit is misclassified, the process for review in the 2008 WGI Color Guard Adjudication Manual & Rule Book will be followed. If you are unsure of your unit's classification, please refer to the publication available through WGI.
   
   
2. Color guards must attend a WGI Regional Contest if their hometown is within 400 miles of any regional in order to be eligible to enter the WGI World Championships. Units beyond a 400 mile radius of any regional are exempt from this requirement but must submit a video recording of the unit for classification purposes no later than March 1. This requirement will also be waived for any units from outside North America. The Color Guard Coordinator will have final approval of any exemption to this policy. No unit entered in the World Championships may put on an exhibition at any regional.
   
   
3. WGI Regional Contests with twenty-four (24) or more units in a single class will employ "tournament style" rounds. At WGI World Championships classes with thirty (30) or more units in a single class will employ "tournament style" rounds.
   
   
4. At WGI Regional Contests preliminary performance order is determined by the postmark date of entry. The earlier the entry postmark, the later that unit will appear in the schedule. In contests where rounds are used, each unit is sorted into a round and then placed in performance order by postmark. Units sharing the same postmark will be randomly drawn within units sharing that same postmark date. Order of performance in finals shall be determined by the reverse order of finish in prelims. If rounds are used, appearance in finals ("wild card" process) shall be determined the same as for World Championships. See the 2008 WGI Adjudication Manual and Rule Book for explanation.
   
   
5. New for 2008: Prelims performance order for World Championships will be determined by the following method: Units will be randomly placed in groups of four or five, depending on the number of units, and grouped according to ranking (four or five highest ranking, next four or five highest ranking, etc.) Units will then be randomly drawn for performance order within their groupings with the group of highest ranking units performing last.
   
   
6. If there are more than forty (40) entries in any class by January 1, 2008, a semi-finals contest will be held with units equally seeded and then placed in a predetermined order based on placement and prelims score. Preliminary appearance position for those classes using rounds will be determined by a formula (complete explanation is in addendum to the 2008 WGI Adjudication Manual and Rule Book).
   
   All Color Guard finals contests without rounds will be in reverse order of prelim finish position. If rounds are used, appearance in finals ("wild card" process) shall be used. See the 2008 WGI Adjudication Manual and Rule Book for explanation.
   
   
7. The number of finalists at all regionals shall be determined by the formula of 100% of World units, 75% of Open units and 50% of all A units. The maximum number of any finalists in any class will never exceed the maximum number at World Championships finals of fifteen (15). Each finals will accept a minimum of three (3) in each class with discretion by the Color Guard Coordinator to avoid eliminating one unit should there be four in a class. All World Class units must achieve the minimum score as defined in the 2008 Color Guard Adjudication Manual and Rule Book to proceed into finals.
   
   
8. The number of finalists at a Power Regional shall be no more than eight (8) from each competitive class. If there are less than eight in any one class, the Color Guard Coordinator may add additional finalists to other classes based upon the number of entries.
   

2008 WGI Sport of the Arts Regional Guidelines

1. UNIT INFO/SPIEL SHEET: Please be sure to fill out your unit's show information under the manage units section of the Directors Only webpage. If you do not fill out this information prior to the regional then only your unit name, city and state will be announced. Please double check your marching members number at this time as these numbers will be utilized at check in to ensure correct declaration of marching members.
   
   
2. GUARD CHECK-IN: Be prepared to declare the number of marching members. Penalties will be assigned for false declarations. Marching members and seven (7) staff will be admitted at no charge. Units must check-in one hour prior to performance time.
   
   
3. DRESSING FACILITIES: Available on site. Please vacate these facilities ASAP after performance. Please do not leave valuable personal items in the dressing facilities. WGI and the contest sponsors are NOT responsible for lost items.
   
   
4. FOOTWEAR AND EQUIPMENT PROTECTION: All equipment tips on rifles, flag poles, and sabres must be padded and taped. Any props used must be protected so as not to damage the floor. Soft-soled shoes need no added protection. Hard-soled shoes must be taped.
   
   
5. TABULATING AND JUDGING AREA: These areas are off limits to everyone except authorized personnel. Pick up cassettes and score sheets at the announcer's table shortly after your unit competes.
   
   
6. FLOOR SIZE: The "competition area" shall measure a minimum of sixty by ninety (60' x 90') feet and does not include entry ramps, hallways nor any bleachers or seating area. Units are permitted to utilize the entire designated competition area for their performance. Units may not use "floors" (tarps) larger than sixty by ninety (60' x 90') feet. All props must be in the designated competition area. There can be no equipment choreography outside the competition area. All performers must begin within the designated competition area.
   
   
7. CASSETTE TAPES FOR JUDGES: Provided by the sponsor.
   
   
8. MUSIC TAPE: All regional contests must utilize a high quality sound system with a variable speed CD player and the capability to use external devices such as MP3 players and/or I Pods
   or you may utilize your own deck and plug it into the system provided. Bring music to the sound table prior to performance. A representative of your guard should stay with the sound person during your unit's performance. If you utilize reel-to-reel tape please bring your own deck.
   
   
9. EQUIPMENT/PROPS: All equipment and props must be removed from the building immediately following your performance.
   
   
10. QUALIFYING SCORES: A minimum score must be reached in order for all world class color guards to qualify for the finals competition at a Regional. The purpose for this directive is two fold. It will address the issue of those guards who elect to compete in a class where historically all participants are assured finals-seeding, regardless of show completion or quality. With many Regional contests experiencing an inordinate number of entries, this requirement will assure that a minimum level of quality and achievement exists for finals competition. The qualifying score is listed below.

    Feb 2 - 61    Feb 9 - 63    Feb 16 - 65    Feb 23 - 67    March 1-2 - 68.5

    March 8 - 70    March 15-16 - 71.5    March 22 - 73    March 29-30 - 74.5

    
    
    
11. FINALISTS: Per the color guard advisory board the number of finalist is determined by a percentage of the number of entries at the closing date of the regional. Finalist at regionals will be 100% World Class units, 75% of Open Class Units and 50% of A Class Units up to 15 total units in finals. TO PROGRESS TO FINALS EACH WORLD CLASS UNIT MUST REACH QUALIFYING SCORE FOR THAT WEEK.
    
    
12. FINALE: Captains only. Line up in warm-up area.
    
    
13. AWARDS: Top three in each WGI color guard classes.
    
    

New Copyright Information for 2008