Featured Story
My First WGI
Aug 5, 2009
The audition season for color guard and percussion ensembles is about to begin. The preparation starts to make the 2010 season better than last year, but for some, they don’t even know what to expect; this is their first year participating in the indoor season. A few participants offered up their experiences from their first trip to WGI.
Barbara Voils from Cheshire HS Color Guard
I am a Scholastic Open Class champion of the 2006 Color Guard World Championships. That was my freshman year with the Cheshire High School winter guard and the collective talents of our upper classmen is what earned us that distinction. I was inspired by their accomplishments and star struck by the amazing performances I witnessed that night of the 2006 Finals. The first Dayton experience is unique; it’s not just a competition. It’s a coming together of guards from around the world and it solidifies your own team in the process. Since that moment, I wanted to be under the confetti; among those highly revered guards. I had witnessed the CHS seniors of 2006 fulfill their “Dayton dreams”. I’m motivated by them and my first Dayton experience to work just as hard to fulfill my own.
Morgan Burgett from Avon HS Color Guard
My first experience going to World Championships was nothing I ever could have imagened. Daniel Wiles (Avon HS’s Director) talked all week about how," we should be preparing ourselves for the business trip, this was not going to be any normal vacation." When Friday rolled around and it was time to leave for Dayton, I can remember walking on the bus hearing Rachel Harcourt tell everyone to, "Put your game faces on. This is our chance to max everything to the limit. We want to make Daniel proud."
I do not remember much about how the shows went but walking on to the floor for finals was "amazing." Being a freshman and seeing the crowd give Avon a standing ovation before we even stepped out on to the floor to perform was incredible. At that moment, standing in the tunnel, I realized I was a part of something more than just a guard, this was my family and it was our turn to shine. The feeling walking on to the floor that night was something I will never forget.
Guard has taught me much more than how to spin a rifle or saber, it has built my self-confidence up. I have made friends that will last a life time and I have learned that I can express myself through the music. I do not think I could leave guard after only four years, I want it to take up the rest of my life.
Paul Raposo from Dartmouth High School Percussion Ensemble
My first experience with WGI was my freshman year at the WGI regional in Stratford CT. That year I played drum set for the “What It Means To Be Human” show. It was a lot different from other local competitions but we still hadn’t competed with anyone in our division. When we finally went to World Champions in Ohio that same year it was the first time we competed with other groups in our division. I was really excited but really nervous at the same time because we hadn’t seen any groups yet and didn’t know what we were up against. Once we got off the floor and I saw and heard the crowd I got really pumped and knew how hard I was going to have to work to make it into the snare line, which had been my dream since the first time I saw Dartmouth in 1998. I worked really hard every day to be able to play like a Dartmouth snare drummer and that year I made snare. I have made many friends and have a lot of great memories because of this activity. I will never forget my WGI experiences.
Send your first WGI experience story to aaron@wgi.org
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