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Taravella went to the inagural parade and they were focused on that December and Janruary. So they did not perform at premier but, there is some rule from 1902 (I assume) that said they had to be represented at premier. So... the captain showed up and got .2 per caption. Silly but they had to do it. Taravella from what I hear will be ready for the Fort. Lauderdale regional. I'm excited to see them.

I liked the idea of sticking with your horn and looking for an independent guard for winter as a solution. It may mean concert season is out for you but, if you want to spin then there you have it. We have had this situation with the band director I taught for and the guard never won. Notice I said "taught" for. The band director I currently teach for encourages the members to be where they are happy. He even encourages band members to do winter guard or winter percussion in addition to concert season. He see it as making the whole program stronger and keeping "his" kids in "his" program.

So many guards have started indoor season, who else is excited? Anybody have news on shows?

Dugg, Very, very funny very true. On the other side it is equally interesting to see which instructors skirt the sides of the arena floor and go up the side to watch thier teams. When I used to teach a finalist team I hated the "climbing of the entourage" it made me feel as nervous as I did when I marched.

There is no way results would turn out the same. I have a friend who at a late season regional read a program wrong and thought a World guard that had never made finals was next to perform. The group that actually came in was a top 10 consistent finalist. Although when they were done she commented that the perceived non finalist guard was "having a good year and she was happy for them but she didn't think they'd be able to get in again this year". This was not this woman's first year watching guard and she has even been on the WGI judging roster in the past. The group she was talking about went on to be near the top of World finals again at nationals. Although this certainly isn't scientific, I think most people realize there is an element of politics in our activity. That being said who cares, I love to watch some non finalists and have had years where the silver medalist in my opinion was far superior and more entertaining than the gold. I would love to see it turn out the way I THINK it should every year but that's not going to happen. So I will go to nationals every year watch and scream for my favorites and complain when they do not beat so and so. Fun topic to discuss BTW.

Ok we are now dealing in a topic close to my heart. If you have varing sizes on the team I say costume to the average. If you always costume to the biggest the girls the other girls will not want to wear that costume. On the other side putting a 3x in a costume to make them feel uncomfortable is not fair either. My pet peeve in this is you do not have to be an adult small to wear a cute costume often an AXL has a great shape it's just a bigger shape than the adult small. Women are suposed to have curves and it is ok, they do not have to be shaped like boys. Many times you will see a team with 1 girl who is a 3x and the whole team will be swimming in fabric and the girls who are an adult small will look like they have on thier mom's costume. More fabric does not always mean "looks good on a big girl" sometimes more fabrics means makes a big girl look bigger. One trick is to alter costumes when the come in. Most companies sell costumes in sizes like adult small, medium and so on. This does not mean it will fit like a glove alterations may be necessary. Take in the waist on smaller girls leave a little extra on the bigger girls. Proper undergarments are a must, Body Wrappers makes great "stretch underwraps" they hide alot and hold the girls tight under the costume. I require all my girls to wear them no panty or bra lines along with no jiggles. Last but not least girls like sparkly things, no matter how adavanced the team is they still seem to get excited about sequins and rhinestones. Try to see some of the Scholastic World guards from WGI on the field and you may be surprised what they wear. The look is way different than what you'll see at WGI. Find someone at one of the costume companies that you are comfortable talking to, they will help you out. Ask to speak to someone who teaches guard when you call all the companies have at least one person on staff. It goes without saying hair/makeup shoes and equipment complete the look.

I believe he taught Santa Clara's colorguard in the early to mid 90s but don't hold me to it. I love all the stuff he has done. I wish he'd bring L.D. Bell or Broken Arrow to WGI!

I think you have to order atleast 16 costumes though.

Call Algy they will design something show specific for you. They are real easy to work with and costumes fit!

Well I almost always disagree with him, his "type" of colorguard is typically a little fluffy for me. That having been said I do enjoy reading what he has to say and the way he says it often times makes me laugh.

Rule of thumb: Go to auditions, look around, are you OBVIOUSLY the oldest one? If so get a friend who is older and in worse shape to come to the next rehearsal and march with you. Next rule: go to auditions if your hip shatters do not march. Rule 3: If you are the oldest and the best one there then run circles around the 20 somethings and get your solo's.

I do not believe WGI officially endorses any of the rankings. Could be wrong though. We have been told in critique that the judges know nothing about the rankings and had no idea they existed or have seen them.

After being at the South Power Regional and then checking out replay here is my stab at it. 1-Avon 2-Flanagan 3-Centergrove 4-Shen 5-Miamisburg 6-Cheshire 7-Choctaw 8-Northview 9-Stoneman Douglas 10-Rancho B. 11-Carmel 12-Beyer 13-Arcadia 14-Trumbull 15-Seminole I REALLY HOPE!!! It will come down to clean performances and some of the guards look dirtier than I thought they would on replay. Although getting any emotion off of replay is next to impossible as far as I'm concerned maybe some of the guards I watched are actually better in person.