Rumble in Rochester

[Guardguy89]

I remember that...in 1999. They only had seventeen guards in prelims and everyone made finals. I honestly think that is why they lifted the age limit starting in 2000.

Man I wish we were back in 1999 ;0)

[ATXguard]

Can somebody who is up to speed with WGI rules explain this?

I haven't seen Gates, so cannot comment about whether they "belong" in Open or World.

My question concerns fair application of the rules.

Meaning: The committee voted them into SW after last season. That being the case, why are they now allowed to drop down to open?

I mean, 2 years ago, Northmont was fantastic when they won SO. Last year, after losing a bunch of seniors, they were probably more of an open group than the year before when they won it. So... why wasn't Northmont allowed to drop down last year?

We could pull out other examples from past years, but the gist of my questions are:

1) Has this ever been done before (ie= guard promoted from prior year's finals being allowed to drop down a class)?

2) What does the rule book actually state regarding guards who have been promoted from the prior year's finals results?

We could have another discussion about whether the way guards are promoted is the "best" way, and I'm not looking to rehash last weekend's results. While I feel for the people at Gates, I also cannot remember any other guard being given this type of consideration. My understanding is that once promoted, the guard must compete in the new class for at least the following season. Is this not correct?

thanks

Wolfgang

From the WGI website:

https://www.wgi.org/contents/FAQ---Color-Guard.html#promo

WHAT DETERMINES MOVING A GUARD TO ANOTHER CLASS? WHAT IS THE WGI REVIEW PROCESS?

There is a review committee consisting of the 4 World Class Steering Committee instructors, Education Director, Chief Judge and Color Guard Coordinator. These 7 people are charged with assuring that guards are in the most competitive class for their students.

When the season begins, a guard could be requested for review if they are perceived to be in the wrong class. This review request can be made by the Color Guard Coordinator, the Chief Judge of the contest, a Task Force Member, a Regional Director, the Task Force Coordinator or the Education Director. A video tape of that guard is made at finals and distributed to the committee within a very quick turn around, usually within 10 days. The committee views the guard and considers the training and development level of the performers, the challenges they are achieving, and to a slightly lesser degree the quality and depth of the program. The students are the primary emphasis in considering any move. One of the things that is not considered is "who is on staff". The committee is charged with carrying in a good understanding of what the next class “norm” represents in order to have a barometer to measure whether or not the potential promotion will permit those students to achieve and be competitive. The decision is voted upon independently by each member and the Color Guard Coordinator then informs the guard of the decision. This process is usually completed within one week.

I would imagine the same is true for placing a guard both "up" or "down" a class.