Winter Guard International

Winter Guard International (WGI) is a visual performing arts organization that hosts regional and national competitions for color guard (known as winter guard) and indoor percussion ensembles. Contests are held in the U.S. and Canada. WGI headquarters is located in Dayton, Ohio.

Emerging from the indoor color guard activity, WGI was founded in San Francisco, California in 1977 by Don Angelica from New Jersey, Shirlee Whitcomb from Southern California, Stanley Knaub from Seattle, Washington, Bryan Johnston from Chicago, Illinois, Marie Czapinski from Chicago, Illinois, and Lynn Lindstrom from Arlington Heights, Illinois. Together they created the first division of WGI, the color guard division. The second division, indoor percussion, would not be established until 1992. The third division, winds, was established in 2014.

WGI was created as a competitive vehicle for the performing arts. The organization sets standardized rules and criteria, provides educational clinics and resources, and manages competitions on a regional, national, and international scale.

WGI Sport of the Arts is the world's premier organization producing indoor color guard, percussion, and winds competitions.  As a non-profit youth organization, WGI also serves as the governing body for the indoor color guard, percussion, and winds activities. It is called the Sport of the Arts because it brings music to life through performance in a competitive format. Now entering its 40th year in 2017, the sport continues to evolve and grow.  There were more than 36,000 participants at the regional level, and more than 12,000 participants at the Sport of the Arts World Championships this past April.

"WGI Sport of the Arts provides a venue for young people to achieve the extraordinary through performance and competition"

WGI Sport of the Arts:

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