WGI (World Guard International) 2009

Christian and I after Choctaw's Finals performance

Here is another of my catch up posts :-) Last month, I went to Dayton, OH as a chaperone for Choctaw's Indoor Percussion unit. Each year they go to compete at WGI - World Guard International. It is the culmination of a lot of hardwork for young people from across the country, and in fact the world.

For those of you that aren't familiar with Indoor Percussion, you're not alone. I had never heard of it before last year. But, lemme' tell you, you gotta' check it out!! In a nutshell, drummers gotta' drum. They gotta' do it because it's in their blood. But what do you do when Marching Season is over? How do you improve without driving your parents crazy banging on everything in the house that isn't nailed down (and lots of stuff that is). Well, you just take the Drumline and the Pit and you move them inside. Roll out a vinyl floor big enough to cover an entire basketball court. Learn some awesome music, choreograph an intricate show, and practice, practice, practice. Go to several competition during the winter. Qualify to go to the World Championship. Then, come April, head to Dayton and strut your stuff! :-)

So that's what they do - Here are some pics:

• The Base Line practicing in "The Lot" (the parking lot at the University of Dayton Arena).
• Ashley applying eyeliner to Christian. All of the kids had to wear eyeliner to make their eyes stand out more during the competition. There were several boys that took a bit of persuading, but most were really good sports about it (and I think they gained a bit of appreciation for what we girls go through :-)
• About to perform. A moment of prayer before Finals.
• The Base Line after Finals.
• Practicing in "The Lot" before Prelims
• Backstage waiting for our turn at Prelims.
• Full Retreat after Finals. 30 units (15 from Percussion Scholastic World and 15 from Independent World) await the judges decisions. It's almost midnight and the everyone is anxious to see where they placed.
• Performing during Finals.
• The places have all been announced and a year of hard work has come to an end. The air is full of confetti thrown from 4 confetti cannons. All of these kids have so much to be proud of.
• Bags are packed and down in the hotel lobby waiting to be loaded on the bus.
• A packed house in Dayton arena watches the final performances.

• Bowling is a great way for the kids to wind down from a day of competition and keep their minds off of the next day's competition.
• 11:00 is lights out, although very few of them actually go to bed, they do get "taped in" to make sure no one wanders anywhere they are not supposed to be. They can still get out of their room and back in, but the broken tape will rat them out. So far, never a problem.
• A quick buffet in the parking lot. These guys have worked hard and they are hungry.
• Taking a break after yet another practice. This one was at an indoor Track field. The mats they are laying on are underneath a pole vaulting bar.
• Chaperones/Pit Crew sitting down to watch our kids perform. We can only rest for a minute though, we have to pop right back up after their performance to help the kids clear everything within their time limit.
• Susan and I mugging it up in the parking lot while the kids practice.
• Another outdoor buffet, this time it was KFC. The kids really liked that, it was a nice change from our usual offerings. Huge pans of chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, and biscuits. YUM!!
• Another chance to unwind before a competition. An impromptu Halo tournament. Yes, they bring their video games with them on these trips :-)
• Our last group meal of the trip. A Golden Corral in Alabama. We left Ohio at midnight (Eastern Time) the night before. Now it's 9:00 am (Central Time). These guys are worn out, hungry, and ready to get home.
  

So, if you wanna' see a bit more about this thing called Indoor Percussion and WGI. I have attached a link to a video. I tried to embed it into this post. But, for some reason I can't get the code to work. Choctaw competes in the PSW (Percussion Scholastic World) category. The link is to a video of several of the units in their category. Choctaw is featured 5 times (although don't blink :-) The video is 2 minutes and 02 seconds long. You can see Christian at 1:25 (again, don't blink).

Percussion Scholastic World Montage Video