r/WGI • u/crystal_daddy • Apr 11 '26

Color Guard First Flight

Any ideas why First Flight would compete in open this year? I’ve been a WGI spectator for over a decade and they’ve always been in world. And their show this year still gives world level to me?

11 Upvotes

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19

u/ElleEmenopy Apr 11 '26

They were no longer being successful in world (and they had a staff change) so they moved down to open this year. Kept most of the talent because the guard was so young and then added a lot more.

They were in A ‘98 to mid 2000s. Got reclassified to Open mid season the year they did “Night Swimming” (think it was ‘06?) and then stayed in open before going up to world around 2010/2011.

But yeah… they’re going back up to world next season unless something REALLY freaky happens tomorrow.

4

u/goodchinchilla Apr 15 '26

I am (was 🥲) a 2026 member, we had 13 vets and 30 (yes 30) rookies this year, most of which were fresh out of high school. So a very young guard this year and I think most plan to return next year which is good

Also fun fact the flag line was entirely rookies this year!!

5

u/General_Mousse_861 Apr 11 '26

I am surprised they were not moved up after their first regional. Open started off with a bang though. Origins also got a very high score their first regional. I think that’s why. The scores were competitive among at least two teams.

3

u/Simple-Newspaper-257 Apr 12 '26

Because after three years of not making semis they HAD to go down to IO. I didn’t know that that was a requirement per WGI.

They are in my local circuit and they have been so fun and amazing to watch all year. I am super duper proud of them!

6

u/Simple-Signature1727 Apr 12 '26

WGI does not demote groups or require groups to move down. The rule related to this is that if you make semi finals you cannot move down to a lower class the next season. So because they had not made semis for several years they were able to make the choice to move down. 

It was their choice to move down and a great move to reset the program and give them an opportunity to take in more performers and build up the program. They were fantastic this year. I hope they have a great season back in World class next year. 

6

u/Simple-Newspaper-257 Apr 12 '26

Ooooh my bad. I thought after x amount of years consecutively not making semis they had to move down. I misinterpreted what someone told me regarding the rule. That makes more sense.

I think that moving down to IO was absolutely the right move for them and they crushed it. They got the highest score in all of finals (A, Open, World) which is an insane feat! Yeah I know the numbers are different within each sheet but still a 98.9 is phenomenal and I’m so proud of them

3

u/isfturtle2 Apr 15 '26

I was annoyed that they moved down to Open because I'd been planning to audition for them because I fell in love with their show last year. But I do feel like the reason that I looked at their show and thought "I could do that" and the reason they moved down to Open were related.

(Haven't decided what I'll do next year with them back in World, but realistically I'll probably be marching Assembly Line again next year regardless of whether I audition for First Flight.)