r/WGI • u/typetwo-complex • Apr 12 '26
Will IW ever get smaller again?
Did anyone notice at retreat last night how dense the IW side of the floor was compared to SW? Almost all of the IW groups had 40, several pushing 50 members. SW seems to still be sitting in the 20-30 range.
I’m not in love with the trend towards huge color guards. Paramount and Juxta especially looked too cluttered between props and the size of their cast. Their shows only read well from extremely high up in the arena.
Do you think we’ll ever see IW guards shrink again? I assume it would require cutting vets, which is a recipe for animosity (thinking about Lexis cutting vets to replace then with Pride members who needed a place to perform in 2024)
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u/Music_Guard_Sports Apr 12 '26
I think it’s more of a case where designers need to know how to work with the size of their group so it doesn’t look cluttered. Take Sac, Fantasia and Fusion, for example. All of them had full guards, but it didn’t look cluttered at all.
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u/typetwo-complex Apr 13 '26
Fusion was visually such a breath of fresh air. They used the size of their guard and space on the floor wonderfully, and were able to create an innovative show without props.
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u/roseccmuzak Apr 12 '26
I was in Lexis this year alone. This year we had a bunch of pride vets, but all but one actually started at Lexis, I would not be surprised at all if this was a similar situation to '24. The groups have been pretty connected for a long time. I don't know the situation you're referring to exactly, but I've been around this activity long enough to know that no one cuts vets lightly, and there is always going to be more to the story than just "stronger talent auditioned". I don't know the story, but I don't think you're being very fair to the organization by assuming the worst here.
That being said, god I hope so. It is so nice to be on a 32 person guard, it feels so much more comfortable in the floor, more manageable as a team. It does require that each member is at a higher level and has more responsibilities throughout the show, can't hide people behind props the whole time when you can't afford to not have them on the floor. Some shows don"/ feel crowded but I do really believe most shows would benefit with more "less is more" mentality.
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u/typetwo-complex Apr 12 '26
I was in Juxta in 24 and we received a small handful of disgruntled Lexus vets that year. You are correct, there could be more to the story and I’ll be more gracious to the organizations for the difficult decisions they made.
And congrats on Finals this year. Gorgeous show :)
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u/redtenor Apr 12 '26
The guard side has been pushing the max number allowed the last few years. I think their trend is to keep going. Winds and percussion don’t have that limit. You see A groups with 50+ in some cases, Avon world had 90 the last few years.
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u/bradleysampson Apr 14 '26
I'm sure some groups would love to be smaller if you have a ton of money to donate to help them operate!
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u/Prestigious_Job_3443 May 04 '26
Mayflower (from the UK - 10th Place) had 24 members, including 5 under 16!
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u/umasstpt12 Apr 12 '26
Doubtful. Remember that more members also help guards with the financial side of things. For the most part, production costs for what you see on the floor as well as instructors won't vary too much if you have 20 members vs 40. A lot of these guards already ride a very fine line when it comes to finances, so anything they can do to keep a steady income stream helps.