WGASC News

Dear Unit Directors,

I hope you are all enjoying the wrap up to your competitive seasons and are eagerly looking forward to Championships in late April.  As you know, the annual WGASC circuit meeting is shortly after Championships and we would like you to take some time to mark your calendars for this upcoming date.  On Saturday, May 6th, at 9am we will hold our annual WGASC Business Meeting and we encourage you all to attend.  Not only for the purpose of hearing the state of the organization and all that is going on behind the scenes, but to also take some time to see your colleagues one last time before we all part for the summer.

This year we will be introducing a new process for show bidding.   For the past few seasons, we have tried to make a competitive calendar that not only suits our local guards, but one that also services our nationally competitive Color Guards whom are calendaring WGASC and WGI events in one competitive season.  Lately, we have known that to be quite the challenge for our members and for the show hosts that are using events to fundraise for their programs.  Additionally, as the activity evolves, the facilities that we are accustomed to utilizing for our events are becoming less conducive to the big floors and high tosses that our activity is demanding.  For those above stated reasons, we will be revamping the process of selecting show sites for the 2018 season.

We will begin by delaying our show selection process until late May.  This will allow WGASC to consider the WGI Calendar when scheduling our local association contests.  In early June, we will have a Show Assignment committee comprised of an advisor from each region, some WGASC staff members, and the Executive Board that will select show sites based on the geographic, facility, and contest dynamic considerations for the best interests of all unit members.

For those considering hosting shows in 2018, the logistics of that show selection process are going to be laid out in a more detailed email in mid-April.   This will give WGASC time to lay out the competitive calendar and create all the documents necessary to provide a fair and detailed system for this new approach to bidding.  Please keep in mind, as with prior bidding, you must have a representative at this  spring meeting to be eligible for hosting a show.  Additionally, in fairness to the member units of the WGASC, the Executive Board will be making an update to the Policy & Procedures Manual regarding a unit’s eligibility to host a show.  The revision will state that in order to host a show, you must have been a member of the association (not a guest) prior to the bid and within the future year to be eligible to utilize a WGASC show as a fundraiser for your program.

As we grow, we must respond to our needs as they change and evolve.  We hope that you find this new procedure a welcomed addition to the WGASC practices as we feel it will only positively impact our units’ competitive experiences.

Thank you for your support, good skill to all those in the upcoming weeks, and the WGASC looks forward to seeing you at the annual business meeting in May.

Warmly,

Melissa Samson

WGASC President

WGASC Annual Meeting Documents