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DCI’s 2027 World Class field is getting bigger. Chris Rutt, Grantis Peranda and Jeremy Svoboda break down the Mandarins’ approved return after a one-year hiatus and Gold and The Battalion moving from Open Class into DCI World Class beginning in 2027.

The panel also remembers longtime Drum Corps World publisher and DCI Hall of Fame member Steve Vickers. Grantis takes the 60 Second Tech Block with practical fall color guard costuming advice: choose something that serves the show, survives the field, fits performers well and helps them feel confident. Water We Doing?! tackles recycled and overcomplicated show concepts, copyright and licensing frustrations, and performing in extreme weather.

CHAPTERS
00:00 DCI 2027 Headlines
00:41 Welcome + News
01:17 Mandarins Return to DCI
03:08 Remembering Steve Vickers
07:10 Gold + The Battalion Join World Class
12:52 What You May Have Missed
14:29 Guard Closet
16:08 60 Second Tech Block
17:17 Fall Color Guard Costuming
29:23 Water We Doing?!
33:04 Copyright & Marching Arts
35:55 Extreme Weather + Performer Safety
40:50 Gush & Go
46:42 Final CTA + Closing Rehearsal

PANEL
Chris Rutt — @wildhornbrass1
Grantis Peranda — @grantisimo_p
Jeremy Svoboda / Drum Corps Today — @drumcorpstoday

NEWS & RESOURCES
Mandarins approved to return to the DCI Tour in 2027
Remembering Steve Vickers — Drum Corps International
Gold + The Battalion approved for DCI World Class in 2027

RELATED OAWB
S4EP39 — WGI 2027 Waitlists, Percussion Changes + Practice Makes Permanent
S4EP38 — Marching Arts News + Color Guard Tech Advice

MORE OAWB
OnAWaterBreak.com | Listen Everywhere | Marching Arts News | Meet the Team | Join Us | YouTube
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GuardCloset.com | @guardcloset

WGI’s new Color Guard Chief Judge Denise Bonfiglio joins Trish O’Shea and Sadie Wallace for a special installment of the WGI 50th Anniversary Series — looking back at nearly 50 years of winter guard history and ahead to what comes next.

Denise has been part of WGI since its earliest years as an instructor, designer, adjudicator and educator. She revisits the programs that transformed color guard, explains why WGI’s promotion system is working, discusses growing championship waitlists and venue capacity, and takes us inside the process that led to her becoming WGI Color Guard Chief Judge. She also traces her role in WGI’s adjudication philosophy, mentoring judges, and the challenge of coordinating roughly 380 judging assignments for the season.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Welcome — Denise Bonfiglio joins OAWB
00:36 Trish, Denise & Sadie reconnect
01:22 WGI’s 50th anniversary
05:33 Color guards that changed WGI
14:44 Could anyone have imagined 50 years?
16:39 Scholastic World growth
20:09 Why the promotion system works
22:48 Waitlists & championship venue capacity
23:58 Denise’s road to WGI Color Guard Chief Judge
26:36 WGI adjudication philosophy
28:58 Mentorship and training judges
30:54 What the Chief Judge job requires
31:24 Roughly 380 judging assignments
33:39 Dale Powers & Emerald Marquis memories
35:51 Looking toward WGI 2027
39:09 Closing

GUEST
Denise Bonfiglio — WGI Color Guard Chief Judge

HOSTS
Trish O’Shea — @trishdish1102
Sadie Wallace — @m.sadiewallace

WATCH MORE WITH DENISE
Denise Bonfiglio’s first OAWB interview + 32 Count Life Story

OFFICIAL WGI RESOURCES
Denise Bonfiglio Named Color Guard Chief Judge
WGI 50th Anniversary Opening Ceremonies
2027 WGI Color Guard Calendar

RELATED OAWB
Greg Case — includes OAWB’s earlier coverage of Denise’s appointment

MORE ON A WATER BREAK
Website | Listen Everywhere | Marching Arts News | Meet the Team | Join Us

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Presented by Guard Closet — uniforms, flags, costumes, consignment and design for the marching arts.

WGI 2027: waitlists already? Color guard registration is already putting championship capacity in the spotlight. Whitney Stone, Jeremy Denzer, Sadie Wallace, Trish O’Shea and Garrett Lippie break down the early WGI waitlists, WGI percussion changes, European drum corps, whether BOA should judge color guard separately, and more. Garrett’s 60 Second Tech Block is all about why practice doesn’t make perfect — Practice Makes Permanent.

CHAPTERS
00:00 WGI 2027 Color Guard Tea
02:02 Welcome + Recent OAWB Releases
08:27 Quiet Spin Flagpole Test
11:28 Derek Phillips Family Thanks the Marching Community
16:15 Remembering Steve Vickers
19:00 WGI 2027 Color Guard Registration + Waitlists
25:15 WGI Percussion 2027: Quad Panel, Audio Theater + Regionals
29:59 Scholastic Open Registration Check
30:49 European Drum Corps Championships
32:58 Guard Closet
35:43 60 Second Tech Block
37:27 Practice Makes Permanent
43:46 Water We Doing?!
51:21 Circuit Sound Systems
53:48 Should BOA Judge Color Guard Separately?
57:59 What Are We Going to Do About It?
58:42 Who Actually Runs the Design?
59:41 Gush & Go
1:07:01 Bridgeland Wins BOA North Houston
1:08:11 Whitney Shares a Personal Loss
1:09:21 Closing Rehearsal

ON THIS EPISODE
Whitney Stone — @dancerwhit
Jeremy Denzer — @jeremydenzer
Sadie Wallace — @m.sadiewallace
Trish O’Shea — @trishdish1102
Garrett Lippie — @g_lippie27
Executive Producer: Jeremy Williams

NEWS + RESOURCES
Derek Phillips family/community support: https://www.kcci.com/article/family-of-derek-phillips-thanks-community-for-support/73859683
University of Iowa remembrance: https://hawkeyemarchingband.uiowa.edu/news/2026/09/message-hawkeye-marching-band-and-school-music
Steve Vickers remembrance: https://www.dci.org/news/steve-vickers-longtime-publisher-of-drum-corps-world-dies-at-77/
WGI July Board recap: https://www.wgi.org/26julyboardrecap/
WGI Color Guard current entries: https://www.wgi.org/currententries/cg-current-entries/
WGI Percussion calendar: https://www.wgi.org/percussion/p-calendar/
European Drum Corps Championships preview: https://www.dci.org/news/ensembles-from-five-countries-will-be-represented-at-2026-european-drum-corps-championships/

MORE OAWB
Website: https://www.onawaterbreak.com/
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News: https://www.onawaterbreak.com/news
Meet the team: https://www.onawaterbreak.com/team
Join us: https://www.onawaterbreak.com/join-us
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TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@onawaterbreak

RELATED
Quiet Spin Anchor System Quick Sip: https://youtu.be/2C5ubVbUOdk
OAWB with Punk Rock Irving: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY6RVI39mjc

Presented by Guard Closet — https://www.guardcloset.com/ — @guardcloset