History
Founded as a Drum and Bugle Corps, the San Jose Raiders were first known as the Knight Raiders. In the mid 1970s, the organization switched its focus to Winter Guard and made its first WGI appearance in 1985.
By 1987 the Raiders made their first finals appearance with their show entitled "The Art of Noise" and by 1990 had tied with Blessed Sacrament to win their first WGI title. In the subsequent seasons the San Jose Raiders became the first color guard to win five consecutive WGI World Class titles. Additionally in 1994 the San Jose Raiders Open Guard earned the bronze medal at the WGI World Championships.
The Blessed Sacrament, also Most Blessed Sacrament, is a devotional name used in the Latin Church of the Catholic Church, as well as in Anglicanism, Lutheranism, Methodism, and the Old Catholic Church, as well as in some of the Eastern Catholic Churches, to refer to the body and blood of Christ in the form of consecrated sacramental bread and wine at a celebration of the Eucharist. In the Byzantine Rite, the terms Holy Gifts and Divine Mysteries are used to refer to the consecrated elements. Christians in these traditions believe in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharistic elements of the bread and wine and some of them, therefore, practice Eucharistic reservation and adoration. This belief is based on interpretations of both scripture and sacred tradition. The Catholic understanding has been defined by numerous ecumenical councils, including the Fourth Lateran Council and the Council of Trent, which is quoted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
In 1995 the organization decided to fold their current world program and promote their Open Guard to the World class. Although this "new" Raider World Guard performed a very memorable show, they missed making finals. In 1996 the Raiders returned to WGI and firmly retained their spot as a WGI finalist with a 6th-place finish.
The following years continued the Raiders growth. The Raiders "A" class guard earned a silver medal in 1997 and followed it with a 4th-place finish in the Open class in 1998. The World team remained strong, but was never able to return to the medal podium, twice missing the bronze medal by five hundredths of a point (2000, 2002).
After eight years the Raiders returned to the World Class Podium with their 2003 Gold medal production, "Portraits of Frida".
The Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps is a World Class competitive junior drum and bugle corps based in Concord, California, United States. BD is a member of Drum Corps International (DCI). The corps has finished first or second for the past 12 seasons (2007–18) and has placed no lower than fifth since finishing third in 1975. They also hold the record for the highest score in DCI history, winning the 2014 DCI World Championship title with a score of 99.65. The Blue Devils most recently won the DCI Championship in 2017, their record-extending 18th title.
Senator Ruben S. Ayala Senior High School, often abbreviated as Ayala High School or AHS, is located in Chino Hills, California and is one of the four comprehensive high schools in the Chino Valley Unified School District. The school was established in 1990 and named after California state senator Ruben S. Ayala. It received the 2011 California Distinguished School award and the 2015 California Gold Ribbon School Award.
Patricia Neske is an American-born former competitive figure skater with dual US/German citizenship. She represented Germany at the 1992 Winter Olympics, finishing 13th. She won a bronze medal at the European Championships in 1989 and 1992, and is the 1990 German national champion. She also competed at five Word Championships, with her best result being a fourth place finish in 1989.
Color guards can be found in most American colleges, universities, high schools, middle schools and independent drum corps. They use various equipment, including flags, rifles, and sabers, along with dance, to enhance the music of the marching band show. They consist of both boys and girls with some organizations consisting of either all boys or all girls.
Lindsey Caroline Vonn is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team. She has won four World Cup overall championships—one of only two female skiers to do so, along with Annemarie Moser-Pröll—with three consecutive titles in 2008, 2009, and 2010, plus another in 2012. Vonn won the gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics, the first one for an American woman. She has also won a record 8 World Cup season titles in the downhill discipline, 5 titles in super-G, and 3 consecutive titles in the combined (2010–2012). In 2016, she won her 20th World Cup crystal globe title, the overall record for men or women, surpassing Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, who won 19 globes from 1975 to 1984. She has the second highest super ranking of all skiers, men or women.
Charles W. Flanagan High School opened its doors in 1996 as the first public high school in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Flanagan High School is located near Broward County's C.B. Smith Park and the Walter C. Young Middle School and Resource Center.
Figure skating is a sport with participants across the world. Originally based in North America and Europe, the sport has experienced a major expansion in the countries of East Asia.
The California Color Guard Circuit (CCGC) is one of the many winter guard circuits that are part of Winter Guard International (WGI). Established in 1964, the CCGC was started by six (6) charter members: Sacramento Capitolaires, Stockton Police Cadets, Raleys Raiders, Richmond Hawks, Praetorians, and the Rhythmettes. CCGC membership represents many scholastic programs and independent programs throughout Northern California and Nevada. In 2016, the circuit had just over sixty guard units and around sixteen percussion units. Evaluations are typically held in January; guard units are evaluated in the beginning of January, whereas percussion groups are evaluated towards the end of January. The typical season goes from January to the end of March or beginning of April. Shows are generally held in the San Francisco Bay area and the Sacramento area, though the circuit is based out of Santa Clara County. Each year CCGC holds its own championships and sends many groups to the world championships at WGI. CCGC is the proud home of many WGI medalists including:
University High School is a public high school in Orlando, Florida opened in 1990. The school is one of many public high schools in Orange County and is located about a mile from the University of Central Florida. University High School offers the International Baccalaureate magnet program, and previously had a Global Technologies (GT) magnet program that was discontinued in the 2017-2018 school year. The school has been named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.
The San Jose State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent San José State University. SJSU sports teams compete in the Mountain West Conference at the NCAA Division I FBS level. San Jose State is one of seven universities in the state of California to participate in NCAA Division I FBS athletics, along with the University of California, Fresno State, San Diego State, Stanford, UCLA, and USC. SJSU has participated in athletics since it first fielded a baseball team in 1890.
Leigh High School is a secondary school located in San Jose, California, United States. Opening in September 1962, it was the fifth school established in the Campbell Union High School District. The school has twice been given the California Distinguished School award, in 1999 and 2003. As of 2015, the school's enrollment was 1676 students. The school colors are gold (yellow) and pine green, and its mascot is the Longhorn.
Muscle Shoals High School is the sole public secondary education institution in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. MSHS was recently awarded the Blue Ribbon Lighthouse Award for Excellence.
Wang Bingyu is a Chinese curler. In 2009, she became the first non Northern American or European skip to win a World Championships.
The Spirit of America Band is a World Class band based in Orleans, Massachusetts,on Cape Cod, founded in 1980. It is a member corps of the World Association of Marching Show Bands
and Winter Guard International. Spirit of America is currently under the direction of Richard K. Pugsley. The band has been officially recognized in exhibition with Drum Corps International and Bands of America.
Rhythm X, Inc. is a non-profit music education organization that operates a competitive indoor marching percussion ensemble and wind ensemble, as well as an online school for marching music called The X Academy. The company was founded in 2002 by Craig Dunn as the Rhythm X Performance Ensemble. The ensembles compete in both the Winter Guard International (WGI) and Mid-East Performance Association (MEPA) circuits in the World Class, which is the classification given to the ensembles that execute musical and visual programs of the highest difficulty. In 2013, Rhythm X announced the launch of The X Academy, an online and in-person educational program suited for high school and college-age musicians interested in competitive percussion and wind ensembles. Later that year the organization announced the addition of its newest ensemble that will compete in the new WGI Winds Division in 2015.
Gateway Indoor was an indoor drumline based in St. Louis, MO. The group competes in the Percussion Independent World division of Winter Guard International, as well as the Mid-Continental Color Guard Association circuit.
BD Performing Arts is the corporate entity that manages several performance groups for young people in Concord, California. Included in these groups are the three Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps, designated "A", "B", and "C"; the Blue Devils International Corps; the Blue Devils Open Class, A Class, and Special Needs Winter Guards; the Diablo Wind Symphony; and BD Entertainment.
The Sky Ryders Drum and Bugle Corps was an Open Class competitive junior drum and bugle corps from 1955 to 1994. Based in Hutchinson, Kansas and later in DeSoto, Texas, the Sky Ryders was a member corps of Drum Corps International and a six time DCI World Championship Finalist.
