The bulk of the 2022 WGI competition season is right around the corner, and fans can expect a high level of energy and performance quality as ensembles across the Guard, Percussion, and Winds tracks start to fine-tune their productions before Dayton. What else can be expected? The World Class category to be full of tight competition and massive talent. Let's take a look at the history that has led us to this season:

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Event Schedule

Independent & Scholastic World - Guard

Pride of Cincinnati has been the group to beat in the Independent World Class, winning the gold medal in three out of five years of scored competition, so it's safe to assume they will be fierce competition again in 2022. Of course, you can't count out Paramount, Diamante, and Blessed Sacrament who have all finished in the top 6 of the IW class in the last two years of scored competition. Switching gears to the Scholastic World Class, Avon HS has had back-to-back first place finishes in the last two years of scored competition, breaking the back-and-forth win streak held by Carmel HS and Tarpon Springs HS since 2013. Other groups to watch for include Center Grove HS, Trumball HS, and West Broward HS who have put up impressive scores over the last two years of scored competition. Should we expect finishes that are similar to those seen in previous years, or is a group going to come out of nowhere and claim gold? Leave your thoughts and predictions in the comments below!

Independent & Scholastic World - Percussion

There hasn't been a clear-cut group to beat in the Independent World Class in the last couple of years. Since 2015, there have been four different gold medalist groups - Broken City, RCC, Music City Mystique, and Pulse Percussion. Rhythm X has also been a top finisher, but has yet to clinch the gold; will this be their year? In Scholastic World, on the other hand, Chino Hills HS has been the dominant force over the last five years of scored competition, only being dethroned once in 2016 by Ayala HS. The top finishers, however, have been pretty consistent with Chino Hills HS, Arcadia HS, Dartmouth HS, Avon HS and Ayala HS being at the top of the field in almost every year since 2015. It looks like it'll be another exciting season of competition - who do you think will be in the top-3 this year? Leave your predictions below!

Independent & Scholastic World - Winds

The Independent World Winds competition should be an interesting one this season, as 4-time gold medalist winner Rhythm X Winds is not fielding an ensemble in 2022. This leaves veteran competitors STRYKE Wynds and UTRGV Winds an opening to go for top positioning in the class. However, all eyes will be on first-time class competitor Legacy to see how they can shake up the playing field throughout the season. A recent switch-up to the World Class group is Horizon Winds being bumped up from Independent Open to Independent World. With the playing field getting more crowded, it should be incredibly exciting to see where each ensemble ends up at the end of the season. Switching gears to the Scholastic World Winds category, once again we see no clear-cut group to beat and instead see a field ripe for the taking. 2019 gold-medalist Cleveland HS will be looking for the repeat win, but expect stiff competition from the other competitors in the group: Avon HS, Stoneman Douglas HS, Azle HS, and Greenfield Central HS. What are your 2022 predictions for the Independent and Scholastic World Classes? Leave them in the comments below!

Stay tuned to FloMarching all season long leading up to WGI Guard World Class Finals April 7-9, Percussion World Class Finals April 21-23, and Winds World Class Finals April 23-24.