Circuit History
In the fall of 1972, the Continental Divide Color Guard Circuit (CDCGC) was formed to promote color guard contests in the Rocky Mountain area. Spearheaded by Lee Carlson, the first contests were held in the winter of 1973. Lee went on to become a Winter Guard International adjudicator and a member of the board for the Winter Guard Association of Southern California.
That first year, CDCGC had three contests – all in one weekend! There were no local judges; so five judges from the Midwest were brought in. That meant airfare plus judging fees, so the cost was split between all three shows. CDCGC was off and running.
In 1974 there were 11 guards and more contests. The growing began.
In 1978 Earl and Cindy Carlheim moved to Colorado and new guards were formed with new instructors. CDCGC had 9 guards in the 1979 season. The Carlheims inspired everyone with their energy and optimism and spurred everyone into a renewed effort. Earl’s unit, “Nova,” was a force to be reckoned with for many years!
At the end of the 10th year, there were 16 competitive units including some from Kansas, Wyoming, and Pueblo.
In the late 80s, new instructors and units continued to propel the association. Shows like “Silver Boots” from Aurora Central High School and “A Touch of Class” from Smoky Hill High School led the way for the new high schools. “Nova” and “Speakeasy” challenged the independents to improve and to achieve.
Each year, members of the circuit have improved both locally and nationally. In 1990 Jinx made Winter Guard International Championship Finals, marking the first year a Colorado guard made finals. Since then, many more groups have made finals including 1994 Pomona High School, winning the gold medal in Scholastic Open. Pomona repeated that honor in 1999 with a record-setting score for Scholastic Open and followed that feat with many appearances in Scholastic World Class finals.
Oracle Winter Guard brought a new sense of musicality and visual interpretation to the Colorado scene in 1998. They consistently made WGI Championship Finals, winning the gold medal for Independent Open Class in 2002. Oracle solidly moved into the Independent World competition in 2003, finishing in 9th place. The organization became Opus X in 2007 and continued to make several appearances in World Class finals.
1997 was the 25th Anniversary of the circuit. In honor of this, the name was changed to the Rocky Mountain Color Guard Association. Select contests were combined with the Rocky Mountain Percussion Association including the Championship at the CU Event Center in Boulder.
Each year, Colorado sends several units to the WGI World Championship competitions. In 2001, 11 units made semifinals and 7 units were finalists! The quality continued to excel on the national stage with groups like Signature Color Guard, Arvada High School, Legacy High School, Bear Creek High School, Loveland High School, Anesidora Winter Guard, and Malachi Independent.
RMCGA continues to grow both in numbers and talent. As people graduate or age out, they are becoming instructors or creating new color guards. RMCGA members have become consistent finalists at WGI Championships, as both performers and educators, and continue to set new standards locally and nationally.
The number of Units at selected Championship contests:
1978 – 9
1983 – 13
1999 – 29
2002 – 36 (30th Anniversary season)
2022 – 50 (50th Anniversary season)