Jump to content

Favorite City for DCA Championships, and Why?


Favorite city for DCA championships, and why?  

55 members have voted

  1. 1. Of the cities in which DCA championships have been held, which is your favorite?

    • Milford, CT ('65)
      0
    • Bridgeport, CT ('66-67)
      1
    • Rochester, NY ('68-71, 73-76, 96, 06-11, 14-17)
      4
    • Jersey City, NJ ('72)
      0
    • Allentown, PA ('77-78, 82-87, 89-90, 97-99)
      13
    • Hershey, PA ('79-80, 88)
      2
    • Philadelphia, PA ('81)
      0
    • Scranton, PA ('91-95, 02-05)
      4
    • Syracuse, NY ('00-01)
      2
    • Annapolis, MD ('12-13)
      24


Recommended Posts

7 hours ago, Fran Haring said:

I think Annapolis in 2012-13 and Philly in 1981 are the only two venues that were really close to what would be considered a major airport.  Oops... Roosevelt Stadium in NJ in '72, too.

Rochester not super major, but really close

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Enjoying all these responses. After more than a month of replies, Annapolis is the clear winner, followed distantly by Allentown, and I don't see that changing, but by all means let the pleasant discussion continue.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe the question should be...which venue had the best drum corps atmosphere? What venue felt like a drum corps event?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, KeithHall said:

Maybe the question should be...which venue had the best drum corps atmosphere? What venue felt like a drum corps event?

I was 14 years old when I attended the 1972 DCA Championship finals at New Jersey's Roosevelt Stadium.

Now... as venues go,  the stadium itself had, by '72, seen better days, to put it mildly. :8_laughing:  But the atmosphere... it was as if there was an electric charge going through the place that night.

A fired-up, hardcore drum corps crowd... and, to date, the best top five I've ever seen at a DCA finals... for sheer, overwhelming entertainment. Each corps unique, each at the top of their game. Caballeros, Skyliners, Buccaneers, Hurricanes, Rochester Crusaders.

And the other seven finalists weren't too shabby, either. From the DCA debut of the Rhode Island Matadors to Canada's Les Diplomates moving up the ladder into 6th place... several great storylines.

To say nothing of the final result, which will live on in DCA lore.  :innocent: And I'll leave it at that.  LOL.

Edited by Fran Haring
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, KeithHall said:

Maybe the question should be...which venue had the best drum corps atmosphere? What venue felt like a drum corps event?

i think they all had great atmosphere's. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I felt all of them I competed in whether Philly, Hershey, or A-Town were good venues. Perhaps Philly being a third place, but not far behind the other 2.

 

In terms of what most people want now, Annapolis is just better in terms of the clean stadium, all the nice amenities. Performers also want a place that they feel respects the fact they're performing for a Championship title.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, BigW said:

Performers also want a place that they feel respects the fact they're performing for a Championship title.

I could be reading this wrong, but the tone suggests you have in mind a place, or 2,3, that doesn't. could you elaborate? just curious

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, dbriggs said:

I could be reading this wrong, but the tone suggests you have in mind a place, or 2,3, that doesn't. could you elaborate? just curious

Good question. Let me explain-- I've been through an instance where a Scholastic championship event had that problem roughly a decade ago, I think. Many parents, directors, and performers were left rather unhappy/dissatisfied. Steps were immediately taken to change that. It had to be done. People are far, far more satisfied now, thankfully.

 

So-- I do know from experience that competitors at any level want a venue that they feel is worthy of their championship event. Looking back at my DCA experience, I realized I felt the same way and wasn't really cognizant of that until that incident happened.

 

I figure the DCA members made this decision and also feel the venue meets their standards. I think it's got a solid view from the stands and plenty of room. I've been there a few times over the years, deliberately checked out the night scene in town after this year's regular season contest, I thought it was pretty nice, I enjoyed the food and libations, though I really haven't done that scene since I left Corps. The location is fairly accessible by car from a lot of directions. I remember talking to Dan Detwiler in 2016 at the Ijamsville contest when he asked where the heck it is, and I told him it was literally about 3-3 1/2 bus travel hours up the highway off US 15 from where we stood. The people in town heavily support the event. The area has a very strong history of appreciating the Fine Arts and this activity.

 

I think reading through this thread there are people who have liked and disliked about every place DCA's held a Championship, I figure Williamsport to be no different- I think the final say will be what the member corps conclude for themselves about it and what consensus they reach.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/26/2017 at 2:06 PM, BigW said:

Good question. Let me explain-- I've been through an instance where a Scholastic championship event had that problem roughly a decade ago, I think. Many parents, directors, and performers were left rather unhappy/dissatisfied. Steps were immediately taken to change that. It had to be done. People are far, far more satisfied now, thankfully.

 

So-- I do know from experience that competitors at any level want a venue that they feel is worthy of their championship event. Looking back at my DCA experience, I realized I felt the same way and wasn't really cognizant of that until that incident happened.

 

I figure the DCA members made this decision and also feel the venue meets their standards. I think it's got a solid view from the stands and plenty of room. I've been there a few times over the years, deliberately checked out the night scene in town after this year's regular season contest, I thought it was pretty nice, I enjoyed the food and libations, though I really haven't done that scene since I left Corps. The location is fairly accessible by car from a lot of directions. I remember talking to Dan Detwiler in 2016 at the Ijamsville contest when he asked where the heck it is, and I told him it was literally about 3-3 1/2 bus travel hours up the highway off US 15 from where we stood. The people in town heavily support the event. The area has a very strong history of appreciating the Fine Arts and this activity.

 

I think reading through this thread there are people who have liked and disliked about every place DCA's held a Championship, I figure Williamsport to be no different- I think the final say will be what the member corps conclude for themselves about it and what consensus they reach.

ahh Del State......the biggest con job with all of the promises that never happened...and oh hey, group 1, you have to go to Dover HS because Del State has a noon start on their football game. Almost killed the circuit.

 

As a mid level administrator for that circuit, the venue is definitely a consideration by directors and staffs. I'm told all the time "the chance to perform in Met Life Stadium for UsBands is worth the extra $1000 ( or whatever they charge this year) just for that show."That's my fear for Williamsport. it's a decent HS stadium by PA standards east of Pittsburgh, but compared to Paetec/Rhino/whateveritwas this year Stadium in Rochester....it's a high school stadium....with a hill.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...