Galen

Scores from last night's events are now up. Golden Panthers returned to their winning form at Muriel Battle HS in Columbia MO, spoiling Quiksilver's plans to win their home show in the process. The hometown corps had their hands full, with Tri-State Troubadors and Ivory Brigade hot on their heels. Open Class saw San Antonio Xpress make some big moves up the charts to finish in second place behind Aftershock NZ B, while Valley Vanguard had something of an off night and finished a full 4 points below the first place New Zealand corps. Let's hope they can get back on track soon, as they have looked like a contender several times this season. In Class A, Stars of St. Louis provided a home state, if not a home corps, victory, upending Kaiju Corps by a full point. The largest turnout of the night was at UW-Lacrosse Stadium, where Star of Jupiter had a very close call over Circle City Sound, who showed that they could certainly contend with Jupiter in the visual department. The Thoroughbreds were a very close third, and Royal Crusaders and Panther Prime also found themselves in contention. In Open Class, Les Blanc Chevaliers and Spirit of Indy found themselves uncomfortably in the middle of the pack, while West Virginia Sound was right on the heels of Huddersfield Hundred. Down in Class A, Mirfield Lockmen and Enlightenment appear to be pulling away from the pack a bit.

Scores from last night's events will be posted later tonight. Sorry for the delay.

Tonight's action was hot and heavy in St. Louis! Pattonville HS was packed to capacity with both corps and fans, and everybody who attendended was rewarded with an excellent night of competition. Hometown favorite Stars of St. Louis did not disappoint, winning by a handy margin over Kaiju Corps in Class A. This division also saw a very tight battle for 4th place between Hg, Pandemonium NZ, Mackinac Island Crusaders and Golden Panthers C. In Open Class, Mercury's recent string of dominant wins was stopped in its tracks by Aftershock NZ B. The kids from Kiwiland were definitely eating their Vegemite tonight, as they schooled the division with a 1.1 point win over Dark Knights B. Up in World Class, home-state Quiksilver squeaked out a narrow .1 point win over Dewsbury Regulars, who have been climbing back up the standings since the regionals. Aftershock NZ was a very close third, and the standings were tight all the way back to 8th place. Further north, the Euphony corps led the way at Dalzell Field in Dubuque IA, winning two of the three divisions tonight. Open Class saw a battle of corps with similar names, as Spartan Vanguard proved to be the superior Vanguard tonight, overcoming Euphony Vanguard by .75.

Not at all- both the Fanfare and CLASS championships are open to any corps who wants to attend.

So it's been several months since I've been able to post as I've had several things going on in my life that have been needing more attention, but I will still be doing some posts on and off over the next few months, starting with a look at one of my favorite venues- the Reitz Bowl in Evansville IN. http://marchingarenas.blogspot.com/2015/02/evansville-in-reitz-bowl-its-been.html Also, based on how successful the Bracket Tournament I did last year was, I plan on doing another one this spring, but it'll be different than the last time. This time, instead of focusing on the best corps or best shows, I'll be focusing on the most influential people in drum corps to determine who's played the biggest part in shaping the growth of the activity we all love. I've been planning this for several months and have what I think is a great list of candidates already, but I’ll admit that I certainly don’t know everything there is to know about drum corps history as well. I’ll be posting my initial list in the next couple weeks, and fans are encouraged to suggest their own names as well in the meantime.

Today was a rebounding day for several corps, as many corps that had been having some recent struggles made big leaps up the scorecharts. NIU's Huskie Stadium was unavailable for this season's show, but DeKalb HS proved to be a good venue for tonight's competition, which saw Dune Battalion make up considerable ground on victor Star of Jupiter as they moved past Ivory Brigade in the score column. Alpine Scouts also made some nice strides, passing up Great Lakes Sound in the process. In Class A, Mirfield Lockmen had another strong performance, but the highlight of that division may have been the matchup between Northern Cadets and Green Wisemen, who both put on very entertaining performances and followed things up with a fun drum-off in the parking lot after the show concluded. Credit: Nicholas Associates Further east, The Thoroughbreds moved back up to the top at Reitz HS in Evansville IN, but it was the Dark Knights who may have the most to be happy about, as their World Class group placed second tonight, their highest finish in a few shows, and Dark Knights B took top honors in Open Class. The Royal Crusaders and Pride of Salem also benefitted from improved performances, now that the changes they made over the weekend have had some more time to settle in. Credit: Drums On The Ohio

The second half of the season got underway today with two events in the midwest, giving many corps their first chance to see how their midseason adjustments went. In Indianapolis IN, the field of corps was so large that the event had to be divided between two venues, as world class corps competed at Carmel High School and Open Class and Class A corps took the field at Warren Central HS. Buckeye Brass had a near-perfect night, winning both World and Open classes and nearly pulling off a sweep of all 3 divisions as Cape Cod Regiment edged out home-state favorite Hoosier Regiment by a mere tenth of a point in Class A. Mercury saw their recent winning streak interrupted, but still have to be feeling good with the scores in that division being as close as they are between themselves, Spartan Vanguard and Huddersfield Hundred. Also, Great Lakes Sound and Circle City Sound had a spirited contest, with the Michigan corps taking the upper hand over the Indiana crew tonight. Down in Greenville KY, just outside of Bowling Green, it was the StarOrg corps grinning from ear to ear after tonight's sweep at Muhlenberg County HS. Home state corps The Thoroughbreds, The Colonels and Enlightenment all did their home state proud, finishing a close second in each division. Pride of Salem also had a good showing this evening, finishing 3rd to recover from a disappointing regional round. Euphony Empire continues to find the going slow after their midseason start, but have to be feeling encouraged after finishing very close behind Tri-State Troubadors. Credit: Muhlenberg Bands

Updated standings after the regionals. Mercury have established themselves as the frontrunners in Open Class, while Xothyme used a strong weekend run to vault to the top of Class A. And in World Class, Ivory Brigade retained the top spot, making them the first World Class corps to repeat at the top of the standings this season.

The scores are in, and we have our regional champions! In the east region, Forward Dynamics completed a regional sweep as all three of their corps, Polaris Regiment, The Marauders and Xothyme, marched to victory in Huntington. The Marauders had a somewhat comfortable margin of victory, overcoming Huddersfield Hundred by 0.9 points, but Polaris and Xothyme each had to work hard for their titles tonight, beating Circle City Sound and Cross by about .25 points each, respectively. Unfortunately, White Chords saw their GE scores drop considerably from prelims and found themselves back in 5th place. Les Blanc Chevaliers surged up to 3rd place in Open Class and very nearly passed Huddersfield, but the Hundred's higher GE numbers helped them carry the evening. In the midwest region, Buckeye Brass made a big jump from 3rd place in prelims to leap past Ivory Brigade and secure the midwest regional championship in Ypsilanti. Great Lakes Sound made a nice jump up to third, while Quiksilver saw both their GE and Music scores drop a bit from prelims as they slid back to 5th place. In Open Class, Buckeye Brass B leaped up to second place, but couldn't get past Mercury, who took the top spot thanks to an increase in their Music scores. And in Class A, Mirfield Lockmen nearly saw their insurmountable prelims lead vanish on them as Hg made a tremendous move up to second place, but in the end it was the British corps holding on to take the title in this division. Kaiju Corps and Hg wound up swapping positions. And in the south region, Star of Jupiter came roaring back after a 2nd place showing in prelims to get past Aftershock NZ and take home 1st place in Nashville, as the Kiwis had to settle for a second place tie with The Thoroughbreds. Confederate Regiment was right on their heels, finishing only a tenth of a point behind in fourth place. In Open Class, Confederate Regiment Cadets made the biggest jump of any corps, rising from 6th place in prelims all the way up to 2nd place, but it was not enough to move past Star of Hawaii, who retained the top spot that they had held in prelims. And in Class A, Enlightenment held off a surging Stars of St. Louis by the narrowest of margins, 0.005, to secure the title in this division. All of the performances were excellent tonight, as the championship competition brought out the best in every corps and led to some nailbiting scores. That tie between Thoroughbreds and Aftershock NZ could be a sign of an intense battle as the year goes on.

Good morning and happy Valentine's Day! Here's a recap of last night's regional prelims At Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville TN, it was the resurgent Aftershock NZ who led the way, winning the world class prelims over some mighty competition including Star of Jupiter, The Thoroughbreds and River City Regiment. Confederate Regiment just narrowly squeaked by The Thoroughbreds by less than a tenth of a point to earn the third spot, while Violet Knights edged out Dark Knights to secure the last spot in finals. In Open Class, Star of Hawaii had an easy time overcoming The Colonels, winning the prelims by 1.3 points. Texas Zephyrs and Aftershock NZ B had spirited battle, which resulted in the Texas corps coming home in third place. In Class A, it was Enlightenment who found their way to the top of the charts over Easy Company, who have Stars of St. Louis breathing down their neck for third place. Credit: DCI.org At Joan Edwards Stadium in Huntington WV, Polaris Regiment turned in another strong performance to lock up the top spot heading into tomorrow's finals, while host Tri-State Troubadors placed fourth, earning a spot in the finals as well. Open Class saw The Marauders take care of business over Huddersfield Hundred, and Class A saw Xothyme complete the prelims sweep for Forward Dynamics, while Cape Cod Regiment just barely made it into the finals, sending Mountain Magic home early with a .085 point victory. This was the most competitive division of all of last night's shows, as 1st and 5th place were separated by barely half a point. Expect some intense competition here tonight! In Ypsilanti MI, Ivory Brigade had the closest margin of victory, placing just 3 tenths ahead of Quiksilver on the grey turf of Rynearson Stadium. In Open Class, Mercury continued their dominant run with a 1.7 point victory of Northern Lights. And in Class A, it was Mirfield Lockmen cementing their powerhouse status with a 2.4 point win over Hg, who themselves just barely finished ahead of Kaiju Corps. The top 6 placing corps in each division will be advancing to tonight's finals. Due to today being Valentine's day, scores may not be posted until tomorrow morning.

Here's the recap for tonight's events, the last ones before the regionals get underway: Dublin Coffman HS, just outside of Columbus OH, saw a very close contest in World Class tonight, as Quiksilver eked out a victory over Great Lakes Sound. Harmonic, which has looked strong in their recent events, had an off night this evening and dropped several places in the standings. In Open Class, it was Mercury turning in another solid performance to place well ahead of Valley Vanguard, and in Class A, Mirfield Lockmen continue to look impressive as they head towards the regionals. Credit: Cascades Drum and Bugle Corps At Stagg Stadium in Salem VA, it was a great night for the Forward Dynamics organization, as Polaris Regiment and Xothyme won their respective divisions (ending Hamburg Junior Buccaneers' winning streak in Class A in the process) and The Marauders finished a strong second in Open Class, just a few tenths behind Star of Hawaii. Open Class was particularly competitive tonight, as West Virginia Sound, Spartan Vanguard and Confederate Regiment Cadets were separated by just 3 tenths of a point. And at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga TN, Aftershock NZ got back on top of the standings in World Class after being a little down in the points for a while, moving past The Thoroughbreds and Star of Jupiter in the process. The Colonels and Enlightenment managed to take top honors in Open Class and Class A for their organization. This event also saw the season debut of a new class A corps, the Green Wisemen. Credit: Scolin's Sports Venues

Tonight's events are taking place at some of the finest high school venues in their respective states, and should have some great competition! Powder Springs GA's McEachern Stadium will be a matchup of rival Regiments in World Class, as the River City and Confederate corps go head to head, with Euphony Empire caught in between. Meanwhile, in Open Class, Florida Sound is looking to rebound after a disappointing finish in Orlando. Up in the midwest, Massillon OH's Paul Brown Tiger Stadium (often considered the best high school in the country- or outside of Texas) is the site of an interesting matchup between Harmonic and homestate Buckeye Brass in World Class. Class A will really be fun to watch tonight, as the Mirfield Lockmen, who have shot up to the top of the Class A charts in recent days, look to hold onto the top spot approaching the regional competitions against Mackinac Island Crusaders, Kaiju Corps and Buckeye Brass C. And in Richmond VA, we visit a new venue this evening, as Glen Allen HS opens its gates to some of the best that DCPI has to offer tonight, including Golden Panthers, Pride of Salem, Circle City Sound and The Knights in World Class, Huddersfield Hundred, The Marauders and West Virginia Sound in Open Class and Hamburg Junior Buccaneers and Confederate Regiment Easy Company in Class A.

Here's a recap of tonight's events: In the last western show of the season, The Thoroughbreds continued their success with a win at Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces NM. Class A also saw a squeaker of an outcome, as Twilight Echo just barely outplaced Enlightenment. This stadium, which used to have one of the worst-looking grass surface in college football, has been nicely renovated with artificial turf, and is being looked at as the site of a major event next season. Savannah GA's Memorial Stadium was the site of an extremely close contest in World Class, where Star of Jupiter, Quiksilver and Great Lakes Sound were all within a couple tenths of each other. Just a little further back, Euphony Empire appears to be finding their "tour legs" after a late start to the season. narrowly placing ahead of Confederate Regiment. The Class A competition was extremely close at this show as well, with Cross coming in slightly ahead of Hg tonight. In the east, the scores were a little further apart, with Ivory Brigade, Star of Hawaii and Hamburg Junior Buccaneers taking top honors at Westminster HS in Westminster MD and Harmonic, Lone Stars and Mackinac Island Crusaders placing first at Vestal HS in Endicott NY. This event also saw Hawk's Eye's second performance of the season after making their debut last week in New Haven CT.

Standings after the fourth weekend of events. A lot of movement from the western corps this week, with Mercury remaining perfect in Open Class for the season so far and Stars of St. Louis rocketing to the top of Class C after their sweep of the western regional championships.

Saturday brings the finals of the western championships, again at Weingart Stadium in Los Angeles. Additionally, the Star of Jupiter will again be renowned Southern Star Cup event at Brighthouse Networks Stadium in Orlando FL, and eastern corps march into the confines of J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown PA. Source: DCI Blog

Happy Friday! We have a very exciting show lined up out west, as Los Angeles's Weingart Stadium opens up its gates to host the western regional championships! The west championships are being scheduled a week early to allow western corps more time to compete with their brethren from the rest of the country. A powerhouse of corps marches into action tonight, with Buckeye Brass, Dune Battalion, The Thoroughbreds and Dewsbury Regulars all looking like strong contenders in World Class, and The Colonels, Star of Hawaii and Texas Zephyrs sticking out among the corps to watch in Open Class. Tonight's show also features the return of the Twilight group of corps, as these three groups have been on a competitive hiatus since early in the season. All corps will be able to participate in both rounds. Down south, corps are using tonight's event at Southern University's Victory Stadium in Lakeland FL as a tune-up for tonight's Southern Star Cup. Star of Jupiter will be taking the night off after some impressive victories in their last couple of shows, which gives corps like Quiksilver and Golden Panthers a chance to regain some ground. Credit: Nujak.com Finally, we have two shows in the northeast, with Panther Prime and Thunder Cadets re-christening Clifton Stadium's new turf field in Clifton NJ and Ivory Brigade, Valley Vanguard and Hamburg Junior Buccaneers leading the way into Farrell Stadium in West Chester PA.

With western corps having their last rehearsal day before the western regionals begin, eastern corps have today's fields of competition to themselves, competing at Chambersburg HS in Chambersburg PA and Jess Dow Field in New Haven CT. Cred: Barton Associates

Out west, corps are getting ready for the western regional championships later this week, and will be looking to use tonight's event at Citrus Stadium in Glendora CA as a final tuneup before Thursday's prelims. Thunder Cadets have been struggling a bit to capture the success of their "big brother" organization, Schuylkill Thunder, but are hoping that tonight's show at Springfield Central HS in Springfield MA marks a turning point in their season. In Class A, the Hamburg Junior Buccaneers found themselves at the top of last night's standings and are looking to repeat that feat tonight. In the southern region, Golden Panthers turned in a dominating performance last night in Mobile. Now they'll try to prove it was no fluke against some serious contenders, including Quiksilver, River City Regiment and Euphony Empire. Due to a number of late registrants, this event has been moved to Ponte Vedra HS, a larger venue outside of town. Credit: Lynn Damm Photography

And they'll officially have the opportunity, as the vote to allow the highest placing corps in Open and Class A finals has passed. Today's events: Last night's Open Class scores in Phoenix were some of the closest we've seen all season! As the tour returns to southern California in preparation for the Western regional championships, you can expect the level of competition to get even hotter. Tonight, the Thoroughbreds group look to make Southwestern College's DeVore Stadium in San Diego their own private playground, while Dark Knights B and Stars of St. Louis try to shake things up in Open Class and Class A. Credit: UTPrepSports Marciano Stadium in Brockton MA will be the sight of an intense head to head faceoff between The Knights and Polaris Regiment, two of the most successful corps in World Class. We can also look forward to what should be a great matchup between Les Blanc Chevaliers and Huddersfield Hundred. We love international competition here, and these two corps from Canada and England respectively have been putting on great shows all season long. In Cleveland OH, the stands at North Royalton HS will be overflowing as fans turn out to enjoy the largest slate of corps of the day. Tri-State Troubadors are back in action tonight and will be gunning for Buckeye Brass and Great Lakes Sound, while their Class A compatriots Mountain Sound will try to show what they can do against the likes of Crusade and Hoosier Regiment. And at Spanish Fort HS in Mobile AL, Florida Sound will be trying to get more comfortable with their program as they get closer to their home state. Meanwhile, expect a good matchup between Aftershock NZ and Golden Panthers in World Class.

Jhawk's correct, it's a separate "trophy" that awards corps for consistent finishes throughout the season. The top 6 finishing corps at designated events earn points that accumulate over the course of the season, based on their placement at these events, and the Sweepstakes Award is presented to the highest scoring corps in each division at the end of the season, as well as the highest scoring overall corps (regardless of division), which was designed to make the focus of DCPI about more than just corps in the World Class division. I don't have an exact number, but I know that there have been more winners of the Overall Award from Open Class and Class A than from World Class over the years, so that is definitely working.

By a vote of the members, this proposal has PASSED. The top 6 placing corps from Open Class and Class A finals will be eligible to participate in World Class prelims. And based on the latest scores, that's going to make World Class prelims VERY exciting!

As the crew in the executive office spent most of the morning digging out from yesterday's blizzard, here's a look at today's events after an exciting Sweepstakes weekend: The southeast finally gets to see some competition as River City Regiment leads the way into Suwanee GA's Lambert HS in the Atlanta suburbs. The Euphony corps will look to build from their debut performance on Saturday, and Florida Sound and West Virginia Sound meet in an interesting matchup of "State Sound" corps. In the northeast, I know the Knights' director is smiling after last night's Super Bowl. Expect the good mood to continue on to tonight's home show at Portland ME's Thornton Academy, where the hometown Knights face off against the Dark Knights. Could the Knight Sword be in play? In Open Class, Huddersfield Hundred look to keep their winning streak going after squeaking past Valley Vanguard in Montreal over the weekend. In the midwest, cleanup crews are working overtime to get the stadium at Merrillville HS in northwest Indiana ready for tonight's event. Confederate Regiment and Great Lakes Sound should put up a great battle tonight, but Panther Prime are lurking and want to remind these corps not to forget about them. And out west, fans in Phoenix AZ will be treated to a post Super Bowl spectacle at Paradise Valley HS. While this show may not feature dancing sharks or a flying Katy Perry, the matchup between Dewsbury Regulars, Dune Battalion and The Thoroughbreds should be just as entertaining. The Open Class lineup looks to be particularly promising tonight, as Texas Zephyrs, Abracadabra Academy, Star of Hawaii, The Colonels, Dark Knights B and Golden Panthers B all take the field.

No events today- enjoy the Super Bowl and don't forget that the second point increase of the season was added today.

Scores have been posted for the third slate of events. World Class is really starting to tighten up, while Mercury and Hg have each pulled out a lead in their respective divisions.

After some exciting shows last night, we get ready to head to some of our favorite venues for our third Sweepstakes events of the season. In the midwest, corps will be competing at the venerable Perkins Stadium in Whitewater WI. Dune Battalion has really shaken up the standings with their recent wins in Slinger and Syracuse, and are being viewed as the favorites to win this event. But how will they do against Confederate Regiment as that corps makes its return from out west? Also worth keeping an eye on is the Class A matchup between Hg and Mackinac Island Crusaders. Out east, Les Blanc Chevaliers again host their home show in Montreal's cavernous Olympic Stadium. With all of the Knights Org corps in the house, look for the hometown group to once again wow the audience. Open Class may feature the best matchup of the night between Huddersfield Hundred and Valley Vanguard, two Open Class corps that have been surging up the rankings in that division. In Las Vegas NV, the Buckeye Brass group of corps look to shine out at Sam Boyd Stadium, but will face some stiff competition from Abracadabra Academy in Open Class and Golden Panthers in World Class. And in the south, the Euphony Empire corps group makes their season debut at MTSU's Floyd Stadium. They may be starting late, but I've been hearing very good things from their training camps, and they'll have a great matchup against the Aftershock NZ group to get things started. Also debuting in Open Class are Florida Sound, a newly-created corps that will be doing a limited tour schedule this season.