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Defunct Circuits /Associations


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Its always sad :( to look at lists of greats, near greats and some not so great drum corps who are now gone. What about the people who made it possible for all those corps to exist? What associations or circuits existed pre DCI, or any that were able to exist post DCI, at least for a short time? Are there any that currently exist, excluding DCA B) , that have no DCI connection?

When I marched it was Great lakes Association,( remember John Agnello :rolleyes: ) and ODCA (their website is gone), and I've heard about Wolverine and Red Carpet. This list will show how small corps (and large) were able to exist and thrive in their own back yard. We could also list Judging Associations as well.

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Have a Northeastern Junior D&BC Circuit patch on my wall. Has picture of following states: PA, NY, NY, CT, RI.

ICA (International Corps Association?) Sr circuit - created a few years after RCA (Red Carpet Assoc) went under after 1978 Championships. ICA was around early 1980s but that's all I really know. Both curcuits were for the corps who couldn't make DCA membership. (I'm one of a bunch of people who competed at RCA, ICA and DCA Championships. :rolleyes: )

Edited by JimF-3rdBari
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In MA we had the Mayflower circuit which centered on the South Shore.

CYO which covered the whole state.

both gone now.

EMASS still has a presence, mostly in the winter guard arena.

There used to be both CYO and EMASS shows every weekend during the summer.

You really had to compete and host in both circuits to remain competitive.

As a result, we were in 20-25 local shows every summer.

Very dense schedule, close geographically and some very intense rivalries.

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While back bought a 50th Anniversary booklet on the Ontario Drum Corps Assoc (ODCA) published 1984. Sad reading it and seeing all the defunct corps listed. Sadder still reading the then active corps which are no longer around.

Looking thru www.srcoprs.com see a few NY/PA/MA pre-DCA Sr circuit shows listed. Can't remember them off the top of my head but here is a place to check.

Edited by JimF-3rdBari
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In MA we had the Mayflower circuit which centered on the South Shore.

CYO which covered the whole state.

both gone now.

EMASS still has a presence, mostly in the winter guard arena.

There used to be both CYO and EMASS shows every weekend during the summer.

You really had to compete and host in both circuits to remain competitive.

As a result, we were in 20-25 local shows every summer.

Very dense schedule, close geographically and some very intense rivalries.

We also had the Greater New England Circuit - attempting to cover - DUH - New England. Each of the circuits also seemed to cater to the level of competition. GNE was the lower echelon level of corps - less likely to be have deep pockets or a large support system, but a viable corps, probably from smaller towns and very tight knit communities.

Corps in Mayflower were usually in another circuit and took turns competiting in each. Same with Eastern Mass and CYO. Eastern Mass was huge in the late 1960's and early 1970's. Corps that had support from their catholic churches, but suddenly were "independent" made EM a huge success - this included corps like the Boston Crusaders, the Beverly Cardinals, the 27th Lancers. In the later half of the 70's, North Star enjoyed tremendous local support by participating in the Eastern Mass circuit, and gave local audiences a treat nearly every weekend.

CYO was an enormous circuit that included drill teams, drum corps and bands - and had 2 or 3 distinct levels of competition. The caveat was that your unit had to be sponsored by a catholic church. Eastern Mass saw a marjeting opportunity, and extending a "band" division to their circuit in 1972. As the church abandon more and more units, CYO eventually accepted non-church related units to increase the competiton for other church sponsored units because Eastern Mass had been supporting competition by "any" unit for a long time.

Bottom line - we had 4 circuits surviving between the late 70's and middle 80's.

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Ny-Penn Ciruit which served Souther Tier of New York and Western Pennsylvania

O-Penn Circuit which served Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania

Bruno

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I remember in '87 doing shows around the Chicago area for a local circuit there. Never heard much about it afterwards.

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