Last weekend, representatives from Drum Corps all around the country came together in Atlanta for DCI’s annual winter business meetings. Topics ranged from judging recaps to SoundSport involvement and everything in between! It’s a great opportunity for drum corps directors to put their heads together and discuss ways to move our activity forward.
Here is a taste of what went down in Atlanta:
The Recaps are Back in 2017
Last summer, in place of the customary detailed scoring run-downs, a summary showing only total score, placement, and results in overall General Effect, Visual and Music captions were posted online following the completion of each event. The detailed sheets revealing all caption and sub-caption scores were not released on DCI.org until the end of the season.
On Friday, January 27, representatives of Drum Corps International’s voting membership elected to bring the release of detailed scoring recaps back for the entire 2017 DCI Tour. Links to recaps will be available through the DCI.org scores section following the completion of each event in 2017, beginning the DCI Tour Premiere on June 22 in Indianapolis. Read more here!
Genesis Drum & Bugle Corps Promoted to World Class
At the meetings in Atlanta last weekend, DCI Executive Director Dan Acheson announced that Austin, Texas-based Genesis Drum & Bugle Corps has been approved as a World Class corps effective with the 2017 season.
Founded in 2009, the corps joined their first DCI tour in 2010, earning a spot as an Open Class finalist in its very first trip to the DCI World Championships. Genesis was named the “Most Improved Open Class” corps in 2011 and 2013, twice finishing as a bronze medalist at the DCI World Championship Finals. Read more here!
Open Class Participation is on the Rise
According to David Eddleman’s report, a total of 2,570 members were part of 25 Open Class groups that participated in the 2016 Drum Corps International Tour, up from 2,251 in 26 corps the year prior. Total Open Class corps membership has grown 58 percent over the last six years.
A 2016 survey of corps members showed that more than 60% noted the top reason for joining their particular Open Class corps was for the opportunity to be a part of DCI. Simultaneously, they were also looking for a drum corps experience that is closer to home, with most Open Class corps members living within a 3-hour drive of rehearsals. Read more here!