Drum Corps Associates

Drum Corps Associates (DCA) is a governing body for modern all-age and senior drum and bugle corps in North America. DCA's responsibilities include sanctioning competitions, certifying adjudicators, maintaining and enforcing rules of competition, and hosting an annual World Championship during Labor Day weekend.[2] Historically, DCA members were referred to as "senior corps" in contrast to the "junior corps", who limit participants to a maximum 22 years of age. DCA has no age restriction. The term "all-age corps" has come into common use.

Drum Corps Associates
2008 logo
TypeAssociation of Drum and Bugle Corps
Location
FoundedSeptember 1963 (1963-09)
No. of corps14
President(vacant)[1]
First championsReading Buccaneers (Open Class, 1965)
Current champions
Websitedcacorps.org

DCA is viewed as a counterpart to Drum Corps International (DCI), which governs junior drum corps in North America.[3]:25

The 2020 DCA World Championships were scheduled for September 4 – September 6, 2020, to be hosted by Williamsport, Pennsylvania. In March 2020, the entire competitive season, including the 2020 World Championships, was cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.[4]

History

In August 1963, Almo Sebastianelli, sponsor of the annual Parade of Champions drum corps competition, approached Henry Mayer, then-director of the Skyliners, to discuss problems affecting show sponsors and competing corps. Following their discussions, Sebastianelli and Mayer organized a meeting later that month, which was attended by representatives from the Archer-Epler Musketeers, Reading Buccaneers, and Yankee Rebels and the Skyliners.[3]:24 Five areas of concern were identified during the meeting:

  • Conflicting contest dates.
  • Inconsistent contest formats.
  • Inconsistent adjudication.
  • Uneven distribution prize money.
  • Need to promote better relationships between competing corps.

At a second meeting held sometime in September 1963, by-laws for a new governing body were adopted, as well as the adoption of the name Drum Corps Associates. Mayer was elected the first DCA president.[3]:25 Charter members were: Reading Buccaneers, Connecticut Hurricanes, Interstatesmen, Archer-Epler Musketeers, Pittsburgh Rockets, Yankee Rebels, and the Skyliners.

DCA sanctioned one event in 1964, the 12th Annual Tournament of Drums in Waverly, New York.[5] The first DCA World Championship was held in Milford, Connecticut on 11 September 1965. The Reading Buccaneers won the first of their sixteen championship titles at this inaugural event.[6]

Hawthorne Caballeros joined DCA in 1966, along with the Sunrisers, and Brigadiers.[3]:25 The Rochester Crusaders joined in 1967. The number of corps competing in Open Class reached twenty-three in 1987.[7] In 2008, twenty-four corps competed at World Championship, twelve in Open Class and Class A each.[8]

Corps from Canada have been frequent competitors since DCA's founding, such as Les Metropolitains from Montreal, and Les Dynamiques from Buckingham, Quebec.[9]:249–254 The Kingston Grenadiers, from Toronto, competed in 2010. Yokohama Inspires, from Japan, competed in 2005. The most recent competitors from the United Kingdom were Kidsgrove Scouts from Kidsgrove in 2017, and Cadence from Guildford in 2018.[8]

Past championship locations
Year Venue
1965 Jonathan Law Field
Milford, Connecticut
1966–67 John F. Kennedy Stadium
Bridgeport, Connecticut
1968–1971 Holleder Memorial Stadium
Rochester, New York
1972 Roosevelt Stadium
Jersey City, New Jersey
1973–1976 Holleder Memorial Stadium
Rochester, New York
1977–78 J. Birney Crum Stadium
Allentown, Pennsylvania
1979–80 Hershey Park Stadium
Hershey, Pennsylvania
1981 Franklin Field
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1982–1987 J. Birney Crum Stadium
Allentown, Pennsylvania
1988 Hershey Park Stadium
Hershey, Pennsylvania
1989–90 J. Birney Crum Stadium
Allentown, Pennsylvania
1991–1995 Lackawanna County Stadium
Scranton, Pennsylvania
1996 Frontier Field
Rochester, New York
1997–1999 J. Birney Crum Stadium
Allentown, Pennsylvania
2000–01 P & C Stadium
Syracuse, New York
2002–2005 Lackawanna County Stadium
Scranton, Pennsylvania
2006-2011 PAETEC Park
Rochester, New York
2012–2013 Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
Annapolis, Maryland
2014–2017 Rochester Rhinos Stadium
Rochester, New York
2018–2019 Williamsport Area High School
Williamsport, Pennsylvania
2020 Championships cancelled[lower-alpha 1]

About

Headquartered in South Orange, New Jersey, DCA was incorporated as a nonprofit organization with the New Jersey Department of the Treasury on June 8, 1977.[10] DCA was previously designated a 501(c)(3) organization by the IRS, however, this designation appears to have been revoked as of February 15, 2011 for unknown reasons.[11]

Active corps
Main article: List of DCA drum corps

Classification and adjudication

Currently, DCA assigns all competing corps to two classes. No arrangements are made for corps from outside North America, as the same classification and adjudication applies to all competing corps. All corps perform in competition as one continuous flight, but they are judged and ranked by class.

Current Classes

Open Class corps are the groups that have chosen to compete at the highest level, and generally march up to 130 ensemble members.

Class A[lower-alpha 2] corps are small, often young and developing, groups who wish to compete, but may or may not have the resources to compete against the larger, more established, Open Class corps. Participation in Class A is limited to corps with less than 65 ensemble members.

Mini-corps is a special class reserved for very small groups consisting of horns, and percussion or rhythm sections. These groups typically compete on a theater stage, and not on a football field, and are often no larger than twenty members. A mini-corps championships is held the day before World Championship prelims.

Historical classes and divisions

Source: [9]:249–254

1965–1997 1997–2001 2001–present
Open Class Open Class
Class A
Mini-corps

Adjudication

DCA's Adjudication Manual is based on three broad categories, Visual, Music and Effect.[12] Visual and Music categories are further subdivided into three reference criteria, or captions: one caption for each of a corps' sections, and two ensemble performance captions. Unlike other adjudication manuals, DCA's manual does include captions for individual or ensemble analysis, or design or effect analysis.

The manual includes definitions for appropriate, and achievement, in lieu of proficiency, or attempt. This vocabulary reflects the style of programming utilized by modern all-age corps.[13] Audience entertainment and engagement are also important factors in adjudication as well.[12] Prior to 2011, nine adjudicators were required for each competition, using a different manual.[13] The "European Music Games" adjudication manual published by Drum Corps Europe (DCE) was adapted from the previous DCA format.[14]

Category Caption + Caption = Points
Music Brass (20) / 2 + Music Ensemble (20) / 2 = 30.00
Percussion (20) / 2
Visual Color Guard (20) / 2 + Visual Ensemble (20) / 2 = 20.00
Effect Music Effect (25) + Visual Effect (25) = 50.00
Subtotal 100.00
Timing & Penalties - 0.00
Total 100.00

Past champions

Source(s): [8][15][9]:249–254

Year Open Class Class A Mini-corps
1965
(1st)		 Buccaneers
(Pennsylvania)
1966
(2nd)		 Skyliners[lower-roman 1]
(New York)
1967
(3rd)		 Hurricanes
(Connecticut)
1968
(4th)		 Buccaneers (2)
1969
(5th)		 Hurricanes (2)
1970
(6th)		 Caballeros
(New Jersey)
1971
(7th)		 Skyliners (2)
1972
(8th)		 Caballeros (2)
1973
(9th)		 Caballeros (3)
1974
(10th)		 Caballeros (4)
1975
(11th)		 Skyliners (3)
1976
(12th)		 Caballeros (5)
1977
(13th)		 Sunrisers
(New York)
1978
(14th)		 Sunrisers (2)
1979
(15th)		 Buccaneers (3)
1980
(16th)		 Buccaneers (4)
1981
(17th)		 Hurricanes (3)
1982
(18th)		 Sunrisers (3)
1983
(19th)		 Sunrisers (4)
1984
(20th)		 Caballeros (6)
1985
(21st)		 Caballeros (7)
1986
(22nd)		 Bushwackers
(New Jersey)
1987
(23rd)		 Sunrisers (5)
1988
(24th)		 Bushwackers (2)
(tie)
Sunrisers (6)
1989
(25th)		 Bushwackers (3)
1990
(26th)		 Bushwackers (4)
1991
(27th)		 Empire Statesmen
(New York)
1992
(28th)		 Bushwackers (5)
1993
(29th)		 Bushwackers (6)
1994
(30th)		 Empire Statesmen (2)
1995
(31st)		 Caballeros (8)
1996
(32nd)		 Westshoremen
(Pennsylvania)
1997
(33rd)		 Empire Statesmen (3)
(tie)
Brigadiers		 Chieftains
(Pennsylvania)
1998
(34th)		 Empire Statesmen (4) Generations
(Rhode Island)
(tie)
Heat Wave
(Florida)
1999
(35th)		 Brigadiers (2) Skyliners[lower-roman 2]
(New Jersey)
2000
(36th)		 Brigadiers (3) Generations (2) Ghost Riders
(New York)
2001
(37th)		 Brigadiers (4) CorpsVets[lower-roman 3]
(Georgia)		 Renegades[lower-roman 4]
(California)
2002
(38th)		 Brigadiers (5) Skyliners (2) Erie Thunderbirds
(Pennsylvania)
2003
(39th)		 Caballeros (9) Heat Wave (2) Renegades (2)
2004
(40th)		 Empire Statesmen (5) Grenadiers
(Ontario)		 Golden Eagles
(New Hampshire)
2005
(41st)		 Buccaneers (5) Chops, Inc.
(Minnesota)		 Minnesota Brass[lower-roman 5]
(Minnesota)
2006
(42nd)		 Buccaneers (6) Govenaires
(Minnesota)		 Star United
(Indiana)
2007
(43rd)		 Buccaneers (7) Sunrisers[lower-roman 6]
(New York)		 Star United (2)
2008
(44th)		 Buccaneers (8) Alliance
(Georgia)		 Star United (3)
2009
(45th)		 Buccaneers (9) Govenaires (2) Star United (4)
2010
(46th)		 Buccaneers (10) Fusion Core
(New Jersey)		 Star United (5)
2011
(47th)		 Minnesota Brass
(Minnesota)		 Govenaires (3) Star United (6)
2012
(48th)		 Buccaneers (11) Carolina Gold
(North Carolina)		 Star United (7)
2013
(49th)		 Buccaneers (12) White Sabers
(New York)		 Ghost Riders (2)
2014
(50th)		 Buccaneers (13) White Sabers (2) Star United (8)
2015
(51st)		 Buccaneers (14) Govenaires (4) Star United (9)
2016
(52nd)		 Cadets2
(Pennsylvania)		 Cincinnati Tradition
(Ohio)		 Star United (10)
2017
(53rd)		 Buccaneers (15) Cincinnati Tradition (2) Star United (11)
2018
(54th)		 Buccaneers (16) Carolina Gold (2) Star United (12)
2019
(55th)		 Buccaneers (17) Carolina Gold (3) Freelancers
(California)
2020
(—)		 Championships cancelled[lower-roman 7]
  1. The Skyliners were then called the New York Skyliners, based in New York City.
  2. The Skyliners were based in New Jersey, beginning in 1997.
  3. CorpsVets are now known as Atlanta CV Drum & Bugle Corps.
  4. The Renegages mini-corps was composed of members from the Renegades Open Class corps from San Francisco, California.
  5. Minnesota Brass mini-corps was composed of members of Minnesota Brass Open Class from St. Paul, Minnesota. Also known as Minnie Brass.
  6. Long Island Sunrisers previously competed in Open Class.
  7. The 2020 DCA World Championships were cancelled in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

See also

Notes
  1. The 2020 DCA World Championships were cancelled in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
  2. Class A is often written as A Class on official materials, score recaps, and summaries.

References
  1. "Buell Resigns as DCA President". Drum Corps Associates. July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  2. "Drum Corps Associates » About Drum Corps Associates". dcacorps.org. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  3. Peashey, Tom (2003). "Chapter 3: A History of Drum Corps Associates". In Vickers, Steve (ed.). A History of Drum & Bugle Corps. 2. Sights & Sounds, Inc. pp. 24–31.
  4. "Cancellation of Drum Corps Associates 2020 Season". Drum Corps Associates. April 29, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  5. "DCX - Drum Corps Xperience". www.dcxmuseum.org. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  6. Blocher, Gregg. "1965 Season". www.fromthepressbox2.com. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  7. Blocher, Gregg. "1987 DCA Season". www.fromthepressbox.com. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  8. "Drum Corps Associates » Historical Scores". dcacorps.org. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  9. Vickers, Steve, ed. (2002). A History of Drum and Bugle Corps. 1. Sight & Sound, Inc. (published 2010). pp. 227–303.
  10. "Business Name Search". www.njportal.com. Entity ID 0100041592. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  11. "Details about". apps.irs.gov. October 7, 2011. EIN 23-2754515. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  12. Kreitzer, John (April 4, 2018). "Judging DCA Corps". dcacorps.org. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  13. Hinton, Tim (September 4, 2013). "Judging DCA". Marching Roundtable (Podcast). Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  14. "European Music Games: Guide to the Judging System 2017" (PDF). www.dcuk.org. April 2, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  15. "I&E 2019 Scores". dcacorps.org. August 31, 2019. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
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