Drum Corps Associates
 Drum Corps Associates 2008 logo | |
| Location |  United States Canada United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Founded | September 1963 |
| No. of corps | 19 (As of September 2018[update]) |
| President | Alan Buell |
| First champions | Reading Buccaneers (Open Class), 1965 |
| Current champions | Reading Buccaneers (Open Class) Carolina Gold (Class A) |
| Website | dcacorps |
Drum Corps Associates (DCA) is a governing body for modern all-age, or senior, drum and bugle corps in North America. DCA sanctions competitions, certifies adjudicators, maintains and enforces rules of competition, and sponsors an annual World Championship during Labor Day weekend.[1]
DCA is viewed as a counterpart to Drum Corps International (DCI), which governs junior drum corps in North America.[2]: 25 Historically, DCA members were referred to as "senior corps" in contrast to the "junior corps" of DCI who limit participants to a maximum 22 years of age. DCA has no such age restriction, so the term "all-age corps" has come into common use.
History
In August 1963, Almo Sebastianelli, sponsor of the annual “Parade of Champions,” approached then-director of the Skyliners, Henry Mayer, to discuss problems affecting show sponsors and senior drum corps. Sebastianelli and Mayer organized a meeting later that month, attended by representatives from the Archer-Epler Musketeers, Reading Buccaneers, and Yankee Rebels and the Skyliners.[2]: 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.
During a second meeting the following month (September 1963), by-laws were adopted and the name Drum Corps Associates was chosen. Mayer was elected the first president.[2]: 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.[3] 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.[4]
Hawthorne Caballeros joined DCA in 1966, along with the Sunrisers, and Brigadiers.[2]: 25 The Rochester Crusaders joined in 1967. The number of corps competing in Open Class reached twenty-three in 1987.[5] In 2008, twenty-four corps competed at World Championship, twelve in Open Class and Class A each.[6]
Corps from Canada have been frequent competitors since DCA's founding, such as Les Metropolitains from Montreal, and Les Dynamiques from Buckingham, Quebec.[7]: 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.[6]
Past championship locations
About
Headquartered in South Orange, New Jersey, DCA was incorporated as a nonprofit organization with the New Jersey Department of the Treasury on 8 June 1977.[8] DCA was previously designated a 501(c)(3) organization by the IRS, however this designation appears to have been revoked as of 15 February 2011[update] for unknown reasons.[9]
Allen Buell is the current president. He serves alongside a board of directors elected by the member corps.[1]
Active corps
Classification and adjudication
Currently, DCA assigns all competing corps to two classes. No distinction is made for corps from outside North America. Corps from all classes often compete together, but are judged and ranked separately.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
Class A[a] 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 Open Class corps. Participation in Class A is limited to corps with less than 65 ensemble members.[citation needed]
Mini-corps is a special class reserved for very small groups consisting of horns, and percussion or a rhythm section, often no more than twenty total performers.[citation needed] These groups typically compete on a theater stage, and not on a football field. A mini-corps championships is held the day before World Championship prelims.
Historical classes and divisions
Sources: [7]: 249–254
| 1965–1997 | 1997–2001 | 2001–present |
|---|---|---|
| Open Class | Open Class | Open Class |
| Class A | Class A | |
| 1965–2001 | 2001–present | |
| — | Mini-corps | |
Adjudication
DCA's Adjudication Manual is based on three broad categories, Visual, Music and Effect.[10] 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.[11] Audience entertainment and engagement are also important factors in adjudication as well.[10]
| Category | Caption | + | Caption | + | Caption | = | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Brass (20) / 2 | + | Percussion (20) / 2 | + | Ensemble (20) / 2 | = | 30.00 |
| Visual | — | Color Guard (20) / 2 | + | Ensemble (20) / 2 | = | 20.00 | |
| Effect | — | Visual Effect (25) | + | Music Effect (25) | = | 50.00 | |
| Sub-Total : | 100.00 | ||||||
| Timing & Penalties : | - 0.00 | ||||||
| TOTAL : | 100.00 | ||||||
Prior to 2011, nine adjudicators were required for each competition, using a different manual.[11] The "European Music Games" adjudication manual published by Drum Corps Europe (DCE) was adapted from the previous DCA format.[12]
World Championships
| Year | Open Class | Class A | Mini-corps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Buccaneers (Pennsylvania) |
— | — |
| 1966 | Skyliners [A] (New York) |
— | — |
| 1967 | Hurricanes (Connecticut) |
— | — |
| 1968 | Buccaneers (2) | — | — |
| 1969 | Hurricanes (2) | — | — |
| 1970 | Caballeros (New Jersey) |
— | — |
| 1971 | Skyliners (2) | — | — |
| 1972 | Caballeros (2) | — | — |
| 1973 | Caballeros (3) | — | — |
| 1974 | Caballeros (4) | — | — |
| 1975 | Skyliners (3) | — | — |
| 1976 | Caballeros (5) | — | — |
| 1977 | Sunrisers (New York) |
— | — |
| 1978 | Sunrisers (2) | — | — |
| 1979 | Buccaneers (3) | — | — |
| 1980 | Buccaneers (4) | — | — |
| 1981 | Hurricanes (3) | — | — |
| 1982 | Sunrisers (3) | — | — |
| 1983 | Sunrisers (4) | — | — |
| 1984 | Caballeros (6) | — | — |
| 1985 | Caballeros (7) | — | — |
| 1986 | Bushwackers (New Jersey) |
— | — |
| 1987 | Sunrisers (5) | — | — |
| 1988 | Bushwackers (2) (tie) Sunrisers (6) |
— | — |
| 1989 | Bushwackers (3) | — | — |
| 1990 | Bushwackers (4) | — | — |
| 1991 | Empire Statesmen (New York) |
— | — |
| 1992 | Bushwackers (5) | — | — |
| 1993 | Bushwackers (6) | — | — |
| 1994 | Empire Statesmen (2) | — | — |
| 1995 | Caballeros (8) | — | — |
| 1996 | Westshoremen (Pennsylvania) |
— | — |
| 1997 | Empire Statesmen (3) (tie) Brigadiers |
Chieftains (Pennsylvania) |
— |
| 1998 | Empire Statesmen (4) | Generations (Rhode Island) (tie) Heat Wave (Florida) |
— |
| 1999 | Brigadiers (2) | Skyliners [B] (New Jersey) |
— |
| 2000 | Brigadiers (3) | Generations (2) | Ghost Riders (New York) |
| 2001 | Brigadiers (4) | CorpsVets [C] (Georgia) |
Renegades [D] (California) |
| 2002 | Brigadiers (5) | Skyliners (2) | Erie Thunderbirds (Pennsylvania) |
| 2003 | Caballeros (9) | Heat Wave (2) | Renegades (2) |
| 2004 | Empire Statesmen (5) | Grenadiers (Ontario) |
Golden Eagles (New Hampshire) |
| 2005 | Buccaneers (5) | Chops, Inc. (Minnesota) |
Minnesota Brass [E] (Minnesota) |
| 2006 | Buccaneers (6) | Govenaires (Minnesota) |
Star United (Indiana) |
| 2007 | Buccaneers (7) | Sunrisers [F] (New York) |
Star United (2) |
| 2008 | Buccaneers (8) | Alliance (Georgia) |
Star United (3) |
| 2009 | Buccaneers (9) | Govenaires (2) | Star United (4) |
| 2010 | Buccaneers (10) | Fusion Core (New Jersey) |
Star United (5) |
| 2011 | Minnesota Brass (Minnesota) |
Govenaires (3) | Star United (6) |
| 2012 | Buccaneers (11) | Carolina Gold (North Carolina) |
Star United (7) |
| 2013 | Buccaneers (12) | White Sabers (New York) |
Ghost Riders (2) |
| 2014 | Buccaneers (13) | White Sabers (2) | Star United (8) |
| 2015 | Buccaneers (14) | Govenaires (4) | Star United (9) |
| 2016 | Cadets2 (Pennsylvania) |
Cincinnati Tradition (Ohio) |
Star United (10) |
| 2017 | Buccaneers (15) | Cincinnati Tradition (2) | Star United (11) |
| 2018 | Buccaneers (16) | Carolina Gold (2) | Star United (12) |
- ^ The Skyliners were then called the New York Skyliners, based in New York City.
- ^ The Skyliners were based in New Jersey, beginning in 1997.
- ^ CorpsVets are now known as Atlanta CV Drum & Bugle Corps.
- ^ The Renegages mini-corps was composed of members from the Renegades Open Class corps from San Francisco, California.
- ^ Minnesota Brass mini-corps was composed of members of Minnesota Brass Open Class from St. Paul, Minnesota. Also known as Minnie Brass.
- ^ Long Island Sunrisers previously competed in Open Class.
See also
- Drum Corps Europe
- Drum Corps International
- Drum Corps Japan
- Drum Corps United Kingdom
- Winter Guard International
Notes
- ^ Class A is often written as A Class on official materials, score recaps, and summaries.
References
- ^ a b "Drum Corps Associates » About Drum Corps Associates". dcacorps.org. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
- ^ a b c d Peashey, Tom (2003). "Chapter 3: A History of Drum Corps Associates". In Vickers, Steve (ed.). A History of Drum & Bugle Corps. Vol. 2. Sights & Sounds, Inc. pp. 24–31.
- ^ "DCX - Drum Corps Xperience". www.dcxmuseum.org. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
- ^ Blocher, Gregg. "1965 Season". www.fromthepressbox2.com. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ Blocher, Gregg. "1987 DCA Season". www.fromthepressbox.com. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ a b c "Drum Corps Associates » Historical Scores". dcacorps.org. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
- ^ a b c Vickers, Steve, ed. (2002). A History of Drum and Bugle Corps. Vol. 1. Sight & Sound, Inc. (published 2010). pp. 227–303.
- ^ "Business Name Search". www.njportal.com. Entity ID 0100041592. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "Details about". apps.irs.gov. 2011-10-07. EIN 23-2754515. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ a b Kreitzer, John (2018-04-04). "Judging DCA Corps". dcacorps.org. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ a b Hinton, Tim (2013-09-04). "Judging DCA". Marching Roundtable (Podcast). Retrieved 2018-09-21.
- ^ "European Music Games: Guide to the Judging System 2017" (PDF). www.dcuk.org. 2017-04-02. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
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