Drum Corps Associates

Drum Corps Associates
	Drum Corps Associates 2008 logo
Type	Association of Drum and Bugle Corps
Location	United States; Canada; United Kingdom
Founded	September 1963
No. of corps	19; (As of September 2018)
President	Alan Buell
First champions	Reading Buccaneers (Open Class), 1965
Current champions	Reading Buccaneers (Open Class); Carolina Gold (Class A)
Website	dcacorps.org

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

Year	Venue	Location
1965	Jonathan Law Field	Milford, Connecticut
1966–67	John F. Kennedy Stadium	Bridgeport, Connecticut
1968–71	Holleder Memorial Stadium	Rochester, New York
1972	Roosevelt Stadium	Jersey City, New Jersey
1973–76	Holleder Memorial Stadium	Rochester, New York
1977–78	J. Birney Crum Stadium	Allentown, Pennsylvania
1979–80	?	Hershey, Pennsylvania
1981	Franklin Field	Philadelphia, Pennylvania
1982–87	J. Birney Crum Stadium	Allentown, Pennsylvania
1988	?	Hershey, Pennsylvania
1989–90	J. Birney Crum Stadium	Allentown, Pennsylvania
1991–95	Lackawanna County Stadium	Scranton, Pennsylvania
1996	Frontier Field	Rochester, New York
1997–99	J. Birney Crum Stadium	Allentown, Pennsylvania
2000–01	P & C Stadium	Syracuse, New York
2002–05	Lackawanna County Stadium	Scranton, Pennsylvania
2006	PAETEC Park	Rochester, New York
2012–12	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium	Annapolis, Maryland
2014–17	Rochester Rhinos Stadium	Rochester, New York
2018–19	Williamsport Area High School	Williamsport, Pennsylvania

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 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.

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 1]} 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.

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. 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
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

Sources: ^[6]^[7]^:249-254

Year	Open Class	Class A	Mini-corps
1965	Buccaneers (Pennsylvania)	—	—
1966	Skyliners ^{[upper-alpha 1]} (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 ^{[upper-alpha 2]} (New Jersey)	—
2000	Brigadiers ⁽³⁾	Generations ⁽²⁾	Ghost Riders (New York)
2001	Brigadiers ⁽⁴⁾	CorpsVets ^{[upper-alpha 3]} (Georgia)	Renegades ^{[upper-alpha 4]} (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 ^{[upper-alpha 5]} (Minnesota)
2006	Buccaneers ⁽⁶⁾	Govenaires (Minnesota)	Star United (Indiana)
2007	Buccaneers ⁽⁷⁾	Sunrisers ^{[upper-alpha 6]} (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.

Notes

↑ Class A is often written as A Class on official materials, score recaps, and summaries.

References

1 2 "Drum Corps Associates » About Drum Corps Associates". dcacorps.org. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
1 2 3 4 Peashey, Tom (2003). "Chapter 3: A History of Drum Corps Associates". In Vickers, Steve. A History of Drum & Bugle Corps. 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.
↑ Blocher, Gregg. "1987 DCA Season". www.fromthepressbox.com. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
1 2 3 "Drum Corps Associates » Historical Scores". dcacorps.org. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
1 2 3 Vickers, Steve, ed. (2002). A History of Drum and Bugle Corps. 1. Sight & Sound, Inc. (published 2010). pp. 227–303.
↑ "Business Name Search". www.njportal.com. Entity ID 0100041592. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
↑ "Details about". apps.irs.gov. 2011-10-07. EIN 23-2754515. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
1 2 Kreitzer, John (2018-04-04). "Judging DCA Corps". dcacorps.org. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
1 2 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.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[14] The Skyliners were then called the New York Skyliners, based in New York City.

[15] The Skyliners were based in New Jersey, beginning in 1997.

[16] CorpsVets are now known as Atlanta CV Drum & Bugle Corps.

[17] The Renegages mini-corps was composed of members from the Renegades Open Class corps from San Francisco, California.

[18] Minnesota Brass mini-corps was composed of members of Minnesota Brass Open Class from St. Paul, Minnesota. Also known as Minnie Brass.

[19] Long Island Sunrisers previously competed in Open Class.

[10] Class A is often written as A Class on official materials, score recaps, and summaries.

[:0-1] 1 2 "Drum Corps Associates » About Drum Corps Associates". dcacorps.org. Retrieved 2018-09-10.

[:1-2] 1 2 3 4 Peashey, Tom (2003). "Chapter 3: A History of Drum Corps Associates". In Vickers, Steve. A History of Drum & Bugle Corps. 2. Sights & Sounds, Inc. pp. 24–31.

[3] "DCX - Drum Corps Xperience". www.dcxmuseum.org. Retrieved 2018-09-10.

[4] Blocher, Gregg. "1965 Season". www.fromthepressbox2.com. Retrieved 2018-09-10.

[5] Blocher, Gregg. "1987 DCA Season". www.fromthepressbox.com. Retrieved 2018-09-10.

[:3-6] 1 2 3 "Drum Corps Associates » Historical Scores". dcacorps.org. Retrieved 2018-09-10.

[:2-7] 1 2 3 Vickers, Steve, ed. (2002). A History of Drum and Bugle Corps. 1. Sight & Sound, Inc. (published 2010). pp. 227–303.

[8] "Business Name Search". www.njportal.com. Entity ID 0100041592. Retrieved 2018-09-10.

[9] "Details about". apps.irs.gov. 2011-10-07. EIN 23-2754515. Retrieved 2018-09-10.

[:4-11] 1 2 Kreitzer, John (2018-04-04). "Judging DCA Corps". dcacorps.org. Retrieved 2018-09-21.

[:5-12] 1 2 Hinton, Tim (2013-09-04). "Judging DCA". Marching Roundtable (Podcast). Retrieved 2018-09-21.

[13] "European Music Games: Guide to the Judging System 2017" (PDF). www.dcuk.org. 2017-04-02. Retrieved 2018-09-21.