Report: DCE Championships 2005

After a few years in the Hague, the Big Day this year is at 'The Castle' in Rotterdam. Has it been a successful relocation? Definitely. The Sparta stadium is a wonderful place to enjoy the drum corps shows. The sound is absorbed by the roof superbly, ideal conditions to watch a full day of top competition as spectator. I also spoke to various people who all described playing on the field in this big(ger) stadium as a wonderful experience. A report by drumcorpsmedia.com reporter Niels Merkx.


Open Class Prelims

Again there were many participants this year, meaning a full program, or in other words, an early start. Drum corps for breakfast as it were. And what a breakfast! Jubal opening the Open Class Prelims is not exactly your soft-boiled egg with a slice of tepid toast... The Dordrecht club obviously hadn't got out of bed on the wrong side. The members were all extremely keen, and their fine performance of the Danzón program would eventually result in a somewhat disappointing fifth place. This was to be followed by more surprising results in the course of the day; which actual makes the game more enjoyable really.

Out of the eleven corps in the Prelims, 'only' one would not go on to the Finals. But imagine if you were the unlucky oneâ?¦. Which is why every corps gives it their all to convince the jury they should be in the top 10. Eventually, the battle is between DAP from Apeldoorn and Stormarn Magic from Bad Oldesloe. DAP have selected a program containing a few delightful drum corps classics. The club has learnt a lot this season, which I'm sure will help them to improve in coming years. Stormarn Magic's CINEMAgic program contains rather 'heavy' music; and furthermore, the club is 'unlucky' enough to have to do this straight after the 'lighter' Beatrix program (more about this later). The Germans miss the top ten by less than a point, but will undoubtedly come back stronger next time.

When all the Prelim scores are revealed, we know that we can expect an exciting evening. In the middle bracket, the Federatieband and Starriders fight it out for seventh place, and we see a completely different top five than we all had expected. Above Jubal, Northern Star takes fourth place. The English team has a breathtaking opener, but this morning the closer goes slightly wrong. If it improves this evening, anything is possible.

In third place is Juliana. Their Red Revolution program is perhaps the most attractive performance in the Open Class, and is presented with so much verve, that the third place is justly deserved. The drill of the Kidsgrove Scouts is super quick in places, and furthermore, they know how to combine this visual spectacle with a good musical performance.

Beatrix has a score to settle. Last year's champions already know that their show this year has the making of a champion performance, but some outsiders are still afraid that their choice of music may be too popular for drum corps. However, when the Hilversum team begins, it is clear from the first note and movement that everything about 'Hurray for Hollywood' is 100% drum corps!



Cadet Class Finals

In a few years time, you could say, the kids of the Cadet Class will be the kids of the A and Open Classes. If that's the case, then the level of quality in these classes will increase even more in the coming years! The Cadet Class gets better every year and is an enjoyment to watch. Fortunately, all the clubs comply with the most important requirement of the Cadet Class: that the kids have fun. If this requirement is met, the public can do one thing only: share in the enjoyment.

Take Jong Avalance for example. You can see the joy in their faces! Their 'Heroes' program is perfectly apt. Since their last competition, the club has succeeded in conveying their enthusiasm even more to both jury and public, and this partially contributes to them scoring almost six points more than in Dordrecht. It is not yet good enough for first place, but they have won over the hearts of the public.

Showband Kids seem to be the most serious of the four Cadet Class participants; which doesn't detract from the fact that there is much to enjoy! The South American sounds remain a joy to listen to and the club is fun to watch.

Jong Jubal has an impressive program and so many kids on the field that you can't help but be impressed. The ballad 'My Immortal' is a real jewel. These sixty (!) or so superheroes deservedly win the Effect award.

However, the overall win is for Jong Beatrix this afternoon. Actually their success is rather like the subject of their grown-up program: James Bond. He fights against villains and wins every time in the end. Jong Beatrix fought against the Super heroes and, under the leadership of a real Bond girl, won the Cadet Class.



A-Class Finals

Last year we had two champions in the A-Class, of course. Strängnäs and Distant Thunder are both determined this year to stand alone on the highest podium. The other three participants include two clubs who didn't take part in 2004, which makes for an interesting afternoon. Excelsior from Goes presents a beautiful musical theme with Rhapsody in Blue. It could have been visually better, but there are several fine elements hidden in this show. Actually, I'd like to make an appeal to everyone in Goes: go and make music at Excelsior, because this excellent club deserves (many) more members!

JFB is a lot stronger than in Dordrecht. It's clear they've been working hard in the Hague these past few weeks. The drum break remains a strange part of the show, but in general, JFB's program makes a solid and particularly cheerful impression.

Newcomer Willem Eggert (absent for a year) decidedly takes third place this afternoon. There's not really much to comment on the Karl Jenkins program. It may miss a real climax, but the performance by Willem Eggert is so good, that this doesn't really matter.

The battle for first place is definitely worth watching. Distant Thunder and Strängnäs both have good programs and musicians. With both clubs, the guard is particularly noticeable. With the English, because of their different outfits, compared to the rest of the musicians and compared to each other. Furthermore, a belt could help a few of them. However, this doesn't detract from the fact that the ladies in Distant Thunder's 'West Side Story' are well suited and are able to show how good they can dance and handle equipment.

With the Swedes, the guard is noticeable because they only use the one flag, and rely on body language for the rest. The Swedish girls also run around quite a bit! Strängnäs go on to deservedly win all the captions and (therefore) the title with their 'Past, Present, Future' program, and incite your curiosity as to what will happen next year.



Percussion Class Finals

Compared with last year, the Percussion Class consists of one newcomer and four familiar teams. Eventually, it emerges that the four known teams still hold the same relative positions. The biggest surprise, however, is that newcomer DrumSpirit unashamedly takes the lead above the other four, returning to Belgium with the title in tow!

With 'Lion King Meets Tarzan', Harpe Davids has selected a cheerful theme, but for one reason or another the performance remains rather serious, missing the opportunity to enthrall the public. If you were to put the Göteborg Drum Corps next to them, you'll understand what I mean. They may not have a theme or underlying topic, but this big group does know how to express their joy in making music, with the drum major of the Swedes leading the way as always; and a seven person bass line can lift my spirits up any day.

The Mangione Magic of the Blue Lions is a grown-up Percussion program performed by the French with much feeling. But as we have already seen in Kortrijk, it just falls short of spectacular. Something which the top two scoring units do have.

Like the Rhythm Stars. If you're talking about grown-up program, then 'Four Seasons in Rhythm' instantly tops the list. The Frisians have participated in many competitions in previous seasons, and this shows. Each year the Rhythm Stars progress further. It is therefore not surprising that they win the Guard and Visual captions this afternoon.

However, the overall winner is DrumSpirit. An amazing and immense spirit, with which this club could actually perform any type of music perfectly. The Drum@tic program is a real treat to listen to. It's impossible to keep still and you just have to hum along to Skaterboy. In the evening, this was also evident with their Championship performance. Almost everyone remained in their seats for these Belgians.



Open Class Finals

And then the conclusion of the day. The Open Class Finals are even more exciting than last year, when two clubs differed by one tenth of a point in Prelims. Now we have a top five with a difference of less than four points between them! And of course, the numbers ten to six are not only there for warming up.

DAP are allowed to go first. For this club from Apeldoorn, reaching the finals this evening is already an achievement, but that is no reason to do less than their best now! Their 'Hete Bliksem' (Hot Lightning) show is spectacularly striking and is a worthy opening to a traditional drum corps evening!

Jong Holland is bold enough to perform a show with elements from one of the most popular drum corps shows of all time. You'd rather not compare, and as Jong Holland have fortunately added their own unique twist, you don't really have to. In a compact field, 'Musical in Motion' becomes larger than life. What I miss now and again is just that little bit extra at certain moments in the show. The difference between playing loudly and playing just that bit louder, shall we say. Other people miss the drum major at the end. I'll leave you guessing, but it wasn't the boy picking up the stands at the back of the field at the end of the performance, as many around me thought.

The Federatieband is wickedly good this season. They perform a varied and appealing program containing several different gimmicks and attributes. Furthermore, the 'man in the hat' doesn't just walk around in between, but has clearly become part of the whole performance. Since Dordrecht, the club has become more confident. In the Prelims, they score almost 10 points more than three weeks ago. And that brings them so close to Starriders, that they give it their all tonight to jump one place higher.

Eventually, Starriders manage to keep a hold on seventh place. They even increase their lead slightly. Maybe experience does count on an evening like this. The program of the Germans seems to contain everything that a drum corps program should have. However, during the whole season, the Starriders are unable to convince the public of the power and beauty of their program.
This is not for lack of effort on the part of the members; and what is wrong with being the number seven in Europe anyway?

Wölper Löwen are the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' this season. From the moment they make their tremendous entrance until their surprising march off, you can imagine being on a pirate ship. The music is unbelievably captivating, the marching and visuals are fun and varied; in short, a German drum corps of the highest quality!

And finally the top five of the Open Class. A day begins with breakfast and ends with... champagne! Will Jubal succeed in starting off the day and then rounding it off with a champion's performance? Will Juliana complete her Red Revolution, passing Beatrix and Kidsgrove Scouts along the way? And the English, who both used flags to perform an awe-inspiring drill, combined with delightful music? And finally, the reigning champions, who suddenly have to keep four competitors at bay, each of whom came unashamedly close to or even beat the Hilversum team in one or more captions in the Prelims.

Juliana gave so much this morning that they now end in fifth place. Not that Juliana was any less impressive than this morning, they almost score two points more, but this group from Zeeland cannot give anymore, as the others can. This doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy 'Red Revolution', a brilliant program, perfectly suited to Juliana and performed faultlessly by them. I'd like to know whether Juliana can improve next year on their two results above Jubal (WMC and Prelims). The club has everything they need to be able to do so!

The Kidsgrove Scouts are a surprise again for many. I hear this every year, so maybe we should just conclude that the Kidsgrove Scouts are an exceptionally strong team! Everything is perfectly timed and in unison with the English, and this in a particularly fast tempo. Of the top five, Kidsgrove shows the least difference between their performances in the morning and evening and therefore become fourth. However, you can be sure they'll still be a formidable competitor in DCUK
next week.

Jubal know that they always 'peak' in the Finals. That is all well and good, but if you enter the Finals in fifth place, you are even more determined to do it better, or rather, much better. Tension can be seen in their faces as the show begins, but with every note and every movement tension disappears, until after a few seconds everyone is just enjoying them, including Jubal themselves. This is by far the best show which Jubal has performed this season, and with this tremendous effort this team from Dordrecht deservedly ends two places higher than this morning. They also take the coveted Percussion Award home with them.

As already mentioned, the end of Northern Star's 'Texture, Melody, Rhythm' was a bit disappointing this morning. This evening it was as scintillating as it should be, making Northern Star's whole performance much more impressive. This program contains everything, and this evening all the members give it their all. Northern Star rises by four points and with it two places, just like Jubal. A brilliant number two.

And finally Beatrix. This Hilversum group also knows what to do in the Finals. And when all four competitors are catching up with the champion, Beatrix can also go that one step higher. Let's start with the guard from Beatrix, which is so incredibly good, that they light up the whole place, making the stadium lights redundant. Furthermore, their performance is almost unEuropean-like in its strength. But this also applies to the rest of the club. Beatrix has a wonderful program, and knows how to carry it off like no other. With even more conviction than last year, Beatrix has once again become European champions in the Open Class, and deservedly so.