Looking back on 2005

2005 was another great year for drum corps in Europe. We saw the Blue Devils coming to Europe, the World Music Contest in Kerkrade, and the most succesful DCE season so far. Beatrix, Strängnäs, DrumSpirit and Jong Beatrix became European Champions, The Senators topped the DCUK competition, Northern Star won BYBA Division I, and Wölper Löwen became German Champion for the first time in their history. We listed some highlights of the year in this article.


JANUARY

The Northern Star Group from Leeds - UK previewed their new look for the 2005 season. The new outfit would feature hats instead of shakos. Artwork of the new look was published on the Northern Star website.

History came to live: The first rehearsal of The Bridgemen Drum & Bugle Corps in 17 years was a resounding success as veterans and new members alike were excited to see the Bridgemen resurrected before their eyes. The famous corps from Bayonne - New Jersey determined to resurrect a form of entertainment beloved and missed by many in the activity.


Drum corps fan Timothy Jackson has started an online petition against the recent decision of the Drum Corps International board to eliminate the caption awards during the DCI World Championships. About 1000 people have already undersigned the petition.

Drum Corps France has revealed a new website. With the website, DCF wants to promote the organisation and its activities and make its group members better known. Isabelle Eggermont and Jérôme Capoen created the new look.


FEBRUARY

The management and staff of the Northern Star Group announced a change of direction for the corps in 2005. The corps decided to concentrate on the DCE circuit as well as exploring new avenues of performance.

The 'PHX Percussionists', organized by performers and staff of BDEntertainment (run by the Blue Devils), have been selected to perform at the NBA All Star Game in Denver. The 10-member drum ensemble was originally cast to perform for the opening game for the Phoenix Suns.

The Jersey Surf has announced a 'professional collaboration' with San Francisco-based BDEntertainment, the corporate- and special-events affiliate of The Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps.

A growing number of corps websites feature the Drum Corps Europe News Service. Corps and associations from The Netherlands, Germany, the UK, Belgium, France and even Italy have added the DCE headlines to their web pages.


MARCH

Originally launched in 1997, the Drill Magic software is back due to increased demand. Since its re-launch in mid February users from all over the UK, Europe and the USA have downloaded and registered for this completely free drill writing program written by Paul 'Bish' Bishop.

Drum Corps Europe and Drum Corps Germany have decided to work together more closely in the future. In a meeting in the German town Rheine, the boards of the drum corps organisations spoke about the common goals and challenges.

Drum Corps United Kingdom keeps the age limit for the activity. An Extra Ordinary General meeting of the members of Drum Corps United Kingdom was held, and the vast majority of corps and their representatives along with representatives of the DCUK Judges Association were in attendance at the meeting to discuss issues pertaining to the future of the activity in the UK.

The very last all-girl corps, the Bandettes Drum & Bugle Corps is in danger of becoming inactive before the season starts. After a successful season in 2004, the Bandettes have run into problems with fundraising, and returning members.

DCE announced the 2005 Championships location: Sparta Stadium in Rotterdam - The Netherlands. The DCE management team came to an agreement with the Sparta board of directors about the use of the beautiful stadium on September 24th, 2005.


APRIL

Jeff Fiedler, longtime director of the Cavaliers (and an alum) who lead that corps to six DCI World Championsip titles, and Peggy Twiggs, whose groundbreaking work with the color guards of the 27th Lancers and the Cadets influenced a generation of members and designers (and a 27th Lancers alum), have been elected to the Drum Corps International Hall of Fame for 2005.

The DCE Symposium in Middelburg featured a drawing of lots to determine the order of performances during the DCE Championships Open Class Prelims in Rotterdam. The drawing was covered by a live 'webcast' on the DCE website.

DCE has announced a change in the judging system from the 2006 season. The color guard caption will be added to the overall score in the DCE Competition Manual.

A new Dutch drum corps association has been founded: Drum Corps Netherlands (in Dutch: Drum Corps Nederland). The foundation of Drum Corps Netherlands is initiated by Drum Corps Europe. The Netherlands will have their own competition like DCUK in the UK and DCG in Germany.


MAY

Less than 24 hours after its launch, more than 4,000 beta testers have signed up to test the DCI Season Pass. Those testers have listened to almost 30,000 streams of DCI shows.

The Strutters Drum & Bugle Corps of Edmonton, Alberta, have performed for the Queen of England and the Duke of Edinburgh as part of the 100-year anniversary of the formation of the Canadian province of Alberta.

Jubal from Dordrecht - the Netherlands has topped the first Drum Corps Europe show of the 2005 season. That contest took place in the Dutch city of Middelburg.


JUNE

Nine members of the Forgemen percussion have successfully broken the world team drumming marathon record. Spirits were a little low after Lee Whitehead had to give up his attempt at the individual record. But the guys have pulled together and pushed past their target.

Executive director Brian Hickman announced that DCI Division I finalist Glassmen Drum & Bugle Corps will be traveling to Europe for two weeks in late June of 2006 for a series of concerts, clinics and competitions.

The Blue Devils were victorious in the Open Class at the contest in Kortrijk with a score of 93.350. It was a wonderful day for the European drum corps actitivity. Drum corps fans were everywehere: In the stadium, at the drum corps marketplace in front of the stadium, in the parking lot, and in the park for warm-ups.


The first Italian ever to march DCI, Michele Moriggi of the Millennium Marching Band from Verdello â?? Italy, marched Cavaliers this summer.


JULY

From all accounts, the Blue Devils' romp through Europe is proving to be a momentous trek. In an IM exchange with the webmaster of dci.org, Blue Devils director Dave Gibbs said the corps' performance and audience reception in Kortrijk, Belgium, was comparable to that of the Beatles.

The Senators Drum & Bugle Corps from Eistleigh - UK have reached a milestone. It has been 1000 days since the Open Class corps was last beaten in DCUK competition.

The online voting poll developed for the fans to determine the order of appearance at the upcoming contest in Murfreesboro - Tennessee, was cancelled. Attentive members of the interactive team of DCI detected the use of an automated 'voting bot' which has severely skewed and compromised the voting results, forcing DCI to cancel the contest and negate the results.

Drum Corps International has determined it is in the best interest of all involved to cancel the DCI Summer Music Games Solo & Ensemble Festival event. As a top priority to offer nothing less than a first-class experience, DCI decided that with only a small number of entries as of July 5, students would not realize the total experience they had anticipated and that DCI intended to offer.


AUGUST

The Blue Devils have become the Corps Style Class Champions of the World Music Contest, a four-weekend series of competitions in Kerkrade - The Netherlands. The corps competed during the first weekend, at the end of their European tour.

The Cadets were crowned DCI World Champions. The Cadets scored a 99.150, topping the Cavaliers (97.625) and Phantom Regiment (96.825) while sweeping every caption.


Strängnäs Drum & Bugle Corps from Sweden succesfully competed in the DCI competition. The corps entered the Division III Prelims, reaching the 13th position out of 20 corps.

Santa Clara Vanguard has announced Rick Valenzuela's resignation as director of the corps, effective October 31st, 2005. The Santa Clara Vanguard greatly appreciates Rick's 20+ years of commitment to the corps, the SCV organization, to Drum Corps International and most importantly to the marching members.


SEPTEMBER

Jubal Drum & Bugle Corps from Dordrecht topped the Open Class of the DCE show in their home town. Northern Star was the biggest surprise of the day. The DCE show in Dordrecht was completely sold out with about 600 people watching the wonderful performances.

The Buccaneers from Reading - Pennsylvania completed an astounding undefeated season by winning the DCA Open Class World Championship, sweeping all captions. Their 98.45 score is the second highest score ever recorded at DCA Finals. The Bucs' victory also comes on the 25th anniversary of their last win in 1980.

Audience measurement results from the broadcast of the 2005 Drum Corps International World Championship on ESPN2 indicated that the program achieved a viewership exceeding 435,000 U.S. households.

Drum Corps Planet has partnered with Drum Corps Europe to provide enhanced coverage of drum corps events from the European activity. This new agreement allows DCE to directly post news, scores, and pictures for the DCP audience.

Wölper Löwen Drum & Bugle Corps from Neustadt am Rübenberge are the new champions of Drum Corps Germany. With a score of 79.88, the corps topped the Drum Corps Class in the Weserbergland Stadium in Hameln. The Starriders came in second.

Four European champions were crowned at the DCE European Championship in Rotterdam. The titles went to Beatrix Hilversum (Open Class), Strängnäs (A-Class), DrumSpirit Dadizele (Percussion Class) and Jong Beatrix Hilversum (Cadet Class).


OCTOBER

Senators Drum & Bugle Corps took the crown as DCUK Open Class Champions 2005 - their seventh DCUK title, and the third in a row. The Kidsgrove Scouts came in second. The corps from Eastleigh will compete in DCE in the 2006 season.

Following lengthy review of the current status of the corps, the Troopers board of directors decided that in the best interest of the corps, they will not field a competitive corps for the 2006 season.

Executive Offficers of Drum Corps United Kingdom and Drum Corps Europe have announced that a new strategic partnership was developed. Commitment was made to arrange further meetings between the Chairman of the DCUK and DCE Judges Associations to explore these areas further.

Northern Star from Leeds took home the BYBA National Championship trophy following an awesome performance that left the corps undefeated in the British Youth Band Association this year.


The Austin Stars are a new all age or senior drum & bugle corps based in Austin - Texas. Membership is open to adults age 18 and up who have previous experience in marching band, color guard, drumline or drum & bugle corps.


NOVEMBER

Several corps delegates took part in the DCUK Task Force this past weekend in Northampton. The group worked extremely hard (including a 12-hour session on Saturday) and covered a wide range of topics concerning the future of the drum corps activity in the UK.

The Kidsgrove Scouts have announced that Richard Roach will join their 2006 staff. Rich, from New York - USA, has marched and taught a number of successful units.


People who feel they have a skill (or skills) that they can offer to new or established drum corps or winterguards in the UK, are invited to contact DCUK. Following a suggestion made by the recent Task Force, DCUK will shortly be creating a new 'login only' section of the website.

Stafford Lancers have announced that for 2006 season they will be entering DCUK Open Class for the first time in their history. The decision comes after many many years of gradual progression, every year since rebuilding in 2001 the corps achieved their aim of steadily improving and growing their membership.


DECEMBER

The 2005 DCUK Annual General Meeting was held in Stafford on Sunday 4th December was well attended by representatives of corps, guards and the judging community. Gavin Johnson was elected as the new chairman.

Alliance Performing Arts Foundation have announced the launch of Alliance Drum & Bugle Corps. The aim is to have a fully competitive unit in time for the 2007 marching season by developing new talent in the Colchester area.

The Phantom Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps is being sued for defaulting on a $450,000 bank loan. The suit lists Rescomm Holdings No. 2 LLC, as the plaintiff. According to the suit, the Rockford-based Phantom Regiment took out a $450,000 loan on March 7th, 2000, but has failed to maintain payments.

Brian Hickman, Executive Director for the Glassmen Drum & Bugle Corps took a three day whirlwind tour of France, Belgium, Netherlands and England to finalize the details for the corps' upcoming summer tour of Europe. The highlight of the weekend was a special presentation about the Glassmen that Hickman did in Dadizele, Belgium for hundreds of very excited drum corps fans at 'DCI Fan Day'.