December 5, 2020: Drum Corps Associates approved a virtual season (July/August) working with the possibility of an in-person (LIVE) World Championship in Williamsport PA over Labor Day Weekend.
The DCA Board, along with 40 corps administrators, staff and judges, came together virtually for the 2020 DCA Winter Meeting.
The proceedings began with a moment of silence in honor of all those who have been lost to “COVID- 19” during this past year. The topic of conversation quickly turned to how to maintain the good health of our members and fans during this upcoming summer drum corps season.
DCA President John Carr said, “The data will dictate everything moving forward. The health and safety of everyone involved in DCA, our families and fans are of the utmost importance.”
**Corps directors unanimously approved a virtual season in coordination with Box 5 Media Productions, to hold virtual competitions through subscription streaming each Sunday night in July and August leading to the possibility of the 55th Annual World Championship Weekend of Live Championships in Williamsport PA.**
How will the virtual portion of the season work?
Each corps will meet within their home practice space (Bubble/Containment Site) utilizing strict Covid-19 screenings. Following local CDC guidelines, each corps will create their show and submit a video of their performance for that week’s BOX5 Media and DCA event. The judges will review, score and critique each performance in that contest using the videos provided. Those videos will be the basis of the subscription streaming events presented by BOX5 Media and DCA! Each virtual show will be hosted live by an announcer, guests and at times a panel.
New this year, there will be a FAN FAVORITE FEATURE. Each subscriber will get a chance to vote during the show for their favorite corps. At the conclusion of each virtual contest, judge’s scores and the Fan Favorite winner will be announced. Tune in to each event for details!
There will be eight virtual events on Sunday nights during the months of July and August followed with the possibility of the DCA World Championships to be held live in Williamsport on Labor Day Weekend September 3 – 6, 2021.
For continued updates about the 2021 DCA season visit our web site:www.dcacorps.org
Drum Corps International is pleased to announce plans for a series of drum corps events to be held in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium August 12, 13 & 14, 2021.
DCI and each of its individual organizations continue to gather information and closely monitor the evolving public health and safety conditions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Guided by a Tour Reopening Task Force of medical professionals and other experienced leaders both inside and outside of the marching arts, participating ensembles have been presented with information and options for their consideration regarding 2021 activities.
With considerable and unique challenges being faced by individual groups, often with widely differing state, regional and local public health requirements, each participating organization is encouraged to proceed in the best interest of their performers and their respective organizations—not only for 2021 but for the long-term as well.
“The coming season will, by necessity, be ‘different’ to say the least; but we are determined to safely create a stage like no other in order to offer performance opportunities in the summer of 2021 as a ‘bridge’ to a tour in 2022 and the celebration of DCI’s 50th anniversary season,” Drum Corps International CEO Dan Acheson said. “Not only are we anticipating that the corps will offer an incredible experience for their performers in 2021, but we are confident beyond any doubt that fans who support our activity will be delighted by their performances.”
Subcommittee meetings, additional research, and ongoing discussion will continue during the coming days and weeks in preparation for the next full meeting of corps directors, to be held at the 2021 DCI (Virtual) Annual Meeting in January.
“We anticipate that if circumstances improve with regard to controlling the pandemic, we will seize every safe opportunity available to add events in addition to those being planned for Indianapolis,” Acheson said.
Boo (front right) performs with The Cavaliers in 1976.
Affectionately dubbed by many as the “Pen of Pageantry” after working on projects for Drum Corps International, Winter Guard International and Bands of America for decades, there is perhaps no one who has amassed a bigger portfolio of writings about the breadth of the modern-day competitive marching arts than Michael Boo.
Originally hired in 1989 as a Drum Corps International staff writer to put together the corps program synopses for the organization’s annual souvenir yearbooks, Boo’s byline has been a fixture across DCI’s print publications and website ever since, credited to a diverse array of media including feature articles, CD and DVD liner notes, live play-by-play event blogs, podcast and video commentary, and more.
“I’ve always been in awe of the sheer amount of brain space Mike had for all things drum corps,” said DCI senior manager of communications Chris Weber who served as Boo’s editor on Drum Corps International projects for nearly 15 years. “He had such an ability to dance between the artistic side and the more sports-minded statistical side of the drum corps activity. He could compute the math on a judge’s scoresheet in his head while rattling off the liner notes for a Beethoven symphony, before telling you which corps performed it 25 years ago and then turning out 500 words on it a few minutes later.”
After a recent cancer diagnosis, Boo passed away November 18 in his hometown of Chesterton, Indiana. He was 65.
