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The IMBA and DCN Championships, taking place today in Kiltoom and Dordrecht respectively, will be covered on the DCE paged on Facebook. Updates will be posted throughout the day and include video fragments.

This year, Drum Corps Europe started covering European Music Games events on Facebook. That appeared to be a great success, and DCE received a lot of positive feedback. Photos and video clips are added to the DCE Facebook page immediately after they have been created, and will therefore give a semi-live impression on the events.

The IMBA updates are posted on the English Facebook page, the DCN updates will appear on the Dutch Facebook page. If you want to receive the updates, simply 'like' the page(s).

There has been a last-minute change in the lineup of the DCE European Championships, in the Junior Class. Confetti will replace the Mosson Marching Kids.

In their preparations for the European Championships, the staff of Mosson Marching Kids decided that it was better if they did not travel to Kerkrade. DCE regrets the decision and hopes to welcome the Mosson Marching Kids in future. Both DCE and Italian corps wishes Confetti every success in their participation.

With the addition of Confetti, the Junior Class still has six participants. On Saturday the 28th of September, the junior corps from Goes in The Netherlands will be competing with Kidsgrove Scouts Juniors, Ravens, Jong Jubal, Johan Friso and Jong Beatrix.

Don’t have tickets for the European Championships? Order them here.

Drum Corps Europe has launched an app for smartphones: DCE Mobile. Drum corps fans can now keep up to date with news, scores, corps information and contest details on their mobile phone.

The app is a so-called 'web app' that is easily retrievable by visiting m.drumcorpseurope.org on a smartphone. By then placing the app on the home screen of the phone, DCE Mobile will be right at your fingertips. DCE Mobile works on all types of smartphones such as iPhones, Android phones, Windows phones and BlackBerrys, and supports five languages​​.

DCE Mobile was developed in-house by the DCE web team led by Rob Beeren. “We wanted to make an app that is really easy to use,” said Beeren. “You should be able to use the app to quickly check the latest news or see who just won the latest contest of the European Music Games. We went to work with this in mind. We hope that users will get a lot of enjoyment out of it.”

The old iPhone app also remains available but is now no longer supported by Drum Corps Europe. At a later stage, the old iPhone app will be removed from the App Store.

It is no coincidence that this month is full of drum corps news. Keeping yourself informed of the latest news, your favourite corps and the scores is easy with a simple click of the mouse on Facebook or Twitter.

Drum Corps Europe provides all the drum corps news leading up to the DCE European Championships. Firsts, scores, developments: the DCE website is your source for drum corps information. But the news will also be posted on Facebook and on Twitter.

Don’t miss a thing this month! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/drumcorpseurope (English)
www.facebook.com/drumcorpsnl (Dutch)
www.facebook.com/drumcorpsde (German)
www.facebook.com/drumcorpsfr (French)
www.facebook.com/drumcorpsit (Italian)

Twitter:
www.twitter.com/drumcorpseurope (English)
www.twitter.com/drumcorpsnl (Dutch)
www.twitter.com/drumcorpsde (German)
www.twitter.com/drumcorpsfr (French)
www.twitter.com/drumcorpsit (Italian)

The Company from Nottingham is the first European corps this season to exceed the 80 point mark. At the DCUK contest in Stoke on Sunday, the current European champion scored 82.00 points.

With that score, The Company not only retains the lead in the DCUK competition, but also takes the number one position in the ranking of the European Music Games. The corps from Nottingham managed to win in all areas and is now 3.65 points ahead of the number two, the Kidsgrove Scouts (78.35). The Black Knights came third with 76.60 points.

The Commodores and Nexus are fighting for fourth place. In the previous contest that position went to Nexus, but this time the Commodores finished fourth. The difference between the two corps is only 1.3 points.

The Staffordshire Knights went up by exactly six points compared to the previous contest and came sixth with 55.65 points. Spirit of Coventry increased its score a bit more, allowing the corps from Coventry to get within one point of the Staffordshire Knights.

The Inbhear Mor Marchers from Arklow - Ireland also participated in the DCUK show in Stoke. They managed to keep up with their DCUK colleagues and came eighth with 53.70, just 1.15 points behind Spirit of Coventry.

The Kidsgrove Scouts Juniors scored over ten points more than before the summer break and maintain the lead in the Junior Class. Concord All Stars came second with 54.70 points. Scores and recaps can be found on www.dcuk.org.uk and on the score page.

The Starriders and Heartliner challenged each other in Hameln on Saturday. In a thrilling battle in the Premier Class at the German Open, Starriders came out as champions. However, Heartliner were only 0.15 points behind.

In the visual captions, Starriders were strongest, but Heartliner gained the highest points for musicality and effect. The corps from Bad Münder took first place with a total score of 70.90 points. Heartliner scored 70.75 points. "We were elated, but at the same time we realised that it could have been the other way around", the Starriders said.

Spirit of Music came third with 39.55 points, and the Austrian MDC Drumline, without a colour guard, came fourth with 34.80 points. The Starriders Cadets were the sole participant in the Junior Class and scored 28.75 points. The Red Stars won the Concert Class (50.80). The Blue Bandits finished second with 46.50 points.

This Saturday, Starriders and Heartliner will meet each other again at the DCN Finals in Dordrecht. The other German powerhouse, Spirit of 52, will also be present and it will become clear who is in the lead in the run-up to the DCE European Championships on Saturday 28th September.

Scores and recaps can be found on www.germanopen-online.eu and on the DCE score page.

The month of the month has arrived for drum corps activity in Europe: September. Traditionally, it is the month of the national championships in Germany, The Netherlands, Ireland and the UK, with the DCE European Championships as the apotheosis.

As many as four national championships are scheduled for the coming weeks. On Saturday there is the German Open event in Hameln (Germany), followed a week later by the DCN Championships (The Netherlands) and IMBA Championships (Ireland). One week after that the British drum corps championships take place in a new stadium in Widnes.

All of this leads up to the European highlight of the year: the DCE European Championships in Kerkrade - The Netherlands. Drum Corps Europe wishes all European corps lots of luck and most of all lots of fun this month!

The Buccaneers extended their 2012 title during the Drum Corps Associates Open Class Finals on Sunday in Annapolis. The corps managed to win with a strong lead.
 
In the Open Class Prelims, the Buccaneers were ahead of the number two corps, Minnesota Brass, by more than one point. Where the Buccaneers improved their score in the Finals, Minnesota Brass lost out on 0.05 points so their score fell slightly. That cost the corps from Minnesota  their second place, because they were overtaken by Caballeros, the corps that placed third in the Prelims.
 
With 98.43, the Buccaneers finished head and shoulders above the rest of the participants. The Caballeros came second (96.98) and Minnesota Brass came third (96.65). The Empire Statesmen took  fourth place (94.15), followed by Cadets (93.75). Scores and recaps can be found on www.dcacorps.org.

Heartliner from Ludwigshafen - Germany attained sixth place in the A-Class Prelims of Drum Corps Associates in Annapolis on Saturday. It was a few points short of a place in the Finals.

Although they did not get a place in the DCA A-Class Finals, the Heartliner look back at a successful tour with an excellent result. The 77.05 points that the German Corps scored in the A-Class Prelims were enough to surpass five corps: Cincinatti Tradition (76.30), High Country Brass (74.18), Excelsior (72.48), Shenandoah Sound (70.03) and Centurions (67.93).

The White Sabers became the A-Class Champions (85.93). The scores and recaps can be found on www.dcacorps.org.

Drum Corps Europe is working on a new mobile app that will replace the current iPhone app. The app will be available for multiple mobile platforms and has more features than the current version.

In September 2009, DCE launched its own iPhone app that allows drum corps fans to check the latest drum corps news quickly and for free. The app, which is now four years old, has been updated once in that time, but is now somewhat outdated and limited in its options. DCE thought it was time for a new app that would support more mobile platforms such as Android and Windows Phone.

In addition to the latest news, the new app will also contain scores, the calendar of the European Music Games and information about the DCE Championships. The look will be changed completely, and will be a lot more modern than the current app. The app will also be made as a 'web app'​​, which means that it will be able to function as a mobile website.

"With a web app, we do not need to create separate apps for each mobile platform," explains IT Manager Rob Beeren from DCE. "The same app works on all systems. This makes it easier and quicker to expand and make changes. We think that this app will make many drum corps fans very happy."

The DCE app will be launched in a few weeks’ time.

Winter Guard International has announced the addition of two international regional championship events to its 2014 event schedule in partnership with Color Guard Netherlands (CGN) and Winter Guard United Kingdom (WGUK).

This announcement comes after a yearlong effort to expand the international presence of WGI. Led by Executive Director Ron Nankervis, the organisation has made contact with multiple countries interested in bringing WGI-style competitive events to their homelands. WGI has sent representatives to China, Japan, England, Malaysia, Netherlands and Thailand exploring ideas and cultural differences to bring indoor color guard and marching percussion overseas.

On 22nd February Winter Guard United Kingdom will host the WGI United Kingdom Regional Championship at Fenton Leisure Centre in Stoke-on-Trent. WGUK Chair Nicola Garlick commented, "I am really pleased we are able to reintroduce an international event into our schedule for the forthcoming season and want to thank WGI for spearheading this new initiative to grow the cooperation throughout the activity."

1st March is the date Color Guard Netherlands will host the WGI Netherlands Regional Championship at Topsportcentrum in Almere, site of previous WGI events. “All of us at CGN are excited about the coming regional,” said Paul Doop, chairman of CGN. “We have years of experience organizing both the color guard and percussion regionals and we are all looking forward to host this great event in 2014. The WGI regional is always an event where existing friendships are strengthened and new ones made for life.”

Another very important component of both events will be educational clinics held in conjunction with the scheduled competition. Traveling United States judges will share information with their European counterparts in an effort broaden the international reach of WGI. Alan Thompson, chairman for the Marching and Performing Arts United Kingdom (MPAUK) said, “I see events and collaborations such as this as an integral part of continuing the ongoing training and development of both our units and judges as well as building the relationships between the associations for the good of the future of our activity.”

Plans include featuring the English and Dutch events on the WGI Fan Network, the first opportunity for US fans to follow color guard and percussion performances from Europe.

Ravens Drum & Bugle Corps from Athlone - Ireland remains at first place in the European Music Games Junior Class ranking this week. They took first place with a score of 73.60 at the third IMBA contest of the season, which took place in Templeogue on Sunday.

Ravens' 2013 production 'Believe' was well received by the large audience who were treated to performances from five of Irelands corps. Tallaght Youth Band Cadets took second place in the Junior Class with a score of 59.20, while their senior band Tallaght Youth Band Marching Vikings took first place in the Premier Class with their show 'Nocturnal Metropolis'. The Marching Vikings scored 61.85 and second place was awarded to Inbhear Mor Marchers (47.25) with Tallaght Festival Band in third place (42.10).

The month of September will prove busy for Irish corps as the IMBA Championships take place in Athlone on September 14th, and some of the corps are also preparing to travel to Kerkrade for the DCE European Championships on September 28th.

Further photos and videos from the IMBA contest in Dublin can be found on the DCE facebook page, and you can keep up to date with everything in the Irish circuit through the Irish Marching Bands Association.

Scores and recaps can be found on the score page.

Every month, we will be giving you an overview of the most watched drum corps news of the past month. Here is the list of the most popular news items from July 2013, including the Corps Page Top 5.

The Drumcorps.org.uk Hot News Top 5 from July 2013:

1. Fourteen-year-old French girl in Jersey Surf guard
Date: 3rd July. Views: 2027

2. The Company continues to lead, Kidsgrove catching up
Date: 1st July. Views: 671

3. Brian Yothers leaves Drum Corps Europe
Date: 19th July. Views: 592

4. he Company increasing its lead in DCUK
Date: 17th July. Views: 504

5. Marching Vikings and Ravens top first IMBA show
Date: 7th July. Views: 454

The Corps Page Top 5 from July 2013:

1. The Company
2. Ravens
3. Jubal
4. Black Knights
5. Juliana

The fifth year of DCI Finals at Lucas Oil Stadium elevate the venue into the second most visited Finals location in DCI World Championship history, passing the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando (1996-1998, 2003) and just two years away from matching Madison, Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium which has hosted seven times.

Attendance figures for the 2013 Prelims, Semifinals and Finals events hosted at Lucas Oil Stadium include 6,623 on Thursday (Prelims), 10,457 on Friday (Semi Finals) and 20,381 on Saturday (Finals). The paid attendance for the three-day series totals 37,461. “While our numbers for the Prelims and Semi Finals fell slightly behind our 2012 figures, we’re excited to see a dynamic increase in Saturday night Finals attendance,” Dan Acheson, Executive Director and CEO of Drum Corps International said. "A significant portion of the additional audience for finals can be attributed directly to a sizable increase in local Indiana residents attending the event.”

The two-day paid attendance total for Open Class Championship events in Michigan City came in at 1,415, an increase from the previous year, up from 1,308 in 2012. In addition to the in-stadium attendance, preliminary reports indicate more than 45,000 watched Drum Corps International’s 'Big, Loud & Live' cinema event, which brought performances from the World Championship Prelims live into movie theaters on Thursday, 8th August.

“With projections of another record number in theaters and strong numbers for our Semi Finals webcast on the DCI Fan Network as well as the first-ever webcast of the Finals, we’re excited to be reaching and engaging a growing number of drum corps fans around the world during World Championships Week,” Acheson said. “We continue to focus on expanding our reach for the future.”

The video service Video Vault, a partnership between DCE and CGN, has made the first webcast for a third party. For five days, the International Cup of the World Baton Twirling Federation was broadcast live.

The Video Vault was created early this year. The video service is designed to offer audiovisual productions for Color Guard Netherlands and Drum Corps Europe through new platforms, such as live webcasts and video on demand. However, the service can also provide productions for other parties, and the first external job was successful.

The volunteers of the Video Vault worked to provide a 5 day live broadcast of the World Baton Twirling Federation Championships, in cooperation with the Dutch Twirl Sports Association. The event took place in Topsportcentrum Almere, where the CGN Championships were also broadcast over the internet earlier this year.

The client was happy with the result. "We have put a lot of time and effort into it, but we were very pleased", says coordinator Rob Beeren. “It takes an incredible amount of energy to be live for five days and we were exhausted afterwards. The client was very satisfied with the result and we have had very positive feedback from viewers.”

The next project is the live webcast of the DCE European Championships on Saturday 28th September.

Drum Corps International had some problems with the DCI Finals live webcast last Saturday. The organisations offers a $20 rebate to subscribers of the webscast.

"Although the plan to deliver the experience online included all the necessary industry standards, the end result was that we did not present a viewing experience for the entire broadcast at a level worthy of the absolutely remarkable performances taking place in Lucas Oil Stadium last Saturday night", executive director Dan Acheson of Drum Corps International writes in an email to subscribers. "The new technology service we had in place Saturday night did not meet our expectations. Despite our best efforts to plan and anticipate, the response by subscribers was overwhelming."

"We'd like to offer each of those who had a less than acceptable experience to receive a rebate toward the fee they paid to view the World Championships Finals", Acheson writes. "In the months ahead, we will share our plans to ensure that live performances are more widely available to fans around the world on a greater variety of platforms and are able to harness more of the incredible technology available today."

Drum Corps Europe has decided to terminate their cooperation with the World Band Competition in Malaysia. DCE believes that the agreements made were not respected and therefore unfortunately feels forced to withdraw the Licenced Partnership of the organisation.

In 2010, the World Band Competition from Malaysia was the first non-European partner of DCE. The organisation itself specifically requested permission to use the DCE manual and to certify the judges, like various European competition organisations.

DCE has unfortunately had to conclude that the agreements were not respected, both financially and in terms of fully certified judges. The quality of the competition organisation impeded proper judging. Therefore DCE has decided to end the partnership.

"It is regrettable for the participants in the competition that we have had to make this decision", said DCE Chairman Marcel Matthijsse. "We have received positive feedback from all sides about the expert and independent way of judging that the DCE system offered in Malaysia."

A Licensed Partnership is also a standard for corps, so that they know what to expect. That’s why DCE always strictly monitors whether the requirements are being met. DCE wishes the drum corps activity in Malaysia the best of luck.

Carolina Crown became a World Class World Champion for the first time in drum corps history Saturday, as the 2013 DCI World Championships concluded at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Not since 1996 has DCI named a first-time World Champion, and never before has it had a Champion that started as an Open Class/Division II corps.

The South Carolina corps’ 2013 production 'E=mC2' led them to victory, taking home a final overall score of 98.30 and caption awards for Visual Performance, Brass and General Effect. Finishing in second, 2012’s World Champion, Blue Devils (98.05), earned top honors in the Color Guard caption. The Cadets (96.95) took home the bronze medal with their production 'Side by Side'. After a summer full of tight races up and down the ranks within the Percussion caption, the Cadets took home the Fred Sanford award for best percussion performance. The corps has not won this award since its Championship season in 2005.

Santa Clara Vanguard (4th, 96.85) trailed the top three by just a tenth of a point. After tying in Semi Finals the previous night, Bluecoats (5th, 93.35) and Phantom Regiment (6th, 93.25) both improved their scores, but Bluecoats managed to sneak one tenth of a point in front. The Cavaliers (90.50) finished in seventh, maintaining the lead on Madison Scouts set during Friday night’s Semifinals.

Boston Crusaders (90.40) leapt into eighth, three tenths of a point ahead of Madison Scouts (9th, 90.10). Blue Knights (10th, 87.75), Spirit of Atlanta (11th, 86.40) and Blue Stars (12th, 85.45) rounded out the 12 corps participating in the Finals. Scores and recaps can be found at www.dci.org/scores.

Carolina Crown surpassed the Blue Devils in the DCI Semi Finals. The corps from Fort Mill scored 82.250 points last night, 0.65 points higher than the Devils.

During the Prelims the Blue Devils drew the longest straw, but the difference was only 0.15 points. Last night, Crown turned this into a lead of more than half a point. Nothing else changed in the ranking of the upper half of the top twelve yesterday. The Cavaliers beat the Madison Scouts, while the two corps had a tie in the Prelims.

The Boston Crusaders managed to finish in a higher place at the expense of the Blue Knights who fell to tenth place. Spirit of Atlanta and the Blue Stars retained their position in the top twelve in the Semi Finals (eleventh and twelfth respectively). The Troopers beat the Crossmen, but that was not enough to secure a place in the Finals, as the corps finished in thirteenth place.

Scores and recaps can be found on www.dci.org/scores.

The Irish junior corps Ravens has done well in the contest of the Irish Marching Bands Association on Sunday in Ballygar. The corps increased its score by more than ten points and now leads the Junior Class in the European ranking.

The score of 70.55 points is the highest score in the European Junior Class so far this season. In Ballygar, the second place in the Junior Class went to the Tallaght Youth Band Cadets (56.20, +10.8) and Athlone Town Youth Marching Band came third (42.65, +4.25). The European Junior Class had a total of thirteen participants this year.

The Tallaght Youth Band (Marching Vikings) also did much better in Ballygar and maintain the lead in the Irish league with 58.15 points, an improvement of more than six points compared to a month ago in Arklow. The Inbhear Mor Marchers came second (44.70, +1.75) and Tallaght Festibal Band came third (38.80).

Scores and recaps are available on the score page.