Spirit of Atlanta capped off the corps' milestone 50th anniversary campaign with a return to the DCI World Championship Finals and a position among the coveted Top 12 for the first time in more than a decade. Follow the timeline of the Georgia corps' road back to the DCI Tour's finale event.
2013 | "Speakeasy"
11th Place, 86.400
2013 resulted in Spirit of Atlanta’s third-straight finalist appearance with a second-straight 11th-place finish and the corps’ highest final score earned since 1987. Finishing 10th in the Brass caption during Semifinals helped keep Spirit ahead of the Blue Stars (12th) and Troopers (13th).
“There was lots of pressure leading up to the last show, but then I got on the field and remembered that I’ve already done this a million times before,” Spirit drum major William White said. “No one in the stands wants us to fail, they want to be entertained, see a good show and have fun.”
2014 | "Magnolia"
17th Place, 81.550 (3.900 points behind the 12th-place Crossmen)
While Spirit of Atlanta dropped two placements from Prelims to Semifinals, the Music captions were a notable strength on the scoresheets for the corps during the 2014 World Championships. Spirit outperformed their final placement during Prelims (15th overall, 13th in Brass and Percussion) and Semifinals (17th overall, 14th in Brass, Music Analysis and Percussion).
2015 | "Out of the Ashes"
18th Place, 78.125 (5.750 points behind the 12th-place Crossmen)
Finishing less than half a point from the Oregon Crusaders, Spirit showed strength this season in the Brass caption, placing 16th, two spots above the corps’ overall Semifinalist placement.
2016 | "Georgia"
21st Place, 76.675 (8.850 points behind the 12th-place Boston Crusaders)
Spirit of Atlanta’s 21st-place finish marked its lowest ranking since 1996, the second year back following an inactive season in 1994. A key highlight of the summer came on home turf with a 17th-place finish at the DCI Southeastern Championship in Atlanta. The regional served as a historic farewell, marking the final DCI event inside the Georgia Dome before it closed to make way for Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“It is the most amazing feeling when you walk into your home stadium and everybody in those stands starts screaming their everything off, throwing babies and doing everything they can (for you),” Spirit drum major Josiah Marinos said. “It’s amazing.”
2017 | "Crossroads: We Are Here"
18th Place, 80.075 (6.400 points behind the 12th-place Madison Scouts)
After falling behind Blue Devils B during the World Championship Prelims by just over a tenth of a point, Spirit leapfrogged the California Open Class corps during the Semifinals by a razor-thin margin of 0.025 thanks to a 16th-place finish in Brass and 17th-place finish in Color Guard on the scoresheets. Marking a noticeable turn for the corps year over year, Spirit broke back into the Top 20 for the first time since 2015 and eclipsed the 80-point scoring milestone for the first time since 2014.
2018 | "Knock"
13th Place, 85.588 (1.662 points behind the 12th-place Crossmen)
Spirit of Atlanta emerged as one of the DCI Tour’s biggest movers in 2018, surging five spots from the previous year and eight from 2016. Music caption scores anchored the corps’ resurgence, with Spirit topping the 12th-place Crossmen in Brass and Percussion on Semifinals night.
“That was completely electric,” Spirit drum major Aidan Lerner said after the corps’ final performance of the season. “Everybody is just pumped beyond belief for what’s going on here.”
2019 | "Neon Underground"
13th Place, 85.587 (2.188 points behind the 12th-place Phantom Regiment)
Spirit comfortably held onto 13th place in 2019 from major regional events in San Antonio and Atlanta through the World Championships. While more than two points away from Phantom Regiment during the Semifinals, the corps was as high as 12th in Visual Proficiency and Color Guard on the scoresheets.
“I couldn’t imagine anything better than just being here with everyone on this field,” Spirit of Atlanta drum major Bailey Burks said. “I am very, very pleased with what we accomplished. We came out just wanting to have fun, not even caring what the results would be. It’s been a really great summer no matter what.”
2021 | "Bottle Tree"
When the 2020 season was canceled, Spirit of Atlanta didn’t let its planned production, “Bottle Tree,” sit on the shelf. The corps used the extended pandemic downtime to redevelop and polish the production, preparing it for DCI’s non-competitive “Celebration Tour.” Rooted in Southern folklore, the show offered audiences a rich visual and musical narrative. It served as both an entertaining crowd-pleaser and an emotional celebration of live drum corps returning after an unprecedented disruption.
2022
Inactive season
2023 | "Up Down and All Around"
15th Place, 83.625 (3.463 points behind the 12th-place Blue Knights)
Returning to competition for the first time since 2019, Spirit of Atlanta climbed from a 17th-place finish at the major regional event in San Antonio featuring all of DCI’s World Class corps to confidently holding 15th in Prelims and Semifinals at the World Championships in Indianapolis.
“We’ve had a full year of rebuilding and reloading,” drum major Blake Durden said during World Championships Week. “To be back here (after years away) from competitive action is really awesome and to have all the fans in the crowd here behind us means the absolute world to us.”
2024 | "Creatures"
16th Place, 83.875 (4.200 points behind the 12th-place Madison Scouts)
As the 2024 World Championships got underway in Indianapolis, Spirit of Atlanta stayed ahead of the 17th-place Academy by just under a point and ranked ahead of the 15th-place Crossmen in the Brass caption.
“The corps is just taking in the moment. I always enjoy turning around at the end and knowing that we entertained the crowd,” Spirit of Atlanta drum major Morgan Nash said.
The Music caption continued to be a strong suit for the corps in the following day’s Semifinals competition, as Spirit impressively took 12th place in Percussion.
2025 | "Rocket"
13th Place, 86.800 (1.475 points behind 12th-place Blue Knights)
Setting a 14th-place benchmark earlier in the season in San Antonio, Spirit of Atlanta spent the back half of the 2025 DCI Tour with a legitimate shot at the corps’ first finalist berth since 2013. Landing just over a point outside of the Top 12 during the World Championship Prelims, the corps held a lead in overall Music over the 11th-place Colts and 12th-place Blue Knights.
“The goal is to try and close the gap that is between us and 12th place,” Spirit of Atlanta drum major Peyton Brillhart said. “Making Finals would be the next step into Spirit entering that next neighborhood where I truly think that they deserve to be, where they can show everyone who’s in the stadium here on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday what they have to offer and what they have yet to bring, and what they can achieve with the standard we uphold.”
2025’s 13th-place finish set the stage for the year to come, as the corps completed its most successful competitive season since 2019 and earned its highest final score in nearly 40 years.
2026 | "Golden Summer"
10th Place, 88.588
Spirit of Atlanta carried its 2025 momentum straight into a milestone 50th anniversary season, turning a fiercely competitive summer into a historic breakthrough. The spark caught fire in mid-July at the Alamodome in San Antonio, where barely half a point separated the 12th-place Madison Scouts from Spirit in 14th, with Pacific Crest sandwiched in between by just a tenth.
As the stretch run began, Spirit, Pacific Crest, Madison, and the Blue Knights found themselves locked in a battle for the final Top 12 finalist spots. The decisive surge came on July 31 at the DCI Eastern Classic in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where Spirit edged ahead of the Blue Knights by 0.162 points.
“It was the fire that we had when it’s been so long since we made Finals, and having a show where we can take it to the next level,” drum major Chris Dowis said. “I think that really motivated us to push. I can’t thank the performers enough — every single one of them pushed so hard.”
Vaulting 1.963 points over their 2025 Semifinals mark, the corps surged into the Saturday night Finals to lock down 10th place — Spirit’s highest placement since 1987 and highest score since 1988.
“I genuinely have no words; the energy was insane the whole time,” Dowis said after the corps’ Finals night performance. “The closer was electric, everything was just amazing. I can’t imagine a better corps to be with or a better end to the season.”
