2010 Drum Corps International Tour schedule takes shape

Another milestone in the meticulous planning of more than 100 competitive drum corps events was reached last week as directors of the top 12 World Class corps, DCI staff and other corps representatives gathered in Chicago for an annual meeting to firm up a working schedule for the 2010 Drum Corps International Tour. The two-day session began Thursday, October 15 with a focus on an initial outline of live events for 2010, kicking off next June. This preliminary list will serve as a framework for DCI member corps as they make plans to travel an average of more than 10,000 miles over the course of the summer, culminating with the 2010 Drum Corps International World Championships, Aug. 12-14 in Indianapolis. "The preliminary scheduling process is an important step in the planning cycle for corps administrators," said Mark Arnold, executive director of the Blue Knights of Denver, Colo. and chairman of the DCI Board of Directors. "Getting together in this setting provides us with the opportunity to figure out exactly when and where we'll be touring, so we can start crunching numbers on fuel and mileage, how we'll structure our travel and rehearsal schedules, and what that's all going to cost us." Scheduling the annual DCI Tour is a complex undertaking that takes into account calendar dates, event locations and audience attendance along with the travel, logistical and competitive needs of the corps. By the time the corps convene in Indianapolis next August for the DCI World Championships, the first draft outline of the following year's schedule is already in the planning stages, in anticipation of the corps meeting in the fall. Once the schedule is assembled, dates can be finalized with stadium venues and event contracts can be created, in anticipation of unveiling a finalized calendar of events around Thanksgiving weekend. The release of the schedule corresponds with what has become the unofficial start to the drum corps season as corps across the country hold their initial audition and rehearsal camps. One of the additional focuses of the scheduling meeting held at the Wyndham O'Hare just outside of Chicago in Rosemont, Ill., was to look ahead at a proposed outline for the 2011 DCI Tour. "By looking ahead this early in the process, we can increase our ability to offer year-to-year consistency with specific events," said Susan Kuehnhold, DCI's director of events and corps relations. "This will help the corps plan their individual tours earlier and let us get on top of other key issues like stadium venues, corps housing and event marketing more than a year in advance." Kuehnhold says that the advance look at 2011 is also extremely beneficial for DCI's national network of Tour Event Partners (TEPs), the organizers of nearly 80 percent of Drum Corps International sanctioned events. "The TEPs are a tremendous asset in helping us 'connect the dots' on the schedule as corps move from city to city," explained Kuehnhold. "Each year the scheduling process is the team effort of hundreds of people and it's essential for us to have such committed partners in everything that we do." As the leaves continue to fall and winter appears on the horizon, drum corps fans can now mark their calendars and look forward to the 2010 season tentatively kicking off on June 18. As next year's schedule continues to be refined and finalized, the much anticipated 2010 Drum Corps International Tour is scheduled for release to the public just prior to the Thanksgiving holiday.