Since 2001, caption awards at the Drum Corps International World Championship have been determined by averaging the scores from all three nights of the World Championship competition.
As outlined in the DCI rulebook:
At the World Championships, World Class caption awards will be determined by averaging scores at Prelims, Semifinals, and Finals. Ties will stand.
BEST BRASS – based on Music Brass score
BEST PERCUSSION – based on the total Music Percussion score
BEST VISUAL – based on Visual Proficiency score
BEST COLOR GUARD – based on Visual Color Guard score
BEST OVERALL GENERAL EFFECT – based on combining 4 General Effect scores
The average for each double-paneled caption will be used in determining caption awards.
2018 World Class Caption Award Winners
Boston Crusaders kept Vanguard from a clean sweep of caption awards by taking home the George Zingali Best Color Guard Award.
Donald Angelica Best General Effect Award
Santa Clara Vanguard
Fred Sanford Best Percussion Performance Award
Santa Clara Vanguard
John Brazale Best Visual Performance Award
Santa Clara Vanguard
George Zingali Best Color Guard Award
Boston Crusaders
Jim Ott Best Brass Performance Award
Santa Clara Vanguard
2018 Open Class Caption Award Winners
Vanguard Cadets pose with the Best General Effect caption award at the 2018 Open Class Finals in Michigan City, Indiana.
Caption awards for Open Class corps are determined by scores earned during the Open Class World Championship Finals competition. The "Most Improved" corps award is determined by a vote of Open Class directors.
Best Brass Performance
Vanguard Cadets
Best General Effect
Vanguard Cadets
Best Visual Performance
Blue Devils B
Best Percussion Performance
Vanguard Cadets
Best Color Guard
Blue Devils B
Most Improved Corps
Gold