High Scores
World Class: Blue Devils (82.60) July 5, Clifton, NJ
Open Class: Blue Devils B (61.90) July 5, Sacramento, CA
High Caption Scores
World Class:
Brass: The Cadets (16.5) July 5, Clifton, NJ
Percussion: The Cadets (16.9) July 3, Bristol, RI and July 5, Clifton, NJ
Color Guard: Carolina Crown (16.7) July 5, Clifton, NJ
Open Class:
Brass: 7th Regiment (12.7) July 5, Clifton, NJ
Percussion: 7th Regiment (11.9) July 5, Clifton, NJ
Color Guard: Spartans (11.6) July 5, Clifton, NJ
Storylines to Watch
The Bluecoats have been eyeing 80 points in several recent events.
Chasing the Devils: The Blue Devils are now the only World Class corps with a shot at an undefeated season, but completing the feat for the second year in a row won’t be easy. On Sunday night in Clifton, New Jersey, the Cadets came within .05 points of topping the Concord, California corps. The last time the Cadets finished ahead of the Blue Devils was two seasons ago on July 14, 2013, in DeKalb, Illinois, when the Cadets were the victors by just over a half a point.
At the Vanguard of history: On July 1 in Olathe, Kansas, Santa Clara Vanguard became the first corps to break 80 points by posting a score of 81.50. Vanguard has never been the first corps to break 80 points in any DCI season before this year--not even in its six championship seasons.
Grasping at 80: Meanwhile, the Bluecoats have come as close as possible to 80 points without actually reaching the mark, scoring 79.90 in Rockford, Illinois on Friday night. Bluecoats aren’t the only ones who have had trouble reaching 80 this year. The Blue Devils (3 days), Cadets (3 days), and Carolina Crown (5 days) have all taken longer to reach the mark as compared to last year. And at this point last year, both the Cavaliers and Phantom Regiment had also broken 80 points.
Midwest mix-ups: There were an abundance of tight races at shows in Iowa and Wisconsin this week. The Colts finally pulled ahead of Spirit of Atlanta on Thursday, but three of their five meetings have been decided by less than half a point. In Open Class competition, Legends has managed to hold off Genesis and Music City, but the gap between the three corps is close at just over a point and a half.
And that’s to say nothing of the extremely tight competition of the six groups scoring between Phantom Regiment and the Troopers, where every corps seems to change position every single night.
Rivalries in the making? While Genesis finished 1.8 points ahead of Legends on June 27 in Michigan City, Indiana, the Michigan corps came out on top in the next two events in Olathe, Kansas (July 1) and Whitewater, Wisconsin (July 5). This is the first time since Genesis’ inaugural season on the DCI Tour in 2010 that Legends has finished ahead of the Texas corps. The two corps won’t see each other again until July 14 in Bentonville, Arkansas.
In New England, both the Spartans and 7th Regiment have kicked off their 2015 tours. The Connecticut corps pulled ahead Sunday night in New Jersey after the Spartans had topped them in their first two meetings. 7th Regiment has notched a few victories over the Spartans in recent years, but has never finished ahead at the Open Class World Championship.
Back to the grind: Open Class corps on the West Coast were back in action after a couple week break, and competition still looks tight between Blue Devils B and the Vanguard Cadets. On July 5 in Sacramento, BDB once again came out on top, though the Vanguard Cadets cut a 1.2-point deficit on June 22 down to eight tenths of a point on Sunday. The two rivals will see each other only three more times before the Open Class World Championship Prelims kick off in Michigan City, Indiana, at the beginning of August.
Simulated Top 12: Based on averaging total scores over the past week, the top 12 corps at World Championship Finals will potentially be (pluses and minuses indicate change from last week): 1. Blue Devils 2. The Cadets 3. Carolina Crown (+2) 4. Santa Clara Vanguard (-1) 5. Bluecoats (-1) 6. The Cavaliers 7. Blue Knights (+1) 8. Phantom Regiment (-1) 9. Boston Crusaders (+4) 10. Madison Scouts 11. Crossmen 12. Blue Stars (-3)
The Troopers, Colts, and Academy had the next three highest average scores of the week.
Stepping up to the plate: Two corps are making their 2015 debut this week: Blue Saints (July 7, Wausau, WI) and Louisiana Stars (July 8, Ft. Wayne, IN). For those keeping score at home, this leaves Guardians, Heat Wave, Les Stentors and Southwind as the only corps yet to compete this year.
Upcoming Events
The Blue Stars will perform in front of a hometown crowd on July 9 in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Monday, July 6
Tri Cities, WA
Tuesday, July 7
Dubuque, IA
Wausau, WI
Boise, ID
Wednesday, July 8
Ft. Wayne, IN
Metamora, IL
Ogden, UT
Thursday, July 9
La Crosse, WI
Laramie, WY
Friday, July 10
Casper, WY
Bakersfield, CA
Saturday, July 11
Minneapolis, MN
Denver, CO
San Marcos, CA
Sunday, July 12
Muscatine, IA
Bellflower, CA
DeKalb, IL
View the complete 2015 DCI Tour schedule.