From a Color Guard-Netherlands press release: Although it is only offered in the Netherlands, the "audiovisual ensemble," which will feature mixed ensembles (think drums and flags together), could be a hot category in many individuals and ensembles competitions in the near future. "It all started in Denver at DCI World Championships," ColorGuard-Netherlands marketing manager Peter Jan de Werk said. "We were talking to some members of Beatrix, also one of our units, and some wanted to enter a combined tenors/rifles ensemble in the 2005 individual and ensemble contest. They didn't know in what class to enter it." De Werk recalls saying there was no class for that particular mix, but that there is no such thing as impossible. "If it's not there, we'll just create it," De Werk explained.
In the audiovisual class, a brass and/or percussion and/or color guard can perform a routine that is both musical and visual. Depending on the form of the group, they are judged on brass and/or percussion and visual categories, and scores are then divided by the number of judges. Color Guard-Netherlands' individual and ensemble competition will take place on Oct. 15, 2005, in Huizen, The Netherlands. Pre-registration has already started at individualsensembles.org. "We're going to make the competition even more international", De Werk said. "In 2004 we had entries from France, Germany, Belgium and the United Kingdom, this was great. We have always felt it is important to let European drum corps, band and guard people play together. There's more that binds us than separates us, except maybe for cultural differences and language barriers," De Werk said. "We can overcome all these obstacles easily, as the cultural differences make this contest more interesting."