MARCHING.COM: DCI announces new format for 2011 World Championships

All corps regardless of class invited to Thursday "Prelims"

INDIANAPOLIS (September 28, 2010) — Drum Corps International's voting membership (representatives of the 23 World Class corps) gathered this week in Indianapolis for a scheduled business meeting that covered a variety of business topics including the creation of the 2011 summer tour schedule, upcoming rules proposal discussions, and preliminary planning for the annual meeting of the membership in January.

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Highlights of the meeting include changes to the format of events during World Championship week, and the addition of a handful of "experimental" drum corps events featuring the top eight finishing corps from 2010.

New Championship Week Format

Developed by popular request of drum corps fans, a new format for the 2011 Drum Corps International World Championships in Michigan City, Ind. and Indianapolis has been approved by the voting members.

The Open Class World Championship will be held on Tuesday in Michigan City. Open Class corps will compete for the title of World Champion in a new one-day event format. Participating corps will be seeded at tour events leading into the Championship event.

In a twist to the usual World Championship Quarterfinals competition, the new "World Championship Prelims" on Thursday will feature a veritable "all-skate" of DCI corps. In addition to the performances of all 23 World Class groups, all Open and International Class corps will be invited to compete at this event. More than 40 corps are expected to go head-to-head in the all-day preliminary competition at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The top 25 corps from Prelims (no matter World, Open or International Class distinction) will compete at the Semifinals on Friday. The top 12 of this grouping earn spots in the Saturday evening Finals competition.

New Experimental Events

Being planned separately from the traditional format of the 2011 tour will be a handful of experimental drum corps events, also produced by Drum Corps International. The top eight finishing corps from 2010 have been invited to participate in this series, which will feature additional competitive and non-competitive performance material developed beyond the corps' standard 11.5-minute production.

"This series will give us the opportunity to explore several new elements in the production of our events using a number of our very best ensembles," said Mark Arnold, Chairman of the Board of Drum Corps International and Executive Director of the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps. "By creating these unique opportunities for our corps and our fans, we hope to develop exciting new features for future DCI events, helping us to expand our audience while providing a thrilling and engaging experience for everyone."

A unique competitive environment is also being developed for the experimental series which may include judging techniques not currently utilized under current DCI rules. Further details are in the preliminary stages of development, with additional information expected following the annual meeting in January.

Read the complete announcement on DCI.org >>

About Drum Corps International (DCI): Drum Corps International (DCI) is the world leader in producing events for the world's most elite and exclusive marching ensembles for student musicians and performers. Founded in 1972, Drum Corps International has developed into a powerful, nonprofit, global youth organization with far-reaching artistic, educational and organizational influence. Drum Corps International is Marching Music's Major League. Learn more about the exciting world of Drum Corps International and its member corps on the Web at www.dci.org.

Source material courtesy of DCI.

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DCI announces new format for 2011 World Championships