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WHAT IS DRUM CORPS?
For those who aren't familiar, drum
corps is like (but not the same as) a marching band. Membership in drum corps is restricted to people 21 years or younger
and these members play either bugles (brass) or percussion instruments or use any one of many pieces of colorguard equipment
and perform an 11 minute show on football fields.
That's about all drum corps and marching bands have in common. Drum
corps do not allow any woodwind or string instruments. Also, drum corps (traditionally) are not affiliated with schools, but
are typically not-for-profit organizations.
Drum corps compete throughout the summer each year with competitions running
from May to mid August. The competitions are held at cities all over the United States and nearby Canada and are judges by
a panel of seven judges. Each judge assigns a score in a different area, and the seven scores are added together to get a
composite (overall) score. Each year, the Drum corps competitions culminate at the DCI (Drum Corps International) World Championships
held at a rotating site each year. For 2001, DCI Championships were held in Buffalo, NY.
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WHAT IS FANTASY DRUM CORPS?
Perhaps you've heard of fantasy or rotisserie leagues for professional sports,
like basketball. In these leagues, "coaches" (couch potatoes like you and I) get a "salary" and then enter a "draft" to select
players. Of course, if you draft Scott Pippen for your team, you'll have to pay more out of your salary than some second-round
rookie. Then once you and other fantasy coaches have selected your teams, your fantasy scores are assembled from the real
scores of your players over the given week.
Well, Fantasy Drum Corps works in very much the same way. As a fantasy corps
director, you have a certain number of "points" to draft real DCI corps to represent your fantasy corps. Of course, choosing
some of the best DCI corps (Blue Devils, Cadets, etc.) will "cost" you more towards your salary than some of the lower ranked
corps. Once you've assembled your representatives, then you must choose your fantasy competition schedule - the fantasy shows
your corps will compete at over the fantasy season.
At that point, you sit back a relax. As the scores from real DCI
competitions roll in over the summer, DCPI staff will assemble these into your fantasy score, and then use that
number to compete against other fantasy drum corps.
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