GEM's Crystal Ball: WAY TOO EARLY 2024 DCI Finals Predictions
It's never too early to start thinking about 2024!
GEM writers and contributors were asked to give their final rankings of the top 15 competing corps, regardless of class, based on where they predicted the corps would end up Saturday night, August 10, 2024. Voters also picked which corps they thought would win each of the five caption performance awards.
Below each corps, there is a graph showing the vote distribution for each placement. The corps with the most votes for each placement is not necessarily the corps that ended up in that spot, as we totaled it using our traditional polling method.
1. Blue Devils - 266 points (27.8% first-place votes)
2. Carolina Crown - 252 points (33.3% first-place votes)
3. Bluecoats - 246 points (11.1% first-place votes)
4. Boston Crusaders - 237 points (11.1% first-place votes)
Armchair Program Coordinator: DCI 2023 (12-9)
Now that the 2023 drum corps season is wrapped up, we can take a look back at the shows. If you’ve read any of my articles, you probably know that I (despite not having any real design experience) love to have opinions on show design. So today, I will start running down the finalist corps’ shows and discuss what I liked and where I think they can take t…
5. The Cadets - 202 points (11.1% first-place votes)
6. Mandarins - 196 points
7. Phantom Regiment - 180 points (5.6% first-place votes)
8. The Cavaliers - 160 points
Back of the Bus: Going Home
Another DCI season has drawn to a close, and we have another corps finally joining that elite few that have won three competitive seasons in a row (Is it a threepeat? I think so. Is there much more debate than there needs to be on this? Yes.) Let’s explore the past week, shout out some under-the-radar performances, talk a little about why some groups pl…
9. Colts - 123 points
10. Blue Stars - 108 points
11. Troopers - 104 points
12. Blue Knights - 56 points
The UNPRECEDENTED Competitiveness of the 2023 DCI Season
The weeks after a recent drum corps season ends, one of the thoughts that runs through my head about the summer is wondering how that particular season will be remembered years later. After some seasons, it’s pretty obvious. For example, the 2018 season will be forever remembered for Santa Clara Vanguard winning their seventh DCI World Championship and …
13. Spirit of Atlanta - 50 points
14. Crossmen - 38 points
15. Pacific Crest - 34 points
Donald Angelica Best General Effect Award
Carolina Crown - 33.3% first-place votes
John Brazale Best Visual Performance Award
Blue Devils - 77.8% first-place votes
George Zingali Best Color Guard Performance Award
Carolina Crown - 50% first-place votes
Jim Ott Best Brass Performance Award
Carolina Crown - 55.5% first-place votes each
Fred Sanford Best Percussion Performance Award
TIE - Bluecoats & The Cavaliers - 27.7% first-place votes
