It's hard to believe that in the blink of an eye, we're already two weeks into the 2024 DCI season. With almost twenty shows already in the books, let's take a look at five of the key takeaways from the start of the season:

Get Caught Up On All Things DCI 2024

DCI 2024 Rankings 📈   |   What's Streaming on FloMarching This Week 📺   |   This Week's FloMarching Radio Schedule 📻   |   DCI 2024 Recent Results 🥇   |   Extended Show Clip: Bluecoats Ballad and Percussion Feature 🎺🥁

1. Mandarins comin' in hot

One corps that has had an astronomical rise over the last five years has been the Mandarins. From finishing around the 20th place mark in the early 2010s to locking down a sixth place finish in the 2023 season, the Mandarins have kept the momentum going into 2024. The Northern California corps has yet to finish lower than third place in the half-dozed competitions they've participated in so far, with their most recent showing at the DCI Capital Classic on July 7th earning them second place with a score of 78.400. While BD claimed gold, Mandarins most notably finished ahead of Santa Clara Vanguard for the first time ever by almost a full point and finished ahead in every caption aside from Music (though, worth noting that Mandarins earned higher total scores in both Brass and Music Analysis. In the Percussion caption, SCV finished ahead of Mandarins by over a point).

What's next for the Mandarins this season? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure: you're going to want to keep an eye on the Mandarins. 

2. Caption Races are going to be CLOSE

If the first few shows of the season are any indication of how close the Caption Race is going to be this season, then we're in for a wild ride. Of course, it's still early on in the season and it's likely that a lot of corps are still adding to their shows, let's take a look at Summer Music Games in Cincinnati as an example:

Overall placements and scores:

1. Bluecoats - 78.750
2. Boston Crusaders - 78.450
3. Carolina Crown - 77.950
4. Phantom Regiment - 75.600

At face value, those scores don't seem like anything out of the ordinary. Now when we dive into the captions, that's when things get fun:

General Effect

1. Bluecoats - 32.200
2. Boston Crusaders - 31.800
3. Carolina Crown - 31.300
4. Phantom Regiment - 30.600

Visual

1. Boston Crusaders - 23.400
2. Bluecoats - 23.300
3. Carolina Crown - 23.100
4. Phantom Regiment - 22.550

* The Color Guard caption was also won by Boston, with the rankings following the same order as the overall Visual caption

Music

1. Carolina Crown - 23.550
2. TIE, Bluecoats - 23.250
3. TIE, Boston Crusaders - 23.250
4. Phantom Regiment - 22.450

* The Brass caption was won by Crown, followed by Boston, Bluecoats, and then Phantom Regiment

* The Percussion caption was won by Boston, followed by Bluecoats, Crown, and then Phantom Regiment

Wild, right? The next time fans can look forward to seeing Boston, Bluecoats, and Crown take the field together will be at DCI Broken Arrow on July 16th with the added bonus of having the Blue Devils thrown into the mix. We'll be streaming DCI Broken Arrow here on FloMarching, so sign up today to see all the action!

3. Bluecoats are currently atop the leaderboard (based on most recent score)

It's no secret that the Blue Devils have been on an unprecedented unbeaten streak (the last time BD lost was at World Championship Prelims in 2019), but at the current moment, the Bluecoats are currently sitting in first place in the Rankings based on most recent score. The Canton-based corps lit up River City Rhapsody on July 7th and earned an 83.400, finishing ahead of the second-place ensemble by a massive margin of 2.750 points. 

A little fun fact to add to this Bluecoats/Blue Devils discussion: The last corps to beat the Blue Devils? The Bluecoats... at World Championship Prelims in 2019.

4. Current Rankings

We can't talk takeaways without checking out the current Rankings, so let's take a minute to dive into the numbers:

Current Rankings by Most Recent Score (as of 12pm ET, July 8)

* Please note that not every corps has made its 2024 debut, and some corps may have competed more recently than others, based on individual tour schedules and show cancellations

5. Caption Race

Now that we've gone over the Rankings by most recent score, let's take a look at the Caption Race standings after two weeks of competition:

Caption Race by Most Recent Score (as of 12pm ET, July 8)

* Please note that not every corps has made its 2024 debut, and some corps may have competed more recently than others, based on individual tour schedules and show cancellations