One of the most intriguing aspects of DCI World Championships is that it takes an incredible ensemble to have back-to-back-to-back championship-level performances.

Over the weekend, the Santa Clara Vanguard proved they are capable of having back-to-back championship level shows.

After winning their first-ever Southwestern Regional Championship in San Antonio, Vanguard tweaked their ending, got another week’s worth of cleaning in, and then captured the Southeastern Regional Championship on Saturday.

Then the back-to-back aspect came into play. 

At NightBEAT, 8 of the top 10 drum corps from the Southeastern Championship took the field, less than 24-hours after the show in Atlanta, for another clash of the titans. 

This mirrors the cut from semifinals to finals almost exactly and SCV came out on top. 

Inside The Numbers

General Effect continues to be one of SCV’s strongest attributes in 2018. At NightBEAT, Vanguard was able to sweep the GE sheets with a 37.800. The Blue Devils, who finished 2nd overall, were the only other corps to break 37 with a 37.450 in GE. Bluecoats and Crown tied for 3rd in GE with a 36.900.

The Boston Crusaders, Cavaliers, Cadets, and Phantom Regiment rounded out GE.

In the Visual caption, Vanguard’s feet continued to impress. They finished 1st in visual proficiency and analysis. Blue Devils and Bluecoats finished 2nd and 3rd respectively. 

Then came a mix of scores between Crown, the Boston Crusaders, and The Cavaliers. Visual Proficiency went Crown (4), Crusaders (5), and Cavies (6). But Visual Analysis went Crusaders (4), Cavies (5), and Crown (6).

The Cadets and Phantom finished 7th and 8th respectively in visual proficiency and analysis.

Blue Devils guard performing at DCI Minnesota

One area that did see some mix up throughout the recaps was Color Guard. The Blue Devils guard took the top spot with an 18.60. Following BD was the guard from the Crusaders with an 18.45. 

In the music caption, Crown was able to ascend to the top in brass beating out SCV by 0.100. Bluecoats finished 3rd just in front of Blue Devils. 

The rest of the brass caption shook out as follows: Boston, Cavies, Cadets, and Regiment.

In Percussion, Vanguard continues to hold the top spot beating out BD, 18.900 to 18.700. Crown’s percussion continues to have a very strong season finishing just 0.050 behind BD, with Boston finishing 4th.

The Cavaliers, Bluecoats, Cadets, and Phantom Regiment rounded out the rest of the percussion caption.