The 2018 Drum Corps International Summer Tour brought more parity, excitement, and suspense than any season from the last decade. Corps set new standards from top to bottom and made 2018 a year to remember on and off the field. 

After a monumental season of drum and bugle corps across the entire country, here are some of the biggest things to remember from 2018!

1. Welcome, Sacramento Mandarins to DCI World Championship Finals!

In the corps' first-ever visit to DCI World Championship Finals, Mandarins also earned their highest ever finish—10th place. This year's finish tops even last year's 13th place run, in which their semifinals run earned a score of 85.550. This year, Mandarins earned that same number on July 31, nearly two weeks earlier in the season. 

The highest score received by Mandarins in DCI's World Class was achieved on finals night this year with a score of 88.662.

2. Congratulations, Santa Clara Vanguard!

Winning their first DCI World Championship in nearly 20 years, Santa Clara Vanguard is the victor of the 2018 competitive season. Not only is it the corps' first win in two decades, but it is their first outright championship since 1989. The corps tied with their neighbors from Concord in 1999.

2018 also meant Vanguard's first win at some big regionals like the DCI Southwestern Championship, in particular. Across DCI's Open and World Class, Vanguard Cadets and "the A corps" took home more awards than ever, including:

• Best Brass, Open & World Class
• Best General Effect, Open & World Class
• Best Percussion, Open & World Class
• Director of the Year, Open & World Class
• Best Visual, World Class
• Individual & Ensemble Gold Medals:
  • Trombone Solo
  • Bari/Euph Solo
  • Tuba Solo
  • Snare Solo
  • Multi-tenor Solo

3. Music City Is Full Steam Ahead

In the Tennessee corps' first season in World Class, Music City Drum and Bugle Corps left an impact on the community that any corps would be proud of. The corps was constantly on fans' minds as they went from stadium to stadium performing their charming and catchy program about Tennesseean and train engineer Casey Jones.

The corps took over every FloMarching Fan Favorite poll that they appeared on and had over 8,000 votes at least three times. All joking aside, the show was a foot-tapping, edge-of-the-seat inducing 15 minutes of entertainment from start to finish. 

To put a cherry on top of it all, they earned their highest placement ever in DCI World Championships at 21st overall.