Scores

[thisnewday]

The Dubuque Colts' 2008 "Cornfield Tour" is officially over and the scores are in from their first competition of the 2008 season. For those not familiar with drum corps, the Cornfield Tour is the Colts' version of the pre-season exhibitions, free concerts, etc., that DCI corps schedule in preparation for the regional and national competitions which take place during June, July, and August. Qualifying corps then compete in the international championships which will take place, this year, at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.

Unfortunately, the weather in the midwest has been absolutely horrendous with Iowa being especially hard hit. Flooded roads, soggy fields, and four tornado watches made travel difficult and consistent practice impossible. As a result, the Colts had only one opportunity to practice their hugely complex show in its entirety and that was the night before their first competition on a field loaned to them by a rival corps.

Last night's competition was hosted by the Phantom Regiment in Rockford, Illinois. Participating corps (with scores in parentheses) included the Cavaliers (73.4), Phantom (72.4), Carolina Crown (70.2), the Colts (64.5), Blue Stars (62.5), and Madison Scouts (61.5). Of the three corps scoring in the second tier, both the Colts and the Scouts were rained out on the night they were to debut their full shows. Instead of performing, the Scouts spent the evening filling and placing sandbags to protect their host town from rising flood waters.

While I'm sure there's some disappointment over the scores, these organizations work very hard on the character-building aspect of drum corps activities and each of the many competitions between now and the championships will be used as opportunities to practice, adjust, and improve every aspect of their show's performance.

These are terrific kids backed by solid organizations and, by the end of the season, many of them will be scoring in the eighties and nineties. But, more importantly, they'll have learned lessons that will help make them winners in life.