Bucs, Hurricanes, Rogues Hollow take home titles at memorable 2023 DCA Finals
The 2023 Drum Corps Associates season came to a resounding conclusion Sunday at the Rochester Community Sports Complex, with the awarding of three World Championship titles to Reading Buccaneers in World Class, Hurricanes in Open Class, and Fusion Core in Open Class.
“This event is the target the whole season,” Buccaneers drum major Andrea Gwyn said. “We love it. We were really happy with our performance tonight, we’re really happy.”
WORLD CLASS
1. Reading Buccaneers » 99.000
2. Hawthorne Caballeros » 97.000
3. Bushwackers » 92.200
4. Atlanta CV » 91.275
For Reading Buccaneers, Sunday’s win marked the corps’ 15th World Championship in its past 17 competitive seasons — the corps did not compete in 2021’s virtual season — and its fifth in a row. The corps’ final score, 99.000, marks its highest since 2012, when it earned a 99.030.
“It’s great, it really is,” Gwyn added. “Hearing the number kind of validates how we felt coming off the field, and that’s what’s really important for us.”
The Reading corps took top scores in all captions except percussion, which went to second-place Hawthorne Caballeros. The New Jersey corps’ second-place finish marked its third top-two overall ranking in the past three years.
Bushwackers took third for the consecutive season, and outscored Caballeros
After finishing second in Open Class a year ago, Atlanta CV moved up to World Class in 2023 and improved its final score by 3.525 points.
OPEN CLASS
1. Hurricanes » 89.400
2. White Sabers » 89.150
3. Fusion Core » 86.550
4. Cincinnati Tradition » 84.625
After a close finish with White Sabers in Saturday’s Prelims, Hurricanes kept its close lead intact to earn its second-consecutive Open Class title, edging out White Sabers by a slim margin of 0.25.
White Sabers, though, kept things dangerously close, and earned top scores in the visual caption. The two corps tied in music, while Hurricanes earned a noticeable advantage in effect.
“We had good energy tonight,” White Sabers drum major Holden Taylor said. “We did it, we’re here. The scores have been close, but all the people here just want to do the best they can, so everybody put their best foot forward.”
Fusion Core completed an impressive season Sunday, taking Open Class third place after winning ‘A’ Class a year ago, and ranking as high as second in percussion. Cincinnati Tradition closed out the Open Class standings in fourth, outdoing its 2022 score by just over a point.
‘A’ CLASS
1. Rogues Hollow Regiment » 83.200
2. Skyliners » 80.200
3. Govenaires » 77.325
4. Columbus Saints » 72.200
Rogues Hollow Regiment left no doubt in both rounds of Rochester competition, winning the ‘A’ Class by a resounding three points. The Ohio corps finished atop the ‘A’ Class leaderboard in all captions.
For Rogues Hollow Regiment, 2023’s ‘A’ Class title marks the corps’ second in three years. Rogues Hollow moved up to Open Class a year ago, where it took fourth, but reached the ‘A’ Class mountaintop in 2021.
“The energy we had in this last run was absolutely incredible, it was exactly what we needed to bring,” Rogues Hollow Regiment drum major Kevin Lin said. “This is a lot of our folks’ first time in Rochester, but going into this, there’s just been a lot of excitement building up to the end of the season.”
Skyliners kept its slim lead over Govenaires intact to take second place, outscoring the Minnesota corps by just under three points thanks largely to leads in music and effect. Govenaires outscored Skyliners in music.
Columbus Saints closed out its 2023 season with an all-time corps high score of 72.200, breaking its previous all-time high, last year’s final tally, by nearly a full point.