Hello everyone, I have decided to host a new, informal event the day before championships!

Welcome to the first annual(?) FMA Drumline Battle! Join us as drumlines from around the world show off their skills in a 1 on 1 fight!

Rules:
1) Judging: There will be three judges: one for music, one for visual, and one for General Effect. After a battle, each judge will choose a winner. If two or all three judges pick your drumline, you win and move on to the next round!

2) Eligibility: All ensembles with a drumline are invited to compete (i.e. drumlines, marching bands, and drum corps). This means a single director can send up to 3 teams to compete.

3) Preparation: each ensemble gets 100 points to allocate between the three captions. If you would like to participate, please message me with your participating ensemble and your point allocation. You may also optionally also choose a drumline video to represent your music.

4)The Match: for each match, your caption score will be a randomly generated number between 0 and your allocated points. Whichever group has a higher number will win that caption. Whichever group wins more captions wins the match.

5)Tournament Structure: There will be two brackets-the championship and the consolation. Everyone starts in the championship bracket. All groups start in the championship bracket. Upon losing in the championship bracket, a group will move to the consolation, and is eliminated after losing in the consolation. The finalist of the championship bracket and the finalist of the consolation bracket will compete in a final match to determine the grand champion. Note that the structure may change depending on the number of competing ensembles.

We hope to see lots of participating groups! If you have any questions please post them below or message me. This event takes place on October 17th, applications will close on October 13th at midnight MST.

Sounds like fun! I'll send at least one of my drum lines if not all 3

Sounds great! I hope many more ensembles come and participate!

Don't forget to apply! This is an excellent opportunity to add more to the game, at no expense to you or your ensembles.

If you are purely fundraising this season, you may participate as well!

We have received 6 of our first applications!

Canada Corps, Maple Leaf Percussion, and the Calgary Stetson Showband have been entered on behalf of StampedeStetson, and the 10th Regiment, Sand Lake HS, and X Percussion have been entered by Jordan Costag.

It's not too late to apply!

3 new participants, Xperience, Xperience Performing Arts, and Plymouth HS have been submitted by JRussel!

Reminder that applications are due in 1 week, on October 13th! Get yours in today, this is not an event you want to miss!

Reminder that today is the last day to register your ensembles! It's very easy, so sign up today!

Exciting news as gcurrier registers their drumline Knights and their drum corps Nemesis to compete! There's still time to register today!

We have 4 drumlines, 4 drum corps, and 3 marching bands that have entered into this competition! The competition will start within each category to find the champion of each. Each group will have two matches. The top two drumlines and drum corps, along with the top 2 marching bands will move on to the championship bracket, and the remaining three will go to the 9th-11th consolation group. For the championship bracket, there will be quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals. Losers at the quarterfinals will go to the 5-8th consolation bracket, and losers at the semifinals will go to the bronze medal match. The schedule will be as follows:

12:40pm: Welcome, exhibition performance by Canada Corps

(Drumline Division)
12:50pm: Maple Leaf Percussion vs Knights
1:00pm: Xperience Performing Arts vs X Percussion
1:10pm: Loser of 12:50 vs Loser of 1:00
1:20pm: Winner of 12:50 vs Winner of 1:00
1:30pm: Intermission, exhibition performance by Calgary Stetson Showband
(Drum Corps Division)
1:40pm: Canada Corps vs 10th Regiment
1:50pm: Xperience vs Nemesis
2:00pm: Loser of 1:40 vs Loser of 1:50
2:10pm: Winner of 1:40 vs Winner of 1:50

2:20pm: Intermission, exhibition performance by Maple Leaf Percussion

(Marching Band Division)
2:30pm: Calgary Stetson Showband vs Plymouth HS
2:40pm: Sand Lake High School vs Calgary Stetson Showband
2:50pm: Plymouth HS vs Sand Lake High School

3:00pm: Intermission, exhibition performance by Canada Corps

(Quarterfinals)
3:10pm: Loser of 2:10 vs 1st Marching Band
3:20pm: Winner of 1:20 vs Winner of 2:00
3:30pm: Loser of 1:20 vs 2nd Marching Band
3:40pm: Winner of 2:10 vs Winner of 1:10

3:50pm: Intermission, exhibition performance by Alberta X Winterguard

(9th-11th)
4:00pm: Loser of 2:00 vs vs Loser of 1:10
4:10pm: 3rd Marching Band vs Loser of 2:00
4:20pm: Loser of 1:10 vs 3rd Marching Band
(5-8th)
4:30pm: Loser of 3:10 vs Loser of 3:20
4:40pm: Loser of 3:30 vs Loser of 3:40
(1-4th)
4:50pm: Winner of 3:10 vs Winner of 3:20
5:00pm: Winner of 3:30 vs Winner of 3:40

5:10pm: Intermission, exhibition performance by Calgary Stetson Showband

(7-8th Match)
5:20pm: Loser of 4:30 vs Loser of 4:40
(5-6th)
5:30pm: Winner of 4:30 vs Winner of 4:40
(3-4th)
5:40pm: Loser of 4:50 vs Loser of 5:00
(Champion Match)
5:50pm: Winner of 4:50 vs Winner of 5:00

6:00pm: Awards

I hope you're all as excited as I am! See you all on Wednesday for a day full of competitive drumming!

The season 81 drum battle was wildly successful, with almost 6000 people in attendance! The show kicked off with a lively standstill from the full Canada Corps drum corps, which got the audience pumped up for the competition to come.

Up first was the drumline division, made up of four groups from the drumline competition. The top 3 will move on to the championship bracket. The first match was Maple Leaf Percussion and Knights. Maple Leaf wowed the crowd with their fabulous technical and visual skills. Unfortunately for the Knights, while their music was top notch, it was obvious that they hadn’t spent much time preparing. Maple Leaf won with 3 judges to none. Up next was Xperience Performing Arts and X Percussion. Xperience was clearly a crowd favorite with their antics, but X Percussion was cleaner musically and visually, netting the win for X with 2 judges to 1. The next match is Knights and Xperience. The winner of this match will move on to the championship, the loser will be relegated to the 9-11th consolation group. Xperience seems to have gotten their act together and brought the audience to their feet! Sadly, today just doesn’t seem to be their day. Xperience wins 3-0. The final drumline match between Maple Leaf and X Percussion is to determine the drumline division champion. X Percussion had the cleanest run of the day so far, but Maple Leaf rocked everything. Maple Leaf wins 2-1, becoming the Drumline Division champion! Both groups will move on to the grand championship.

Before we move on to the Drum Corps division begins, the Calgary Stetson Showband performs a standstill, livening the audience up again. This division has 4 teams and has the same format as the drumlines. First up to compete is Canada Corps vs 10th Regiment. 10th Regiment was the crowd favorite, with some excellent GE components, but Canada Corps was clearly cleaner musically and visually. Canada Corps is the winner 2-1! Next up is Xperience and Nemesis. Xperience was musically superior, but Nemesis wowed the crowd over with their visual cleanliness. Nemesis is the champion, 2-1. Next up are the two losers, Xperience and 10th Regiment, competing for the last grand championship position. Xperience again displayed their musical virtuosity, but were bested once again by 10th Regiment’s visual and general effect. 10th Regiment wins 2-1. In the final match, Canada Corps takes on Nemesis. While Nemesis brought the audience to their feet, Canada Corps was much cleaner musically and visually, clinching the victory 2-1. The three drum corps moving on to the grand championship are Nemesis, Canada Corps, and 10th Regiment, with Canada Corps being named the Drum Corps Division Champion!
Before the Marching Band Division begins, Maple Leaf Percussion performs their Season 81 Production, [Redacted] for the audience in exhibition. The Marching Band Division only has three competitors, so each team will face each other once in a round robin, with the top 2 groups moving on to the Grand Championship. First up is the Calgary Stetson Showband and Plymouth HS. While Plymouth was much cleaner than Stetsons, Stetsons won the crowd over with their superb visuals, clinching the victory 2-1. Next up is Sand Lake High School and the Calgary Stetson Showband. Stetsons cleaned up their music from the previous battle, but they just couldn’t compete against Sand Lake’s cleanliness and antics. Sand Lake wins 2-1. Finally, Plymouth HS and Sand Lake High School face off. Plymouth unfortunately just couldn’t compete against anything Sand Lake had to offer, and Sand Lake wins 3-0. Sand Lake is undefeated, making them the Marching Band Division Champion! They will move on to the Grand Championship with Stetsons, while Plymouth is relegated to the 9-11th consolation.

Before the quarterfinals of the Grand Championship begin, Canada Corps excited the crowd once more with an energetic standstill. The 8 teams in the quarterfinals will face another team. The winners will move on to the semifinals, the loser will go to the 5-8th consolation. Up first is Nemesis and Sand Lake High School. While Nemesis has some extremely clean licks, Sand Lake had better visuals and wowed the crowd more. Sand Lake wins 2-1! Next up is Maple Leaf Percussion and 10th Regiment. 10th Regiment has some sweet visuals, but Maple Leaf wowed the crowd over with their clean paradiddle cheeselets (no, I’m not a percussionist). Maple Leaf wins 2-1! Next up is X Percussion and the Calgary Stetson Showband! Stetsons really hyped up the audience, but their music and visual skills just couldn’t compete with X Percussion, who wins 2 judges to 1. Finally, Canada Corps and Xperience Performance Arts are up. It appears to have been a long day for Canada Corps, who just could not match anything Xperience threw at them. Xperience Performing Arts sweeps Canada Corps 3-0. Sand Lake High School, Maple Leaf Percussion, X Percussion, and Xperience Performing Arts will move on to the semifinals, while the others are relegated to the 5-8th place bracket.

We take another quick break as Alberta X Winterguard comes on the field to perform their Season 81 production, Bucimis. Now up is the 9-11th place consolation. This will be a 3 team Round Robin just like the Marching Band Division. First up is Xperience and Knights. Xperience is very musically clean, but the crowd loved Knights visual more. Knights come out on top, 2-1! Next is Plymouth HS and Xperience. Plymouth still managed to beat Xperience in visual, but Xperience still was the audience’s favorite and had cleaner music. Xperience wins 2-1! Finally, we have Knights and Plymouth HS. The Knights bested Plymouth in just about every way, securing a 3-0 win. This gives are placements as following: 11th: Plymouth HS, 10th: Xperience, 9th: Nemesis.

We continue to the 5-8th consolation without a break. The winners with go to the 5-6th match, while the losers will go to the 7-8th match. Up first is Nemesis and 10th Regiment, a rematch from the Drum Corps Division. 10th Regiment was able to defend their victory, winning 2-1. Next is the Calgary Stetson Showband and Canada Corps, two of our hosts this afternoon. While Stetsons pleased the crowd more, Canada Corps was cleaner musically and visually, clinching the victory 2-1.

Next, we move right into the semifinals, deciding who competes for bronze, and who goes for gold. First up is Sand Lake High School vs Maple Leaf Percussion. Maple Leaf wins the audience over but cannot match Sand Lake in terms of music and visual, clinching Sand Lake the victory 2-1. Next up is X Percussion and Xperience Performing Arts. X Percussion was cleaner musically, but the audience favoured the visual proficiency of Xperience, winning 2-1.

Before the final battles, the Calgary Stetson Showband winds come out once more to liven up the audience for the last strikes. Up first is Nemesis and the Calgary Stetson Showband. The two groups were very close musically, but Nemesis bested Stetsons in visual and audience appeal, giving them the win 2-1. Next up is 10th Regiment and Canada Corps, a rematch from the Drum Corps Division. Canada Corps is able to defend their title, winning 3-0! Next up is the bronze medal match, featuring Maple Leaf Percussion and X Percussion. This time Maple Leaf is unable to defend their title losing 3-0 and giving X Percussion the Bronze Medal.

It’s down to the final match for all the marbles. Who will take gold? Up to battle, it’s Sand Lake High School and Xperience Performing Arts! The battle finishes, and it didn’t go well for Sand Lake. What a shame, it appears the fatigue from the long day has gotten to them. Xperience Performing Arts wins 3-0 to take home the gold medal!

Our final standings:

Drumline Champion: Maple Leaf Percussion
Drum Corps Champion: Canada Corps
Marching Band Champion: Sand Lake High School
11th: Plymouth HS
10th: Xperience
9th: Knights
8th: Calgary Stetson Showband
7th: Nemesis
6th: 10th Regiment
5th: Canada Corps
4th: Maple Leaf Percussion
Bronze: X Percussion
Silver: Sand Lake High School
Gold: Xperience Performing Arts
Congragulations to our champions! And thanks to Jordan Costag, JRussel, StampedeStetson, and gcurrier for entering their ensembles!

How did you enjoy this? I enjoyed running this, but it was a super time drain so I won't be able to run it every season, but I would like to do it again sometime

Impressive write-up and event! It was definitely an interesting event and will definitely be looking forward to the next one in the future :)

I definitely agree with JRussell! Great job with this. Your effort is definitely noticeable and very appreciated. So much fun to read!