Reinstatement of Caption Awards

We, the undersigned members of the past, present, and future Drum and Bugle Corps Community, are against the upcoming changes planned by the Executive Board of Directors of Drum Corps International described below.

The following is excerpted from a DCI press release available at www.DCI.org :

". . .Also passing unanimously was the elimination of caption awards at World Championships. Although the scoring system will by default show the highest scoring captions, it is believed that the caption awards diluted the overall team effort of what a corps brings to the competition. It was further agreed that the awards that were named in the memory of esteemed contributors to the activity would transfer to recognition through a scholarship program to be developed. . ."

These changes are not only a discredit to the achievements of marching individuals, sections, and their respective programs, but also to those for whom the awards themselves are named. The caption awards take no more away from the "Team Effort" than the Individual and Ensemble competition does. The activity is open to so many varied talents in many differing aspects of performance. The beauty of the current system is that the Champion Corps are not the only ones publicly recognized. Winning a caption takes just as much of a "Team Effort" as does winning a DCI World Championship.

We have so many ways of showcasing our talent within this medium, please do not limit it to the staff, and 135 marching members lucky enough to earn a Championship title come August.

Realize that these changes would take away from the possible achievement within the activity, not add to its spirit of unity and "Team Effort". Our hope is to, by signature, encourage the Executive Board of DCI to reconsider their decision for future competition.