There is no one in this activity who would deny the profound impact that a number of users and corps have had in this activity: Blue Deviled Eggs, Corps of Unspecified Identity, and Darkness to name but a few.

Also there is no one in this activity who would deny that the corps of the past decade (ten seasons) is Nemesis. Having placed 1st in Division I 5 separate times and setting records for scoring, Nemesis has been the strongest corps overall.

Yet, what about those dark days in the beginning of FMA 2.0? When the system was adjusted and the perennial winners of FMA 1.0 were thrown into the mix with hungry newcomers?

In those first seasons it was a free-for-all as corps like Perception and Sapphire Sound ruled the Drum Corps circuit for a season then disappeared here at FMA.

We cannot forget what contributions these corps made to our history, Perception Drum and Bugle Corps helped to charter and start the North-East Combine which eventually evolved into CLASS.

We also cannot forget to honor Corps that may not have won but have set other records so they will be listed here:

Music Winds: Nemesis 9.560
Music Percussion: Corps IBEX 9.505


(Had to go... Story will be edited and finished later)

If you ever want to know anything related to combines, I probably know it.

I know you are not finished, but I am honored! I agree completely that we can not forget early leaders of the activity for sure. I had mixed success in FMA 1.0--i did have one title there in division 1 as well---I didnt even win Division III when I started FMA 2.0 and felt hopeless when moved to Division I, but clearly I didnt give up. I hope others see that and work hard to develop their own powerhouses. I am glad you mentioned Perception because they helped me a great deal learn the ropes! Then working with Bando when he took over the ECC was incredible. Then with his help evolving it into CLASS along with mdmackowiak and Epic, truly made us what we are. I truly believe that the members of CLASS help drive this activity NOT just in competitve spirit, but also in our involvment to make this a happening place! Now with the competition from Unspecified and all ChrisRohn's experience wining Division II challenging us all in Division I, its become a real battle! The last three season in particular with Sapphire Vanguard have been INCREDIBLE as were some hard fought years with Blue Deviled Eggs! I always look for who is next! No doubt with Epic back, could be his time, Blue Deviled Eggs seem to be lurking to take it all, Darkness certainly knows how to do it, Sapphire Vanguard doesnt miss a beat and is right there with me always and like I said Unspecified certainly can. Bando still stands out to me as one of the most influential directors in the activity tho, win or not. His corps is getting stronger and stronger, so look out!

this all has me thinking--maybe we should develop a Directors Hall of Fame...I have seen it in other circuits and its very cool to be recognized by your fellow directors. I am in the Hall of Fame for both DCPI and FDCI. I think many people have earned it here!

Gary you just beat me to the punch. =P

The whole point and moral of the story:

We shouldn't forget the accomplishments of past corps and directors as well as directors who may not be in Division 1. I love the idea of the Hall of Fame!

Lets propose it Alex then! He is usually very willing to take suggestions.

I may have been a v1 powerhouse but I still have a long way to go here (not to mention I don't really have the time) so I don't really feel like I should be included in "hall of fame" conversation threads. But I will admit I am flattered.

are you kidding? with what you have accomplished in Division II alone your worthy, but my first season in Division I was a complete MESS! Now your in top 12 in Division I right out of the gate...and liek we said--we want to recognize the old FMA 1 guys too...the history and foundation

who was that guy that was bragging about how he KNEW HOW TO WIN and had this whole formula that could not be beat (like season 3 or something). I cant remember who it was but at the time a lot of us bashed it for being ridiculous and Id love to see who was right LOL

It was ismensink. Hahaha.

Oh goodness... i wonder if he is still around and using a different account to play? I hope so, because it would be quite sad for someone to just leave.

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Oh, so here is the story of the Combines:

On July 8th, 2010, user Prof created a post entitled, Gulf Coast Circuit. In this post, he described a proposal to elude to old school drum corps with regional circuits. Here, he suggested the idea of the Gulf Coast Circuit. This post also laid down the basic setup for some leagues today.

It began the idea of accepting member groups into your own shows to benefit the group, The next poster was Alex who fully endorsed the idea. From here, all other leagues have their roots.

The next circuit to be created was the North-East Conference. It would soon become the North-East Combine. The original topic and concept was created by the user, Bando. The first NE group was made up of 12 members. The Gulf Coast Combine would have 14 members in its initial run, The first set-up of combine boundaries looked like this:
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa18/aforgottenlegend/Fantasy%20Marching%20Arts/FMACombineMap.png

The initial NE Combine topic strayed away from some of the ideals of the Gulf Coast with no influence restrictions, and the idea of Regions. It also began the idea of all groups scheduling in order to make a nice schedule for the combine to follow. The original NE topic also followed the GCC (Gulf Coast Combine) with the idea of allowing a certain number of combine members in before other groups. Members who were influential at the beginning of the NE combine were Bando, Silversun268, and cnuclarinet. From here, it just started to roll. Other combines to pop up during this were the Western, and the South-east, and the Mid-west. However, out of those three, the West survived the longest, but died a few seasons later.

When the NE combine finally got a system of leadership, Silversun268, director of Perception Drum and Bugle Corps, was elected president. It wasn't long before the NEC would become the ECC. Later, with increasing activity by gcurrier, the NEC would become CLASS and would be under his leadership.

In season 4, a different kind of combine was formed for indoor groups specifically. It was the first indoor ensemble only circuit, and was also founded by Bando. This one was different for at the time because there was no regional limitations. Although interest in this combine was delayed, it eventually became the largest on FMA until Season 9. In season 9, it was passed by the League of Unspecified Identity in popularity with the addition of the new League system. The IIEA is still one of the largest leagues. The leagues to survived the seasons are the Gulf Coast Combine, CLASS, and the IIEA. Will the new leagues survive like these? Or will they fall and become like the South-east combine, forgotten? Leagues like Unspecified are large enough and run by prominent enough members that it will certainly be around for a long time, but circuits like the APA, and smaller ones are at risk for failure.

The number of leagues and their popularity has sky-rocketed in the last season. In season 8, there were less than 5 active leagues. Today, we have more than 30.

You forgot about the UNFMA. It was a small league comprising of only four organizations: The Irish Athletic Arts, Willow Arts, White Cross Performing Arts, and Regiment Ensembles. This league fell apart after season 5.

Oh yeah. I missed a few of them actually, but I didn't too a whole lot of research. Most of that was based on memory (with the exception of the first paragraph)

haha i think it was him....im disappointed we will never know if the master plan worked...

FMA 1.0 Champions

Season
1 Carolina Vega 69.93 - fugi
2 Zephyr 86.18 - skewerz
3 George Hopkins 88.04 - fourouttheforty
4 Nemesis 89.33 - gcurrier
5 Atlantic Sound Cadets 89.495 - Atlantic Sound Org.
6 Townsville 140 88.085 - fourouttheforty
7 Townsville 140 90.425 - fourouttheforty
8 Townsville 140 91.105 - fourouttheforty
9 Im In Miami Trick 91.91 - kXt
10 Spirit Cadets 92.045 - Baritone_Playa28
11 chesire regiment 90.455 - lexicat
12 Corps of Unspecified Identity 89.505 - Chris Rohn
13 The Dots 92.675 - The Dots
14 The Obama's 94.595 - shaudi
15 Corps of Unspecified Identity 89.77 - Chris Rohn

we will continue taking nominations through week 1 of season 10 then we will vote for 2 hall of fame members!

Just FYI if anyone needs/wants it, I have a spreadsheet with every class champion of every circuit for all 15 seasons of FMA 1.0

For example, Gary listed the World Class Drum Corps champions, but here are the champions for Open (II) Class...
1 68.075 The White Knights
2 84.345 Northern Aurora
3 87.295 Strait Jackets
4 89.855 The Mini 140
5 87.765 Tennessee Nipples
6 85.880 Sedition
7 86.480 Northern Aurora
8 87.620 Northern Aurora
9 88.290 Northern Aurora
10 86.670 Northern Aurora
11 90.035 Red Devils
12 89.320 Northern Aurora
13 89.830 Northern Aurora
14 97.005 The Scarlett
15 88.615 Northern Aurora

...and Class A (III)...
1 69.185 CAC
2 83.270 Carolina Brass
3 83.870 Carolina Brass
4 89.360 Cerebral Assassins
5 85.935 Drums and Tuba
6 87.230 AngryCorps
7 86.570 AngryCorps
8 86.770 AngryCorps
9 86.280 AngryCorps
10 86.505 AngryCorps
11 92.815 Cerebral Assassins
12 89.540 AngryCorps
13 90.450 AngryCorps
14 90.415 Siberian Federal University
15 88.615 AngryCorps