I did a little research (because I don’t have much of a life anyway) on the championship history of D1, D2, and D3 drum corps.

Now I’m no commentator. It’d be really cool to be one. I just enjoy analyzing data and turning it into history, a story.

I'm going to post my research and observations in this forum in sections so it doesn't frustrate any scroller-fingers. Hope some people enjoy this.

Section A- Consecutive Championships
First order o’ business is common FMA knowledge: consecutive championships. Everyone and their mother knows the Carolina Royals won 4 consecutive D1 championships from season 28 to season 31. Everyone and their baby cousin knows that [KStove’s] Bluecoats won 4 consecutive D1 championships from season 38 to season 41. However, Carolina Royals won the D2 championship in season 27, giving them the award for consecutive titles with 5.

Only four corps have ever won consecutive championships where each championship was in a different division. Silver Falcon Drum and Bugle Corps did it first, winning the D3 championship in season 13 and the D2 championship in season 14. Six seasons later, New Star of Indiana won the D3 championship in season 20 and the D2 championship in season 21. Then Carolina Royals won the D2 championship in season 27 and the D1 championship in season 28…. and 29. And 30. And 31. Finally, Northern Lights won the D3 title in season 38 and the D2 title in season 39.

Two drum corps have won consecutive championships more than once. Nemesis has three groups (three, as in more than two). Those pairs are seasons 3 and 4, seasons 8 and 9, and a trio of season 32, season 33, and season 34. The second corps to do it was The Tullahoma Azure Force. They won the D1 championship in seasons 16 and 17, then again in seasons 36 and 37.

Other consecutives include Regal Regiment’s triple (oooh baby a triple) in seasons 24 through 26. That was the first ever championship combo greater than three. Corps of Unspecified Identity won back-to-back D2 championships in seasons 7 and 8. BlueGrass Brigade won back-to-back D3 championships in the same seasons.

Section B- Who Said Transitions Were Hard?
OK they are pretty difficult. Other than the three (the fourth is special) corps mentioned in the previous section, six corps have won two divisions. The Golden Knights won the D3 championship in season 1 and the D2 championship much later in season 29. Graffiti won the D3 championship in season 3 and the D1 championship in season 20. Immortals won the D3 gold in season 12 and the D2 gold in season 16. Leviathan won the D2 championship in season 17 and the D1 championship in season 22. Ivory Brigade won the D3 title in season 22 and the D2 title in season 34. Finally, the Hoosier Regiment won the D3 gold in season 26 and the D2 gold in season 30. So maybe it isn’t EXTREMELY hard.

Only one FMA drum corps has ever won a title in all three divisions. That is Silver Falcon Drum and Bugle Corps. They won D3 in season 13, D2 in seasons 14 and 18, and D1 in seasons 21 and 27. Five total titles in three different divisions. That’s consistency.

Section C- Guess Who’s Back?
Sometimes we fall off a little. We may forget about the game. We just start facing tougher competition. Or start making harder shows. Point is, we may disappear from the top for a few seasons then reappear randomly when everyone thinks we’re gone. These three corps won a title, then went many seasons without winning another one.

Our first mention is the Dark Knights. Their first season was season 18, but they performed like they were in existence for years. Dark Knights won the D3 title with a 94.190, the highest score from a D3 corps ever. Then….they disappeared. Dark Knights didn’t perform again until season 36, when they reappeared and won another D3 championship.

Next is Graffiti. Graffiti won the D3 title in season 3. They performed well over the next few seasons, jumping to division 2 and reaching finals a few times, but they never won another championship until season 20, when they put up a 99 bomb and won division 1.

The final example is The Golden Knights. The Golden Knights won the first ever D3 championship. Then they didn’t reach another semifinals until season 19 (they placed 13th). Ten seasons later, The Golden Knights found themselves at the top of the D2 podium as the champions of season 29. Twenty-eight seasons went by, but they were back on top.

That was a ton of neat information! Thanks for all the time you put into digging that stuff up!

I'll be honest about season 18. When I first started, I wanted to be great right out of the starting gate, but my first score was in the upper 40's!!! I was surprised that the score was so low and still completely clueless how the game should be played.

So back in season 18, it was still a time when players could purchase credits and apply these credits to getting more energy, game money, skill points, influence, etc, and there was no limit. I obsessed, which I tend to do when I really enjoy something, and spent about $100 dollars on this game. I wanted to drastically improve my score and hold a strong lead, but I did not intend to be ahead by 14 points come finals.

Anyway, it upset some people, and honestly it was embarrassing and not giving a great first impression. Therefore, I didn't compete again until season 36. By that time, I decided to try again and come back to redeem myself. I won the D3 title by honestly putting in the rehearsal time (by compromising sleep and all that good stuff).

Therefore, yeah, a score of 94 to win the D.3 title in season 18 looks great, but I'm not proud of it :)

Hey echstrumpet8, if you're really that bored, you should revamp the FMA wiki that someone started on back at season 1. It's open for anyone make changes.

http://fantasymarchingarts.wikia.com/wiki/Fantasy_Marching_Arts

I might post another section on the scores tomorrow.

Scooter, I might just do that.

Aaron, you probably weren't the only one to do something like that. At the time you didn't know any better. The game's a learning experience, and since you learned from that, you're all good.

Only corps to have won in all 3 divisions! That's some pretty cool history about the Silver Falcons. Thanks for sharing!

Section D- Points Points Points
Common knowledge: The Tullahoma Azure Force has the highest drum corps score ever with a 99.590. They achieved that during the season 37 D1 Finals. Still second to [the real] Blue Devils. Sorry Tullahoma. The highest score of a D2 champion goes to season 36’s Swiss Regiment group, who scored a 96.230. The highest score of a D3 champion, as mentioned earlier, is season 18’s Dark Knights with a 94.160.

And now, the other end.

The lowest winning score ever in D1 and D2 occurred in season 1, unsurprisingly. Perception Drum and Bugle Corps took D1 with an 83.400. D2 was won by Band Geeks, who scored a 77.540. Now, the lowest winning score for D3 belongs to North Shore Regiment, who won the division in season 5 with a 69.015. Oof. Hey I can’t talk. I’ve never scored a 69, nor have I won a division finals.

Never has a D2 champion scored higher than a D1 champion. Ever. Three D3 champions have scored higher than their D2 counterparts. In season 6, First Legion scored an 80.085, while D2’s Midland Valley Redcoats scored a 78.420. In season 18, the historic Dark Knights outscored the also historic Silver Falcon Drum and Bugle Corps, who had a 92.135. In season 31, D3 champion Chuck Norris’ Triangle barely beat out D2 champion The Marching Martians with a score of 84.775 to the Martians’ 84.290.

echstrumpet8, this information is fantastic! As scooter92011 said you should definitely publish your work in the wiki!

A WILD MARIMBAMAN HAS APPEARED 0.0

Here is some stuff I've dug up on D1, D2, and D3 marching bands.

Only 11 marching bands have won a D1 Marching Band Finals, and 9 of them have won more than once. [gcurrier] Marching Knights have won 11.5 D1 championships, the most of any marching band. Yes, I said half. At the Season 14 finals, the Marching Knights and the Spirit of Westchestertonfieldville marching bands both scored a 92.765. So I split that championship, regardless of who lists what involving that championship.

The Tullahoma Azure Echo has the same accomplishment as it's drum corps brother: the Echo has the highest score in FMA marching band history with a 99.570. BOTH of those accomplishments were achieved in Season 37. In Division 2, Fanatics has the highest score with a 96.925, done in Season 20. For Division 3, the Louisville Legion has the record with a 97.990, achieved in Season 20 too. Season 20 was the only season the D3 champjion scored higher than the D1 champion.

The Southmore Hill Royal Regiment has the lowest D1 championship score (79.545), done in Season 1, unsurprisingly. Kelly H.S. has the lowest score of all the D2 champions (70.650), and that was done in Season 3. The Incognito Elites scored the lowest for D3 champions (65.110) in Season 10.

The Red Devils and Onachus both have a championship streak of 4 seasons. The Red Devils won the D1 Marching Band Championship in seasons 38-41. Onachus won the D3 Marching Band Championship in Season 32, and the D2 championship in seasons 33-35.

Your work for FMA is amazing! Hopefully you can perhaps be promoted into the upper echelons of this community and be a full fledged member of the staff.

I encourage you to continue your work, and always have fun doing so!

OK guys, so I've started a new project involving the required score to advance to FMA Drum Corps Finals in any division, and I think I've found something. Between seasons 14 and 15, there was a massive spike in the top 12 scores in each DC division. If anyone who has been in the game that long reads this... is there anything that you think might have caused this?

Wasn't that the time frame where you could buy things...like points...hence a huge jump in scores

I'm pretty sure Season 14-15 is when the 400 point rehearsal cap became the 600 point rehearsal cap.

Hmmmmm you may be right...when it was going to "make it easier for people to catch the elite"...think it did the opposite

I think I was the only non elite group who actually benefited from that haha. Although I think I would have ended up being competitive at the top anyway.