DCI FORGE

The DCI season runs from late June through mid-August, and the schedule below is not random. It follows the tour, so knowing the shape of the season tells you why a given corps shows up where it does.

Regional swings

Corps travel the country in geographic swings, hitting a cluster of shows in one region before busing to the next. That is why the same corps can appear three nights in a row in different states, and why two corps you want to compare often are not at the same show. Head-to-head meetings matter because they are the only nights a shared panel judges both corps under the same conditions.

Regionals and majors

Mixed in with local shows are the big multi-day regionals, which draw most of the top corps to one site. These are the first real measuring sticks of the summer: deep fields, strong panels, and scores that carry more signal than a small local contest.

Championship week in Indianapolis

The season ends with DCI World Championships at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, run over three nights:

• Prelims: every eligible corps performs. The field is scored and cut down to the top group.
• Semifinals: the corps that survived Prelims perform again, and the field is cut to the top 12 World Class corps.
• Finals: the top 12 perform one last time, and the highest score of the night is the World Champion.

Each round is a fresh performance judged on the night, so a corps has to earn its spot three times. A strong regular season sets expectations, but it does not bank any points toward the title.