2025 DCI Season
2025 Drum Corps International (DCI) Season was a competitive summer tour organized by Drum Corps International, concluding with the DCI World Championship Finals on August 9, 2025, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The season was historic, marking the first time in the organization's more than eighty years of existence that the Boston Crusaders won the DCI World Championship.
World Championship Finals
The 2025 World Championship Finals were highly competitive, featuring a tight, season-long race for the Founder's Trophy between the Boston Crusaders and the defending champion Bluecoats. The Crusaders ultimately secured the championship with a score of 98.425 performing their program, "Boom". This marked the first time DCI crowned a first-time World Champion since the Bluecoats' maiden victory in 2016.
Below are the final placements and scores for the top 12 World Class corps that advanced to the Finals on August 9, 2025:
Placement |
Corps |
Location |
Score |
|---|---|---|---|
1st |
Boston Crusaders |
Boston, Massachusetts |
98.425 |
2nd |
Bluecoats |
Canton, Ohio |
98.250 |
3rd |
Santa Clara Vanguard |
Santa Clara, California |
96.700 |
4th |
Blue Devils |
Concord, California |
95.788 |
5th |
Carolina Crown |
Fort Mill, South Carolina |
94.800 |
6th |
Phantom Regiment |
Rockford, Illinois |
94.300 |
7th |
Mandarins |
Sacramento, California |
92.825 |
8th |
Blue Stars |
La Crosse, Wisconsin |
91.175 |
9th |
The Cavaliers |
Rosemont, Illinois |
90.800 |
10th |
Troopers |
Casper, Wyoming |
90.050 |
11th |
Colts |
Dubuque, Iowa |
88.050 |
12th |
Blue Knights |
Denver, Colorado |
87.450 |
Caption Awards
At the conclusion of the World Championship Finals, caption awards were distributed based on the average scores from the final days of competition. The Boston Crusaders and the Bluecoats swept the major World Class caption awards:
- Don Angelica Best General Effect Award: Bluecoats
- John Brazale Best Visual Performance Award: Bluecoats
- George Zingali Best Color Guard Award: Boston Crusaders
- Jim Ott Best Brass Performance Award: Boston Crusaders
- Fred Sanford Best Percussion Performance Award: Boston Crusaders
All-Age Class Championships
The 2025 DCI Summer Tour also featured competitive brackets for All-Age (formerly DCA) corps, which competed in their respective classes. The All-Age Championships took place during the same week in Indiana, yielding the following top champions across the tiers:
- World Class Champion: Reading Buccaneers (Reading, Pennsylvania)
- Open Class Champion: Cincinnati Tradition (Cincinnati, Ohio)
- A Class Champion: Govenaires (St. Peter, Minnesota)