Welcome to the History of the Racine Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps - Part 4: 1976 - 2010.
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History of the Racine Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps Part 4: 1976 - 2010
In 1976 the Racine Explorer Scouts re-entered field competition as a small Division III-type drum corps and have
continued on competing as a small Division III drum corps to this day.
To complete the Racine Scouts competitive history at VFW Nationals, they attended three more VFW Nationals after
1972 and they were: 17th place in prelims at the 1977 VFW Nationals in Minneapolis, MN; 18th place in prelims at
the 1980 VFW Nationals in Chicago, IL; 7th place in finals at the 1983 VFW Nationals in New Orleans, Louisiana.
There were not enough corps to have a preliminary competition at the 1983 VFW Nationals in New Orleans, so only
a finals was held. It should be noted that the VFW’s National Championship was discontinued after the 1984 VFW
Nationals held in Chicago, IL.
The Racine Scouts competed at almost all of the Drum Corps Midwest championships since 1982 with the
following results: 1982 - 27th place; 1983 - 24th place. Both in 1982 & 1983 the Racine Scouts competed in “Open
Class” in prelims because that was the only class offered then. From 1983 through 1986 the Racine Scouts did not
attend the Drum Corps Midwest Championship. Then starting in 1987 they competed in A/60 prelims with the
following results: 1987 - 12 place; 1988 - did not attend; 1989 - 16th place; 1990 - 14th place; 1991 - 14th place;
1992 - 18th place and in 1993 - 19th place. Beginning in 1994 a new class, Division III, was created for the smallest
drum corps to compete in at the DCM Championship. The Racine Scouts competed exclusively in Division III ever
since it was created in 1994 with the following results: 1994 - 15th place; 1995 - 14th place; 1996 - 9th place;
1997 - 10th place; 1998 - 6th place; 1999 - 7th place; 2000 - 6th place; 2001 - 6th place; 2002 - 6th place;
2003 - 8th place; 2004 - 4th place and 2005 - 3rd place. Unfortunately Drum Corps Midwest disbanded after the
2005 season.
Starting in 2000, the Racine Scouts began traveling to major DCI regional contests and competing in Division III at
them with the following results: 2000 U. S. Coast Guard Open in Grand Haven, MI - 7th in prelims and 10th in finals;
2002 North American prelims - 23rd; 2002 Canadian Open prelims - 16th place; 2003 North American Open - 4th
place; 2003 DCI Contest in Rochester, NY - 3rd place; DCI - Central “Sounds of Freedom” Contest at
Frankfort, IL - 1st place; DCI Contest at DeKalb, IL - 2nd place.
As far as I can tell, the Racine Scouts did not compete at a National Championship after 1983 VFW Nationals at
New Orleans until they competed in Division III prelims at the 1992 DCI Championships in Madison, WI where they
finished in 29th place. The Racine Scouts continued to regularly compete in Division III prelims at the DCI
Championship and placed as follows: 1993 - did not attend; 1994 - 25th place; 1995 - 27th place; 1996 - 27th
place; 1997 - 29th place; 1998 - 20th place; 1999 - 25th place; 2000 - 26th place; 2001 - 15th place;
2002 - 22nd place; 2003 - 18th place; 2004 - 16th place; 2005 - 16th place and 2006 - 13th place.
2005 proved to be a most successful year competitively locally, maybe even the most successful season since the
corps reorganized in 1976. Among the Racine Scouts victories in Division III in 2005 were: Phantom Regiment’s
“Show of Shows” in Rockford, IL; DCM contests in Milwaukee, WI, Hastings, MN and St. Peter, MN and at the DCI
Central Championship in Kalamazoo, MI. Second places were earned at DCM Contests at Oneida, WI and at “Music
on the March” at Dubuque, IA. Third places were taken at: the DCM Championship and at DCM’s “Red, White and
Brass” Contest at Pulaski, WI.
2006 saw the Racine Scouts take 8th place in Division III at DCI's Great Lakes Open in Michigan City, IN. In two
Racine contests while competing in Division III the Racine Scouts took 3rd place on July 29th and 2nd place on
August 5th. Other 2006 highlightes for the Racine Scouts include taking 3rd place at Dixon, IL; 2nd place at
Cedarburg, WI; 2nd place at Dubuque, IA and 3rd place at DCI's Midwest Regionals in Indianapolis, IN.
In 2007 the Racine Scout Drum and Bugle Corps celebrated their 80th anniversary. They presented a very
entertaining show entitled "Portraits in Chrome, Idols, Icons and Images." The musical selections included in their
2007 show were: "Old Man River", "Blue Skies", "Someone to Watch Over Me", "Caravan", and, as part of their year
long 80th anniversary celebration, a birthday suite which included: "Sweet Georgia Brown", "Take Me Out To The
Ball Game", "Those Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines", "Hooray for Hollywood" and finally, "Happy
Birthday".
Also, Racine Scout Alumni were invited to be a part of the Racine Scouts 80th anniversary celebration. In January
of 2007, the Racine Scouts Alumni Drum and Bugle Corps was organized. The Racine Scouts Alumni Drum and
Bugle Corps and the regular Racine Scout Drum and Bugle Corps combined for a standstill performance on
Sunday, May 27, 2007, at Hammes Field, J.I. Case High School, Racine, as part of an event put on there by the
Racine Scout organization to celebrate their 80th birthday. Other drum and bugle corps that performed at their
80th anniversay celebration were: Cavaliers, Cavaliers Alumni, Pioneer, the Racine Boy Scouts and the Racine
Explorer Scouts. In addition, Schoep's Ice Cream of Madison, WI, donated individual cartons of strawberry ice
cream which, along with a piece of cake, was handed out free to all those that attended.
The next day, Memorial Day, Monday, May, 28, 2007, both the Racine Scouts and the Racine Scouts Alumni Drum
and Bugle Corps combined to march together as one unit in Racine's Memorial Day parade in West Racine.
In addition to contests in the midwest, the Racine Scouts traveled extensively throughout the United States during
the summer of 2007. They appeared at the Cherryland DCI Classic in Traverse City, MI, where they took 3rd place;
in Jackson, TN, where they came in 5th place; Van Buren, AR, where they also came in 5th place; at Midland, TX,
where they again finished in 5th place; at Tucson, AZ, where they came in 7th place, at Lake Havasu City, AZ, where
they took 7th place and at the The DCI Division II & III Preview at Bakersfield, CA, they finished in 4th place out of
the six corps who competed in Division III. Competing in Division III at the DCI Championships in Pasadena, CA, the
Racine Scouts finished in 13th place out of fifteen corps.
In 2008 DCI merged Division II and Divsion III into what is now called "Open Class." This was done due to the small
number of drum corps who remained in each of these two classes. The new "Open Class" for 2008 consisted of 23
North American drum and bugle corps, one of which, of course, was the Racine Scouts. This resulted in some
rather large or "major" contests which featured only Open Class corps in competition which was the primary goal of
the merger of Division II & Division III into one competitive class in my opinion. Division I corps were now called
"World Class" corps.
The highlight of the summer of 2008 was the Racine Scouts trip out East where they took 6th place in a contest in
Wildwood, NJ, on July 19 and a 4th place finish at West Milford, NJ the next day. At the two major Open Class
contests in the Midwest that the Racine Scouts competed in that summer they took 10th out of 12 corps at Madison,
WI, on August 2, followed by a 9th place finish at Wilmot, WI, on August 3.
At the DCI Open Class Quarterfinals held in Michigan City, IN, on August 5, 2008, the Racine Scouts came in 20th
place among the 23 competing corps. The top seventeen moved on to the semi-finals in Bloomington, IN.
The Racine Scouts show for 2009 was called "New York Under Chrome Lights" and featured the following music:
"New York State of Mind," "Give My Regards to Broadway," "42nd Street," "Harlem Nocturne," Sing, Sang, Sung,"
Manhattan Skyline," and "New York, New York."
Being one of only nineteen competing Open Class corps left in North America, the Racine Scouts didn't see much
competition in local contests. Local contests in the Midwest now included only from one to three Open Class corps
in addition to the World Class and Senior/All-age corps which also appeared at these contests.
In major Open Class competition during the summer of 2009 the Racine Scouts finished as follows: last place
among eight competing Open Class corps at Omaha, NE, on July 25; last place among eight competing Open Class
corps at Eau Claire, WI, on July 27; 8th out of nine competing Open Class corps at Greendale, WI, on July 29; 7th
out of eight competing Open Class corps at Dubuque, IA, on July 31.
On August 4, 2009, DCI staged its Open Class preliminary competition at Michigan City, IN. In competition with 19
other Open Class corps for the 17 semifinals berths the Racine Scouts came in 16th place which earned them a
spot in semifinals in Bloomington, IN on August 7. At the DCI Open Class semifinals in Bloomington, IN, on August 7,
the Racine Scouts again came in 16th place which didn't earn them a spot in the eleven corps finals.
In 2010 the Racine Scouts played tribute to one of America's greatest composers, George Gershwin. They played a
program that included such classics as "An American in Paris," "Strike Up the Band," "Summertime," "I Loves You,
Porgy," "Bess, You Is My Woman Now," "Rhapsody in Blue," and "I Got Rhythm."
The Racine Scouts now were one of only 16 competing Open Class Drum and Bugle Corps left in North America.
Local contests still featured only one to three Open Class corps in competition, however, the Racine Scouts again
participated in many of the major Open Class contests held in the Midwest and also one in Virginia. In major Open
Class competitions during the summer of 2010 the Racine Scouts came in 4th place out of six competing Open
Class corps at Warrenton, VA, on July 24; 9th place out of eleven Open Class corps at De Kalb, IL, on July 31; on
August 2 at Rice Lake, WI, the Racine Scouts came in last place among seven competing Open Class corps; 6th
place out of seven competing Open Class corps in Eau Claire, WI, on August 4; 7th place out of a field of eight
competing Open Class corps at Greendale, WI on August 6; at Dubudue, IA, and on August 8 in competition with the
same eight Open Class corps as competed at Greendale, the Racine Scouts again came in 7th place.
At DCI Open Class Prelims in Michigan City, IN, on August 10 the Racine Scouts came in 13th place out of 16
competing Open Class corps and at the DCI Open Class Semi-Finals in Indianapolis, IN, on August 13 the Racine
Scouts just missed the twelve corps Open Class finals by again taking 13th place against the same field of 16 Open
Class corps which competed at Michigan City.