Red Carpet Association

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The Red Carpet Association (RCA) was an organization serving senior drum corps in Canada and the United States in the late1960s and 1970s. It acted as a alternative circuit to the Drum Corps Associates competitive circuit.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Championships 1.2 The Corps 2 Adjudication 3 External Links 4 References

[edit] History

The association was formed in 1968. The organization discontinued operations after the 1978 championships.

"The Red Carpet Association (RCA) was formed in the fall of 1968 as a circuit for senior drum and bugle corps, and was an alternative to the relatively new Drum Corps Associates (DCA) senior circuit. The Red Carpet Association provided a competitive arena for corps that did not attain membership in the more exclusive DCA circuit based on their competitive standing, and for corps that were not interested in being members of DCA for other reasons such as their geographical location and the expense of traveling to DCA contests.

The Red Carpet Association sponsored contests and held a championship show each year from 1969 through 1978. A preliminary competition was held in 1975. The circuit included corps from Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Connecticut, Minnesota, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Maryland and Ontario, Canada.

Only one corps appeared in all ten RCA championship shows. The Guelph Royalaires were the most consistent competitor in the circuit, with two wins (outright in 1969 and tied with Erie Thunderbirds in 1974) and six second-place finishes in ten appearances. Two corps appeared in nine of the championship competitions. The Hanover Lancers appeared nine times with an average placement of 6.4 and won the RCA Championship in 1977. The Dunkirk Patriots appeared nine times and averaged 8.7 in placement.

The record for best winning percentage is held by the Rochester Phoenix – one appearance and one win, for an average placement of first. In existence for just two years, the Phoenix won the 1975 RCA championship by over four points in their first year on the field and went on to a top-five finish at the DCA championship show.

Two other corps won RCA championships. The Pittsburgh Rockets appeared six times with an average placement of 2.5 and deserve special recognition for winning three in a row (1970, 1971 and 1972 – the only three-peat in RCA history).

The Erie Thunderbirds were the biggest winners in the history of the Red Carpet Association. The Thunderbirds competed in eight championships and recorded an average placement of 2.88. Erie won outright in 1973, 1976 and 1978 and tied with the Guelph Royalaires for first in 1974, becoming the only corps to win four RCA titles.

The corps that showed the most improvement was the Johnsonburg Diplomats. They competed four times, placing 14th in 1972, 11th in 1975, second in 1976, and third in 1977. The dubious honor of the lowest average placement in finals competition went to the Versailles PA Vigilantes, who finished unlucky 13th in their only appearance. Gypsy Brass competed only once at RCA, in the 1975 preliminary competition, and they failed to make finals. This gave them the distinction of being the only corps in RCA championship history to fail to make finals at least once.

The Red Carpet Association served the needs of its member corps in several different ways. Corps such as the Rhode Island Matadors and the Rochester Phoenix used Red Carpet as a stepping-stone to reach DCA membership. Corps like the Pittsburgh Rockets, Hanover Lancers, Guelph Royalaires and the Erie Thunderbirds competed successfully in both RCA and DCA. The Hamburg Kingsmen found a home in Red Carpet after failing to retain their DCA membership at the end of the 1974 season. Many other corps found that the level of competition and the location of the shows that were sanctioned by RCA were right for them and competed just in RCA.

It is interesting to note that the Syracuse Brigadiers appeared just one time in RCA history, during their attempted comeback to the field of competition in 1973, and finished in fourth place. The Brigs went on to finish 13th at DCA that year, just missing a membership position by .05 to the Guelph Royalaires, and subsequently folded. The Brigadiers returned to the competitive field many years later, won multiple DCA titles, and are now one of the strongest and most consistent senior corps in existence. The Westshoremen deserve recognition as well for being the only other RCA competitor to win a DCA title (in 1996)." (1)

[edit] Championships

• August 16, 1969 Allentown PA Guelph Royalaires
• August 29, 1970 Erie PA Pittsburgh Rockets
• August 28, 1971 Erie PA Pittsburgh Rockets
• August 21, 1972 Erie PA Pittsburgh Rockets
• August 25, 1973 Erie PA Erie Thunderbirds
• August 24, 1974 Erie PA Guelph Royalaires, Erie Thunderbirds (tie)
• August 23, 1975 Hamilton ONT The Phoenix
• August 28, 1976 Erie PA Erie Thunderbirds
• August 27, 1977 Jamestown NY Hanover Lancers
• August 26, 1978 Niagara Falls NY Erie Thunderbirds

    16 August 1969 Allentown, PA RCA Championships  

1. Guelph Royalaires 73.40
2. Westshoremen Bonnie-Scots 73.25
3. Pittsburgh Rockets 66.35
4. Emmaus Sentinels 62.50
5. Erie Thunderbirds 60.70
6. Hanover Lancers 56.35
7. Esquires 48.55
8. Maumee Demons 38.40
9. Freestatesmen 33.15
10. Dunkirk Patriots 30.90

    29 August 1970 Erie, PA 'RCA Championships 

1. Pittsburgh Rockets 73.10
2. Guelph Royalaires 72.45
3. Canada's Marching Ambassadors 69.94
4. Westshoremen Bonnie-Scots 67.60
5. Connecticut Yankees 61.50
6. Canadian Commanders 61.35
7. Matadors 60.99
8. Emmaus Sentinels 57.85
9. Garden Statesmen 56.85
10. Hanover Lancers 54.45
11. Suburban Knights 51.15
12. Dunkirk Patriots 48.35
13. Freestatesmen 44.25

    28 August 1971 Erie, PA RCA Championships  

1. Pittsburgh Rockets 71.65
2. Burlington Commanders 69.65
3. Guelph Royalaires 69.00
4. Matadors 59.45
5. Emmaus Sentinels 51.70
6. Getzville Suburban Knights 50.80
7. Erie Thunderbirds 47.45
8. Altoona Gardners Guards 47.10
9. Dunkirk Patriots 45.20
10. Freestatesmen 43.20
11. Hanover Lancers 39.80

    21 August 1972 Erie, PA RCA Championships 

1. Pittsburgh Rockets 77.75
2. Guelph Royalaires 74.80
3. Emmaus Sentinels 67.65
4. Erie Thunderbirds 67.55
5. Imperial Knights 67.45
6. Kingston Grenadiers 67.30
7. Matadors 63.85
8. Suburban Knights 62.70
9. Kawartha Kavaliers 62.40
10. Hanover Lancers 58.20
11. Dunkirk Patriots 51.75
12. Freestatesmen 49.50
13. Esquires 39.20
14. Johnsonburg Diplomats 33.50

     25 August 1973 Erie PA  RCA Championships

1. Erie Thunderbirds 76.35
2. Guelph Royalaires 76.25
3. Pittsburgh Rockets 72.45
4. Syracuse Brigadiers 69.85
5. Kingston Grenadiers 63.80
6. Emmaus Sentinels 63.25
7. Kawartha Kavaliers 62.30
8. Hanover Lancers 60.25
9. Suburban Knights 59.55
10. Dunkirk Patriots 57.50
11. Imperial Knights 52.10
12. Freestatesmen 48.45
13. Verona Cavaliers 45.50

     24 August 1974 Erie PA  RCA Championships

• Guelph Royalaires(Tie) 85.65
• Erie Thunderbirds (Tie) 85.65
• Hanover Lancers 79.35
• Emmaus Sentinels 79.20
• Brass Inc. 77.65
• Kingston Grenadiers 72.50
• Dunkirk Patriots 72.05
• Imperial Knights 67.45
• Suburban Knights 64.50
• Verona Cavaliers 56.90
• Cumberland Freeststesmen 55.35
• Garden Statesmen 51.95
• Vigilantes 45.90

    23 August 1975 HAMILTON, Ont. RCA Championships Prelims

1. Rochester Phoenix 83.70
2. Guelph Royalaires (-0.2) 82.58
3. Hanover Lancers (-1.0) 82.10
4. Erie Thunderbirds (-0.30) 80.36
5. Brass Inc. 74.06
6. Hamburg Kingsmen 71.05
7. Kingston Grenadiers/Yardmen (-0.3) 70.50
8. Dunkirk Patriots (-0.1) 67.93
9. Emmaus Sentinels 64.20
10. Imperial Knights 62.51
11. Johnsonburg Diplomats (-0.1) 61.98
12. York White Roses (-0.1) 56.88
13. Suburban Knights 55.65
14. Gypsy Brass (-1.0) 50.20
15. Garden Statesmen (-0.1) 46.74

Finals

1. Rochester Phoenix 88.06
2. Guelph Royalaires 83.53
3. Erie Thunderbirds 82.85
4. Hanover Lancers 79.70
5. Brass, Inc. 72.65
6. Hamburg Kingsmen 67.33
7. Dunkirk Patriots65.50
8. Kingston Grenadiers/Yardmen 60.00
9. Emmaus Sentinels 59.28
10. Imperial Knights 56.85
11. Johnsonburg Diplomats 55.13
12. York White Roses 52.05

     28 August 1976 Erie PA RCA Championships

1. Erie Thunderbirds 85.89
2. Johnsonburg Diplomats 79.21
3. Westshoremen 77.63
4. Guelph Royalaires 76.96
5. Hanover Lancers 75.98
6. Hamburg Kingsmen 72.78
7. Kingston Grenadiers/Yardmen 71.85
8. Dunkirk Patriots 66.64
9. York White Roses 57.74
10. Imperial Knights 50.59

    27 August 1977 Jamestown, NY RCA Championships

1. Hanover Lancers 79.45
2. Guelph Royalaires 79.10
3. Johnsonburg Diplomats 75.17
4. Hamburg Kingsmen 71.75
5. Dunkirk Patriots 70.12
6. Pittsburgh Rockets 55.98
7. Danville White Sabers 42.20

    26 August 1978 Niagara Falls, NY RCA Championships 

1. Erie Thunderbirds 78.3 (0.1)
2. Guelph Royalaires 77.0
3. Johnsonburg Diplomats (69.0 (0.1)
4. New Horizon 57.15 (0.1)
5. Kawartha Kavaliers 55.1
6. Wind Gap Blue Eagles 48.05
7. Niagara Regionaires43.05

[edit] The Corps

CORPS IN RCA CHAMPIONSHIPS & COMPETING YEARS

Connecticut USA Corps

• Connecticut Yankees Stratford CT 1970

Maryland USA Corps

• Cumberland Freestatesmen Cumberland MD 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975

Minnesota USA Corps

• Brass Inc. St. Paul MN 1974, 1975

New Jersey USA Corps

• Garden Statesmen Dover NJ 1970, 1974, 1975

New York USA Corps

• Dansville White Sabers Dansville NY 1977
• Dunkirk Patriots Dunkirk NY 1969, 1970,1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977
• Gypsy Brass Jamestown NY 1975
• Hamburg Kingsmen Hamburg NY 1975, 1976, 1977
• New Horizon Nunda/Dansville NY 1978
• Phoenix Rochester NY 1975
• Suburban Knights Getzville NY 1970,1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975
• Syracuse Brigadiers Syracuse NY 1973

Ohio USA Corps

• Maumee Demons Maumee OH 1969

Ontario Canada Corps

• Canada's Marching Ambassadors Toronto ONT 1970
• Canadian Commanders Burlington ONT 1970, 1971
• Kingston Grenadiers/Yardmen Kingston ONT 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976
• Imperial Knights Sudbury ONT 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976
• Kawartha Kavaliers Lindsay ONT 1972, 1973, 1978
• Niagara Regionnaires Niagara Falls Ont 1978
• Guelph Royalaires Guelph ONT 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978

Pennsylvania USA Corps

• Emmaus Sentinels Emmaus PA 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975
• Erie Thunderbirds Erie PA 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978
• Esquires Westmoreland PA 1972
• Gardner Guards Tyrone PA 1971
• Hanover Lancers Hanover PA 1969, 1970, 1971,1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977
• Johnsonburg Diplomats Johnsonburg PA 1972, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978
• Pittsburgh Rockets Pittsburgh PA 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1977
• Vern Acklin Cavaliers Verona PA 1973, 1974
• Vigilantes Versailles, PA 1974
• Westshoremen/Bonnie-Scots Harrisburg PA 1969, 1970, 1976
• Wind Gap Blue Eagles Windgap PA 1978
• York White Roses York PA 1975, 1976

Rhode Island USA Corps

• Matadors Providence RI 1970, 1971, 1972

[edit] Adjudication

[edit] External Links

[edit] References

• (1) Paper on the Red Carpet Association by Roger C. Ellis
• Info on the Red Carpet Association - post #24 drumcorpsplanet.com forums
• [1] - Senior Corps History Site
• Red Carpet Association Championships - corpsreps.com

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