Let’s Talk About DCI Judging

As a judge (not DCI level but still a judge), I can't STAND it when people say "it's rigged". People that make stupid comments like that absolutely attack the VERY INTEGRITY of the judge him or herself. Pisses me off to no end. I know MANY of the DCI judges and I know how hard they work and I know for a fact how taxing it is on them to "make decisions". The other part of this equation that people don't understand is that staff members have the chance to talk to the judges after a show to clarify and ask questions. If it was "rigged" there would be none of that opportunity to talk to the judges--as far as I'm concerned. The judges have a tough job. VERY tough. But they are professionals...they DO try their best....and maybe on any given day they may make a mistake. But nothing is "intentional"--at least not in my view. Another bit of judging wisdom came to me a VERY long time ago from Lee Carlson...he said at the very upper levels of the activity (DCI or WGI or BOA), you stop being a judge....and start being a critic. In the sense of being like a movie critic or an art critic. The differences in shows at those levels sometimes comes down to the spirit or energy of the performers and HOW THE HECK DO YOU RATE AND RANK THAT? LOL....it's soooo difficult. BTW--great video. WELL DONE!!

This channel might be DCI's catalyst towards spreading awareness about this awesome activity around the world. Keep up the good work!

We definitely need a Drumline and Front Ensemble judge, too much is happening in both spots

GE v. Music & Visual. On one hand, I have to remember that this is an artistic activity and thus the general effect of the art is very important; on the other hand, the performers don’t design the shows or write the music, they are only performing what is written/designed for them. So, I also feel like execution/proficiency should be weighted more than than general effect…or at least equal. If that were the case, according to what you said about which captions are more objective, we would have seen some different (and more objective) final placements and winners over the last 20+ years. Thoughts? Btw, I’m not a BD hater.

This is a great overview! As a judge myself, one thing folks might not know is our spread guidelines. We rank the corps in the order we think is right and then basically rate how different they are to each other. We're typically not allowed to give sub-caption ties, so if you see a judge scoring corps 1 point away from each other, the guidelines say it's basically a toss up with the edge going to one.

To your point, not having two judges for percussion is head scratching, IMO. The Pit and the Drum line can be very technical individually, most notably, with the more "developed" program. Great explanation! Thank you.

This is my favorite channel right now. I nerd out over DCI and none of my friends in adulthood know or care about it.

They should let me judge( I literally just pick who I think should win based off of who has the best uniforms) (Also as a synth I thank you for that little comment at 5:57🤞🏽🤞

Nice job in presenting a fairly complex topic. I am alum of the "Ticks" era and even stood rigidly at Attention on an Inspection Line. Given the way i was raised in the Activity, i have had doubts about the existence of an objective foundation to a subjective evaluation adjudication methodology. But your detailing of criteria that must be met to achieve the number (rating) instills more confidence that caption category scores are indeed earned and not simply awarded without a basis. Good Stuff !

Hahahaha You got me! I'm like, "I knew it, Its a scheme!!" Lol 🤣

Love the inclusion of the Babylon clip 💪❤️💚

Wow! This is literally the most timely YouTube video ever! (At least for me). I was about to type in "DCI judging captions explained" in the YT search bar, but the algorithm read my mind and thus your video was right here waiting for me as soon as I opened up the app. Thanks so much for this.

What I never understood was how every corps show scores slightly higher every single performance from being judged by different judges at each performance. Like can the judges really tell the smallest of differences each performance to say it’s just slightly better than the last one? Or do they consider the most previous scores?

I remember in ‘19 when they restricted field judges to only the front sideline. Initially, the scores were so swayed but over the seasons timing things evened out. Just wonder if they will ever allow the the old way of judges in the bell/ in front of the drums again. Great vid!

thank you for this video! it explains a lot, however I am really curious as to what makes the difference between those very tight point gaps. like what is the difference between a 19.0 and a 19.5. I find it difficult to understand these differences. It would be great if you could show examples of these differences, or point out what makes these differences when watching a show.

I'm curious: how many of the judges are DCI alums and for which corps?

Appreciate the inclusion of SCV ‘18 for examples in this video, hard to see my corps not being represented this summer and it almost feels forgotten sometimes

This was a great clarification of a mysterious process.

god bless for the channels coming as of recently and helping bring drum corps to a more mainstream audience <3

Not DCI, but still relatable. High school marching band kids get the same feelings about scoring but soooo much worse. Thanks for the front ensemble shoutout. Back when I was in high school, the entire band (including the drumline) essentially thought we were posers and didn't need to exist. Y'know, because we didn't march or do anything physical. Which, to satisfy them, caused us nerdy, anxious introverts to put together an extremely cringe routine of faux marching in on the sideline while the band went on the field...very exposed in front of the finals crowd...single file...just like 8 or so of us... Yes, the program sucked.