At the Drum Corps International Annual Meeting & Rules Congress in Indianapolis on Thursday, the Spartans from Nashua, New Hampshire, presented a formal petition to join the World Class division.
DCI’s voting membership approved the petition, marking a significant step forward for the defending Open Class champions. The Spartans outlined their intention to become a full-time World Class corps in 2026 and will utilize the 2025 DCI Tour as a stepping stone to that goal.
As part of this transition year in 2025, the corps will follow a “hybrid” classification structure and remain as an Open Class corps, but will compete in eight events, including the DCI Eastern Classic, where they will be judged alongside their World Class peers. An official vote at DCI’s postseason membership meeting in the fall will ultimately determine their World Class status for 2026 and beyond.
According to Spartans president Paul LaFlamme, despite the corps’ organizational growth — especially over the past handful of years, which has seen the corps expand its size and touring capacity — his team is unified in maintaining the corps’ identity while continuing to fulfill the organization’s mission.
“We're still going to work hard to give the same educational experiences that we give, the same life experiences on the road that we do now,” he said. “We're going to hopefully attract the same students that we do now and still offer that same Spartan-esque experience.”
Celebrating their 70th anniversary in 2025, the Spartans are one of the most decorated Open Class corps in DCI history. The corps has laid claim to a plethora of DCI World Championship titles including back-to-back wins in 2023 and 2024.
“We've gone from a weekend only corps to doing a 10- to 20-day tour to now a full 45-day tour, and we have 165 young adults that get on our buses and travel with us around the country every summer,” LaFlamme said. “We owe them the ability to have the full experience. This is just part of an evolution process that is pointing us in a natural direction for this to be the next step.”
The Spartans' 2025 tour schedule will remain in line with DCI’s schedule announcement in November, with the addition of a performance at the DCI Eastern Classic in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on August 1. The corps will compete at the following events organized by World or Open Class distinction.
World Class Events
July 7 – Sevierville, TN
Drums Across the Smokies
July 8 — Newnan, GA
Drums Across America
July 10 — Tupelo, MS
DCI Tupelo
July 12 — Little Rock, AR
DCI Little Rock
July 15 — Olathe, KS
Brass Impact
July 29 — Newark, DE
DCI Delaware
July 31 — Lawrence, MA
DCI East Coast Showcase
August 1 — Allentown, PA
DCI Eastern Classic
Open Class Events
July 19 — Champlin, MN
March On!
July 22 — Bellbrook, OH
Beats in the Brook
July 23 — Brunswick, OH
DCI Northern Ohio
July 25 — Dover, PA
White Rose Classic
July 26 — Sheffield, PA
Music on the Mountain
August 4-5 — Marion, IN
DCI Open Class World Championship
August 7-9 — Indianapolis, IN
DCI World Championships
As a passionate advocate for the Open Class experience and a longtime leader in the drum corps community, LaFlamme’s aim is that the Spartans' efforts can pave the way for broader change within the activity.
“We're still going to advocate for the Open Class, and I think some of the conversations that we're having regarding performance opportunities affect in a really positive manner everybody from 13th place down,” LaFlamme said. “So if we can be a mechanism for change, that's what we're going to do.”