A historic year of accomplishments didn’t end for The Battalion when the corps earned a seventh-place finish at its inaugural DCI Open Class World Championship appearance.

For the second time in four years, the Utah corps’ director, Katherine Steinacker, was honored as DCI’s Open Class Director of the Year, receiving the Dr. David Kampschroer Leadership Award. Steinacker last received the honor in 2019.

“I just am so humbled to be chosen,” she said. “I think there's such incredible work happening among (Open Class corps) in the activity. I’m just honored to represent the Open Class and showcase the work that has happened throughout the season.

The Battalion’s 2022 calendar year has seen the corps make history time and time again — some of which had been long-anticipated.

The Utah corps, which originally planned to make its first trek to the DCI World Championships in 2020 before that year’s DCI Tour was canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, made its inaugural appearance at the season-ending event in August 2022.

“It’s been a really long build to come here,” Steinacker said. “Now, two years later, we are finally here. I just am so proud of the membership. It just is super exciting to be here and celebrate with everyone. It’s been a long time coming.”

2022’s road to the DCI World Championships was a long one — by far the longest tour The Battalion had ever undertaken. In its previous five season, the corps’ abbreviated performance tours generally featured regional appearances in the likes of Utah, Colorado and California.

The challenge, though, was one for which The Battalion was well-prepared, having laid the foundation for a full tour over several years of steady and patient organizational growth.

“There’s a lot more excitement, there’s also a lot more exhaustion,” Steinacker said. “We haven’t been on the road this long before. Learning how to tour again, figuring out how to be on the road again, learning how to live together for seven weeks, has been challenging but exciting.”

In making its first-ever trip to DCI’s season-ending events, The Battalion not only achieved organizational success, realizing a six-year-goal dating back to the corps’ 2016 founding, but competitive success as well.

In its first time competing amongst DCI’s World Championship participants, the Utah corps moved up the leaderboard in all three of its Championship Week performances, earning seventh place in the Open Class Finals and 28th overall at the DCI World Championship Prelims, all while finishing the season with its highest final score ever.

“It’s been super fun to finally be in a circuit with everyone from the Open Class and see all of them, and just feel the camaraderie that happens in Open Class,” Steinacker said. “And just really celebrate with everyone.”

Amidst a well-deserved sea of accolades, both organizationally and individually, Steinacker expressed utmost pride in her corps, and credited her Director of the Year honor to the work of its members in reaching new heights.

“It's gratifying to know that the work that has gone into this is being recognized,” she said. “But I serve at the benefit of my membership, and this is just part of our success throughout the season and the work that it took for all of us to get here.”