Lancers History

Position:
DCUK British Junior Class - Champions

Music:
The Magnificent Seven
For You Eyes Only
Cantina Band
Fiesta

Drum Major(s):
Jason Howard

Would Stafford Lancers be taking the field at all in 2002?

During the second half of 2001 a period of consultation and reflection within the staff team had begun and a plan had been formulated to move the Corps forward.

After the 2001 DCUK Finals, Corps Director Dave Milton called all the remaining members together to discuss the predicament that the corps was in. Do we carry on as we are and run the real possibility of the Corps folding or do we take a step back and rebuild to move forward?

This was the reality of the situation that faced everyone in the organisation and it especially affected our senior members who were going to have to take on more responsibility and be patient whilst we invested time and energy in training very young new members!

Each member had the option to leave or stay and be part of helping to inspire the new Stafford Lancers; virtually everyone decided to rise to this unique challenge.

From there intense recruiting started and the plan of action kicked off! Firstly the few Lancers Cadets were amalgamated with the main Corps. A mass recruitment drive was immediately implemented with demonstrations and workshops that specifically targeted Schools.

General Corps awareness was raised attending town meetings and a major PR Project was launched to run alongside the recruitment programme. This was so intensive and focused that it was to succeed beyond our wildest dreams; our target of again getting a show out on the field in both BYBA and DCUK looked feasible.

Our selection of repertoire was severely limited as we needed to choose very carefully music that would be achievable but challenging from the newest to the most experienced member; a fine balancing act!

Fielding a Corps of over 75% raw new rookies the corps would compete in the British Youth Band Association (BYBA) Novice Class and the Drum Corps United Kingdom (DCUK) Junior Class.

"Out of Darkness Cometh Light" was chosen as the name of our 2002 programme which was to reflect the re-emergence of the Corps and its determination never to give in!

The Programme Team went back to basics, with a simple aim to put out a show that was easy and enjoyable - a crowd pleasing show was foremost. The Visual Team implemented a Block Concept, which represented a strong solid object; a celebration of the strong new team!

Now came the mammoth task - Would we get all of these new members to PLAY and MARCH? On a cold April morning, seven weeks before the start of the season, the whole Corps stepped out on the practice field for the first time to try and do just that! This was the crunch and it happened! The show was ropey and lacking in confidence, but they did it! An unbelievable sense of pride was experienced, it was game on!

Months of hard work paid off and the show was completed for our first dress rehearsal, held at the Stafford Rangers Football Club. As the Corps took the field for there first Public Performance the Heavens Opened, with a Mass Down Pour of Rain and Hail, but the show must go on and the corps performed there hearts out.

Then the Corps went out on the road performing up and down the country on DCUK & BYBA competition circuits with mass success, with most results coming in 1st or 2nd placing. As the season progressed we had our ups and downs, but again for every hurdle and every obstacle the Corps and the members overcame them.

Confidence and belief was growing that we could do the impossible and win a Championship for the first time in the Corps history and, so came the greatest day so far in Stafford Lancers history ? The DCUK 2002 Championship Finals.

This was it, this was really it; all that mattered was to go out there and do ourselves justice and go for it ?Be the best, the best that we could be". As the Corps marched onto the field and we were introduced "will you please welcome, from Stafford, The Stafford Lancers" a wall of sound greeted us from our supporters waving banners, then the salute was taken by Jason! From that moment on Stafford Lancers were on fire, an absolutely stunning performance and as the final note rang out around the stadium people were on there feet.

The members had done all that was asked of them they had risen to the challenge and given it their best shot, regardless of the result we were over the moon with the performance but did not have any time to catch our breath as it was straight onto retreat.

The Corps lined up in the order they had performed and in no time at all the Junior Class results were about to be given out: 5th place Senators, 4th place 6th Hove, then in third place Concord!

Only those present will really truly know what it was like for the 30 seconds that followed that whether you were in the stands or on the field each and everyone of you will know what it was like waiting and will never forget as long as you will live what was to follow.

"In second place .....

and runners up....

with a score of.... 72.3

............ Phoenix!!!" our fiercest competitors and rivals all season.

I personally (Dave) don?t remember much after that, just the feeling overwhelmed with joy and pride and I am not ashamed to say that I shed a tear or two. Then there it was "and the 2002 Drum Corps United Kingdom...Junior Class Champions....with a score of 73.1....STAFFORD LANCERS, we had done it.

After that the medals and those well-earned Red patches were given out followed by an impromptu photo shoot in front of our cheering supporters.

We never expected such an amazing year, with the Corps breaking many long standing corps records in placing, scores, caption wins and membership numbers.

2002 was most likely our greatest year so far, having the courage and belief to rebuild, achieving everything that we did in an almost unbelievable time span. The respect and admiration that has been earned from all over the UK for what we as an organisation have done in 2002 is something to be really proud of and this is just the start of a new era, maybe even a golden era for Stafford Lancers.

Make No Mistake LANCERS WERE BACK!

Marching Membership
BRASS LINE: 31
PERCUSSION: 11
GUARD: 17
TOTAL: 60

2002 Contesting Season Noteable Results
DCUK Finals - Champions
BYBA Finals - Runners Up
BYBA League - 3rd
DCUK Grantham - Champions
DCUK Scunthorpe - Champions
DCUK Prelims - Winners
BYBA Chase YBC - Champions
BYBA Northern Star YBC - Champions
BYBA Black Country YBC - Runners Up
BYBA Soundswell YBC - Runners Up

DCUK Section Wins
Brass - 3
Percussion - 1
Guard - 4
OE Music - 4
OE Visual - 2
Overall Effect - 2

BYBA Section Wins
Brass - 1
Percussion - 1
Guard - 3
GE Music - 4
GE Visual - 2
Drum Major - 4