Spartans Drum and Bugle Corps

The Spartans Drum and Bugle Corps was founded in 1955 by Albert LaFlamme. LaFlamme was succeeded as corps director by his son, Peter. Today, the corps is run by Albert's grandson, Paul LaFlamme.^[3][4]

A fire in 1999 destroyed nearly everything the corps owned: instruments, uniforms, equipment, vehicles. The dedication of the corps' members, staff, and supporters, as well as the greater drum corps community, kept the corps in operation and in competition, with the corps placing second that year at DCI Division II Finals in Madison, Wisconsin.

Despite being DCI Division II Champions five times, in 2009 the economic downturn forced the Spartans into bankruptcy. Bingo revenues had dropped off to a point where the corps discontinued that fundraising activity. Efforts to sell the corps hall had not been successful.^[5][6] The corps went through a year of inactivity and reorganized, including a change of management and sale of the corps hall.^[7][8] The corps then successfully returned to competition in 2010.^[9]

Since returning to the DCI competition field in 2010, the Spartans have never placed outside the top 5 in the Open Class championship. The corps has also qualified for World Class semi finals consecutively since 2012, regularly finishing above a number of World Class corps.^[10]

In 2019, ten years after the corps went inactive, the Spartans were crowned the champions of the 2019 DCI Open Class World Championship with a score of 81.050. They were also the only corps to go undefeated throughout the regular season before world finals week. This was repeated in 2023 and 2024 when the Spartans were consecutively crowned undefeated Open Class World Champions.^[11]

In 2025, after two undefeated seasons in a row, the Spartans announced their intent to transition to DCI's World Class for the 2026 season and beyond. They will undergo a hybrid classification structure for the 2025 season, and will compete in eight World Class shows, where they will perform alongside other World Class groups. An official vote at DCI's postseason membership meeting will determine their status for the 2026 season. ^[12][13]

The Spartans were selected to march in the 99th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade taking place on November 27th, 2025.^[14]

On September 26th, 2025, the Spartans were approved by the board of DCI for World Class membership. ^[15]