The Colt Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps will be rehearsing at Ottumwa High School from July 6 -19 for their spring training. Their training was delayed this past spring due to Covid. They will then present a free community performance at Schafer Stadium on July 18 at 6:30 p.m. as a token of their appreciation for use of our facilities.
The Colt Cadets are an outstanding performing group primarily made up of members in middle school and high school from Dubuque and the tri-state area. Founded in 1967, the Colt Cadets are one of the few remaining cadet corps in the country. The corps is part of Drum Corps International's Open Class. In 2006, the Colt Cadets were named Most Improved Corps in DCI Division II (now known as Open Class). In 2010, the Colt Cadets became a DCI Open Class Finalist (among the top 12 in their division) for the first time in their history. They have since earned finalist honors several times over the past decade.
During a normal season, this group will travel across the midwest and compete in about 25 competitions throughout the summer. Their season ends with the Drum Corps International (DCI) Finals, held every year in Indianapolis during the second week of August.
Students practice from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day and sleep on gym floors in various host schools across the midwest. They are fed four large meals a day due to the estimated 6,000-7,000 calories burned per day rehearsing.
OHS junior, Dominic Gerleman, is a member of this year's corps. A trumpet player, Gerleman has been training via zoom and taking lessons with the Colt Cadets staff since February, preparing musically and physically for the 2021 season.
