corps present:
Ambassadors, Aurora/Newmarket, ON
Kiwanis Kavaliers, Kitchener, ON
Dutch Boy Cadets, Kitchener, ON
Durham Girls, Durham, ON
St. Andrew's, Cambridge, ON
Bluewater Buccaneers, Sarnia, ON
Leamington Townsmen, Leamington, ON
Cavalier Cadets, Chicago, IL
Simcoe Goldem Lions, Simcoe, ON(?)
"C" class finals
1) Bluewater Buccaneers, Sarnia, ON
2) Ambassadors, Aurora/Newmarket, ON
July 28, 1979, Scarborough, ON
1) Ambassadors, Aurora/Newmarket, ON 69.7
all captions: Ambassadors
Article from the The Banner(Aurora), August 8, 1979:
Ambassadors arrive just in time
By CAROL MULLIGAN Newmarket Editor
Ambassadors Drum Corps Director Paul Ranson thought he had it all planned Sunday.
The corps boarded two buses Sunday morning for a band competition in Simcoe. And all aboard were determined to win the title that had eluded them there in two previous years.
A well-planned schedule would allow them plenty of time to complete the journey, arrive early for a cooling drink and still give them time to hit the practice field and be ready for the judges.
Mr. Ranson and his wife Bev arrived early by car and watched the first bus pull up. After a few minutes of toe-tapping, they realized the second load of musicians had been delayed.
Word was sent that the second vehicle had broken down somewhere on the side of the road near Cambridge. It looked like the Simcoe award would again elude the Ambassadors' grasp.
Mrs. Ranson, said in an interview Monday night they would have sent the other bus back for the waylaid musicians but garbled communications made it unclear exactly where they were stranded.
And while marching bands are notoriously competitive, the other corps slowed their pace (to the audience's consternation) to give the Ambassadors time to arrive.
Their location was finally pin-pointed, the rescue bus sent for them, and the corps arrived just in time to gulp a swig of lemonade and race to the field.
It's not known whether the other corps later regretted their co-operation but the Ambassadors captured the first place trophy with the best horn line and color guard.
But a hectic schedule is not new to the Ambassadors, who performed nine shows on Civic Holiday Monday.
They started the day off with a parade at Musselman's Lake near Ballantrae, entertained residents at Aurora and Newmarket nursing homes and did two shows at McDonald's Restaurant in Newmarket.
Mr. Ranson said the corps learned a valuable lesson at the recent provincial championship in Kitchener in which they placed second.
"They learned they can be had," he said of his corps, which captured both the national and provincial titles last year.
But losing helped the 70-odd youngsters develop a new philosophy
According to Mr. Ranson, they're more interested now in entertaining audiences than chalking up points on the judges' clipboards.
The new outlook is sharpening their skills considerably, he says.
The group will be put to the test Saturday, Aug. 18, at the "C" Circuit Championship to be held at the Newmarket Fairgrounds.
August 5, 1979, Simcoe, ON, Norfolk County Fairgrounds, "Cavalcade
of Music"
"C" class
1) Ambassadors, Aurora/Newmarket, ON 69.3
2) Kiwanis Kavaliers, Kitchener, ON 64.2
3) Durham Girls, Durham, ON 46.7
4) St. Andrew's, Cambridge, ON 43.9
Golden Lions, Simcoe, ON appeared in exhibition
August 11, 1979, Bramalea, ON, "Nitty-Gritty-Brama-Ching-Wing-Ding"
1) Ambassadors, Aurora/Newmarket, ON 76.2
August 12, 1979, Durham, ON
1) Ambassadors, Aurora/Newmarket, ON 72.0
also present
Kiwanis Kavaliers, Kitchener, ON
Durham Girls, Durham, ON