Dance/Drill: DDCA Championships reveal a final dance for some categories

Clackamas receives a high score, Canby sweeps four categories, and teams say goodbye to Modern, Contemporary, and Novelty.

Dancers waiting for awards - DDCA Championships

The Dance and Drill Coaches Association of Oregon held their Championship event at Clackamas High School over the weekend. The last official Dance/Drill event of 2025.  

Formerly known as the DDCA Invitational, and before that the DDCA Category Championships, this event serves as a pseudo culminating event for the early part of the Dance/Drill season. When the OSAA State Championships adopted the Category format in 2023, the DDCA Championships went through various structural and title changes, but for this year, the DDCA Championships it is. 

The DDCA Championships showcase the final performances of the Modern, Novelty, and Contemporary Categories, although many of these routines will be adapted for other categories during the second half of the season. In addition, teams shared Pom, Jazz, and Hip Hop offerings for a supportive audience.

This event was not as robust this year, as are many of the Dance/Drill events in recent years. The DDCA Championships may have had lower attendance by teams, but did not disappoint in talent and enthusiasm.

Joining a handful of teams we have already been following this season, we saw couple teams that have not yet made an appearance. Sherwood and Newport both joined the scene, bringing another set of routines to the floor alongside the following teams: Barlow, Canby, Clackamas, Cleveland, Forest Grove, Gresham, Lakeridge, Lincoln, Mountainside, Nelson, Newberg, Scappoose, Sherwood, Sprague, Tigard, West Linn, and Wilsonville.

The competition consisted of one round, jam packed with electric performances. Kicking off the day were the Jazz offerings, divided into two modest 6A and 1A-5A groups of with three teams each. Barlow nabbed the top spot for 6A Jazz, sneaking their way up the podium with their first Jazz win this season. The three 6A Jazz scores were remarkably close, all within one point of each other. 

For the second weekend in a row, Canby landed the top spot in the 1A-5A Jazz group.

Clackamas - 1st place Contemporary (6A), 3rd Place Jazz (6A)

Contemporary proved to be a highly competitive category for the 6A group with seven teams. Clackamas had a clear lead in the final results, sharing their routine titled "For River," receiving the competition high score of the day (85.39).  

It is noteworthy that many of the follow-up team placements varied widely among individual judges, suggesting the performances were of comparable quality and that the finest nuance may have individually influenced each judge’s eye, attention, or emotional connection. Final average scores were close among several teams but all fell clearly behind Clackamas. The math revealed Sherwood for the second place finish, for their first time out this season.

The 1A-5A Contemporary group with three teams revealed Canby's "The People We Don't Know" to be the winning routine, a second win of the day for Canby. 

Two teams battled for the top spot in the Modern Category. As they often do, Canby and Sprague went head to head with two lovely routines. Sprague explored having their head in the clouds, dreamy and light, and Canby stayed grounded with subtle hints of African dance influence. Canby took the title this year, an undefeated season for Canby’s Modern. 

Hip Hop was happ'nin, as always, with four teams. Although there was only one group for Hip Hop, all the teams were from 6A schools. Sherwood, Lakeridge, Gresham, and Mountainside all put some great moves on the floor. Sherwood’s routine, with clever costume manipulation in tattered, hooded gray tops, earned the first place finish. 

Three Novelty routines took the floor, all of which have competed against each other at past events. Sprague took the category, after a strong run all season with first place at each competition they’ve attended.  

Although it is the end of the line for Novelty, Contemporary, and Modern categories for now, many of the routines may have new life in a different category as the season progresses. Often, teams choose to adapt routines for the Show and Traditional categories, as these categories will be added to the competition line-up at future events.  

Forest Grove - First Place Pom (6A)

Pom closed the show for the DDCA Championship event with three teams in the 6A group and three in the 1A-5A group. Forest Grove took the top spot for the 6A group, after quite the roller-coaster ride so far this season. A clean and dynamic performance by Forest Grove (82.17) edged out Tigard (81.67) by just enough.

For the 1A-5A group, Canby closed the show for the day and nabbed the first place finish over Wilsonville and Scappoose. Congrats to Canby for taking first place in each category they entered for the second weekend in a row.

Drill down had a championship round for Novelty and Advanced. Any dancer that placed as a finalist so far this season in their level had the opportunity to compete for the top three placements.  A small group of dancers gathered on the floor for each level. In novice the champion was Katie Lin (Scappoose), followed by Cory Tonkin (Cleveland) and Savy Shields (Sprague).  In the advanced level, Onika Hernandez (Wilsonville) took first place, followed by Ruby Nunley (Parkrose) and Naomi Hamlin (Sprague).

DDCA Championship - First Pace Finishes

• Contemporary (6A): Clackamas (85.39)

• Modern: Canby (83.78)

• Hip Hop: Sherwood (82.44)

• Pom (6A): Forest Grove (82.17)

• Novelty: Sprague (82.00)

• Contemporary (1A-5A): Canby (81.83)

• Pom (1A-5A): Canby (80.17)

• Jazz (1A-5A): Canby (76.39)

• Jazz (6A): Barlow (73.89)

• All results

As we venture into 2026, we will see many of these teams continue or adapt their routines to fit the OSAA Dance/Drill State Championship bound categories. In many cases, we will see new routines from these teams, and more teams will join the fight as the season becomes even more consequential and competitive.  

The state championship categories are Hip Hop, Pom, Jazz, Traditional, and Show. Kick is also an option, however it has shown less popularity in recent years and its state-bound status is not certain. 

For the remainder of the Dance/Drill season, teams still often choose to do a variety of routines and categories. Only two are allowed to be submitted to the OSAA Dance/Drill State Championships. One routine must qualify with a minimum score, so choosing the most competitive routine for each team becomes a primary focus.  Needless to say, it's a strategy game for many teams as they consider what the best options are for their path to the OSAA Dance/Drill State Championships. 

At this time, as far as team line-ups and category divisions, nobody has a clear picture on what the State Championships will look like. Teams can usually count on separate 1A-5A and 6A groups, but there is always the hope that 1A-4A and 5A can maintain enough teams to hold independent divisions in certain categories. A five team minimum is required for a 1A-4A, 5A, or 6A category group to remain independent and not combined with another classification. The three month journey from now until March 20 and 21, when teams meet at the Salem Pavilion for the final time, is going to be adventurous and full of excitement.

There is a brief break for the holidays, but competitions will resume in January, with the DDCA Solo/Duo/Trio Championships and a variety of other team events, paving the way to the OSAA Dance/Drill Championships.