A subsidiary of the All-American Drum and Bugle Corps and Band Association, the All-American Association  of Contest Judges (AAACJ)  was the pioneering judging group, formed in 1933 to provide standardized rules, procedures, judging methods and scoring sheets for all captions, to form and maintain a source of qualified, uniformly-trained judges, and thereby to ensure efficiently organized contests. The AAACJ set up self-supporting nonprofit state chapters under its National Headquarters to better qualify regional judging applicants. Each chapter was headed by a chief judge and had both an Executive Committee and an Examining Committee (responsible for prospective judging candidates). Regular AAACJ meetings were held to discuss and suggest solutions to past contest problems, and these were submitted to the National Headquarters through the National Commissioner's publication The Bulletin for consideration by other state AAACJ chapters. Both AAACJ and its parent organization remained active into the late 1960s. (DrumCorpsWiki, February 2006)

The Southern California Chapter of the All-American was one of the chapters of the AAACJ which also remained active into the late 1960s.  The Southern California All-American Chapter broke away from the national organization and remained an independent organization still called the “All-American” until 1985 which it eventually disassociated itself with the All-American name and officially become the Southern California Judging Association, Inc.

D&B and Band Association:

Organized in Chicago in 1932, and meeting for the first time in 1933, All-American was for years the dominant force in the drum corps movement. Its purpose was "to foster, coordinate and perpetuate corps and bands and to extend recognition to individuals who are and have been outstanding in this movement." Somewhat allied to the American Legion with whom it shared many members, its annual conventions were held during the regular American Legion national conventions. (See All-American Association of Contest Judges.) By the mid-1960s, All-American had lost most of its influence in the contemporary drum corps movement.

The purpose of this organization shall be to adjudicate, educate, encourage, promote, and stimulate interest of people of all ages in the participation in the visual and Performing Arts. The Association shall also strive to develop and improve the abilities, knowledge, philosophies and techniques of those participating and instructing in those self same arts by conducting educational programs such as classes and clinics which will provide a broader knowledge of the Pageantry Arts thereby benefitting all individuals concerned. The Visual and Performing Arts may be defined by units/groups that include, but not limited to any and all Music Groups, Color Guards, Tall Flags, Drill Teams, Dance Ensembles, Drum Majors, Majorettes/Twirling Groups, etc.

Our philosophy of judging and our judging techniques shall be consistent with the National standards accepted by our competing units. Our standards will be consistent for all units within a given contest and from contest to contest. Our ranking and rating shall reflect the quality of the performance and program according to a national criteria and shall not reflect personal bias or preferences.

Membership in this organization shall be granted to those who qualify, subject to the following:

A) Any person twenty-one (21) years of age or older, having a qualifying background in any field
discussed in Article II. Proposed member must file an application and pass a probation program.

B) Exception: Those applicants petitioning adjudication status in any of the music-related disciplines
shall also possess a music degree from an accredited college or university. Those applicants without
such degree must first submit two (2) letters of recommendation, which will certify music qualifications
for admittance to the probationary program, prepared and administered by the Association.

C) All applications shall be submitted to the Board of Directors for approval. A majority vote of the
Board of Directors shall be sufficient to approve the applicant. The Board of Directors will vote to
accept an applicant to caption adjudication status after said applicant has satisfactorily completed the
probationary program.

D) All applicants shall be informed of the financial obligations connected with membership.

E) All members of the Association shall pay regular annual dues as established by the Board of
Directors. Dues are payable on the first day of January each year. There are no pro-rated dues for
membership of less than one year. Judging assignments will be made only to members who have
paid their current year dues.

F) All Association members shall attend a minimum of two (2) mandatory clinics annually, and any
other required activities as established by the Board of Directors. Failure to meet these minimums
shall disqualify a member of all adjudication assignments until said member completes two (2)
sanctioned clinics during the succeeding 12-month period.

If you would like to apply, please fill out the application form.