Continental Ambassadors

The Continental Ambassadors drum & bugle corps was formed in 1971 through a merger between two Wichita corps, the Phantoms & the Scarlet Lancers as a self-supporting unit.

The corps was a member of the Great Plains Association circuit and a perennial participant in the KS American Legion (AL) state championships. They began their journey with an appearance in the 1971 VFW Nationals, placing 24^th in the prelims and participated the following year in the preliminary round in the 1972 AL Nationals, where they finished in 14^th position. In 1973, the corps competed within the Great Plains and placed 4^th in both the KS VFW and KS AL state contests. They had also finished 4^th at the Legion convention the previous two seasons.

The Continental group competed regionally in 1974, succeeding in their highest ranking in the KS AL state championships, placing 2^nd and returned the following year to a 4^th place finish at the convention along with a 15^th place preliminary finish at the 1975 AL Nationals. The corps embarked on their first major tour in 1976, competing in the prelims at the DCI Midwest “Open Class”, placing 27^th and the US Open “Class A” division, finishing 19^th. They were also a finalist in the Key to the Sea Open, positioning 7^th in “Class A” competition.

Over the next two seasons, they participated in the DCI “Class A” prelims, ranking 21^st in 1977 and improved to 11^th in 1978. They also made their final appearance in the 1977 AL Nationals, where they placed 29^th in the preliminaries and finished 4^th (1977) and 5^th (1987) in the KS AL state championships. After a season of regional contests in 1979, the corps returned one final time to the DCI “Class A” championships, placing 12^th in the prelims.

In 1981, the Continental Ambassadors remained active and over the course of that summer, hosted a contest involving the proposal of a new name for the group. After receiving hundreds of submissions, Jill Stone Barrientos won the contest, naming the corps the Wichita Esprit. Unfortunately, due to a lack of interest, the corps was unable to reorganize.

They disbanded in 1982.

Paul Legault (DCX)