Heat Wave

The Heat Wave drum & bugle corps was originally formed in the fall of 2014 as the Heat Wave of Florida to fill the need for a DCI drum corps in the state, under the leadership of Lou Labetti, former Skyliner and Bridgemen alumni, Dick Beulow, Jon Otero and Benny Pisani.

On May 5^th, 2015, following a period of evaluation of the unit's finances, staffing, and tour plans by DCI’s staff, the corps was accepted as an “Open Class” sanctioned corps, participating in the 2015 DCI Southeastern championships, placing 2^nd. The following season saw the unit travel the South with shows in Florida, Mississippi & Alabama, once again finishing in 2^nd position in the DCI Southeastern “Open Class” regionals.

In 2107, Heat Wave extended its competitive presence to include contests in Georgia, Virginia & Tennessee, as they continued their progression and in 2018, now known as the Heat Wave, performed from the South to Midwest, on their way to preliminary finishes of 15^th in the DCI “Open Class” & 40^th position in the “World Class” divisions. The next year, the Inverness unit toured extensively from the South to the East & Midwest, improving to 14^th & 36^th place rankings in the 2019 DCI “Open Class” & “World Class” divisions, respectively.

The 2020 & 2021 competitive seasons were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as the Heat Wave returned to limited field competition in 2022, relocating to Tampa Bay and participating in the DCI Southeastern “Open Class” contests, placing 2^nd in 2022 & winning the 2023 title. The corps went inactive the following year to solidify their foundation within the community and returned to a more restrained touring format, where the corps was crowned the 2025 DCI Southeastern “Open Class” champions.

Paul Legault (DCX)

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