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DCPI Season 23 Discussion Thread


Galen

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To quote John Lennon, it may have been a long, cold lonely winter so far, but days are about to get a little brighter, as our 23rd season of DCPI gets underway today! We've got some very good turnout this season and a good mix of veteran competitors and fresh faces looking to make a name for themselves. Last season, Ivory Brigade proved that it is indeed possible for a rookie corps to win a championship, and now they'll have a lot of hungry corps nipping at their heels as they seek to defend their title.

The season gets underway today with four regional events, and will see some early action tomorrow with the first Sweepstakes events of the season right out of the gate.

Out west, we start things off at Fresno Central HS in Fresno CA. This event was looking like it may be cancelled up until a few days ago, when the Star of Jupiter corps stepped in to fill some spots on the lineup.

FresnoCACentralHS3000_zps496310f1.jpg

In the southern region, the Confederate Regiment organization brings fantasy corps back to Wichita Falls, TX with their home show at Memorial Stadium. This is a fun venue to perform at and it's good to see a corps make the effort to bring it back onto the calendar. San Antonio Xpress and Texas Zephyrs will also be looking to represent their home state, and New Zealand's Aftershock organization is looking to make a strong impression as well after making their debut during last season.

WichitaFallsTXMemorialStadium10000_zpsfa

In the midwest, Ivory Brigade starts their championship defense in the Chicagoland area, marching off against Dark Knights and River City Regiment at the Benedictine Sports Complex in Lisle IL.

LisleILBenedictineSportsComplex3000_zpse

Finally, out east, Johnstown PA's Richland HS welcomes the Buckeye Brass group of corps to town. They'll face off against veterans such as Pride of Salem, Harmonic and Valley Vanguard as well as newcomers like Hamburg Junior Buccaneers, Schuykill Thunder and Panther Prime.

JohnstownPARichlandHS3000_zpsa1d07b58.jp

As a reminder, there is still time to vote on the poll question of whether to allow the top 6 placing corps from Open Class and Class A to enter the World Class prelims during finals week. This poll will remain open until the 31st, but I'll be posting reminders about it for the first few days of the season:

http://www.drumcorpsplanet.com/forums/index.php/topic/161548-allow-top-6-open-classclass-a-corps-in-wc-prelims/?mode=show

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Out west, we start things off at Fresno Central HS in Fresno CA. This event was looking like it may be cancelled up until a few days ago, when the Star of Jupiter corps stepped in to fill some spots on the lineup.

FresnoCACentralHS3000_zps496310f1.jpg

Yes we were contacted. It kind of fit into our plans to start all our corps out West this season. Normally the corps run their own schedules but Winter is the time the organization can save some dough.

Good luck to all the directors and corps! Old and new! We will see you out on the road.

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I see that scores from last night's competitions have yet to be posted. Are they going to go up anytime soon, Galen? (Sorry if I sound a little impatient. I'd just like to know how my Harmonic did. :smile:)

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Sorry for the delay- scores from last night's events were just posted.

Today's events mark the first Sweepstakes events of the season, and with larger turnouts, mark the start of the season for several corps.

Eastern corps will be at a new venue in Pittsburgh PA, Highmark Stadium. While this venue is a little smaller than the normal Pittsburgh venues we've been using recently, the view of the Pittsburgh skyline from the seats is absolutely amazing and makes this a great venue for this event.

PittsburghPAHighmarkStadium3000TheSoccer

Credit: The Soccer Observer

Highmark2_zps47b780c4.jpg

Credit: Pittmandu.com

Southern corps will be visiting a new venue for us in Texas, Woodforest Bank Stadium in Conroe, a northern suburb of Houston. This stadium has been used several times by BOA recently and now it's time for DCPI to pay a visit.

ConroeTXWoodforestBankStadium10000Woodla

Credit: Woodlands Realty Professionals

In Rockford IL, midwest corps are also visiting a new venue. Auburn HS's turf field and steep stands should make for a nice upgrade from Boylan HS.

RockfordILAuburnHS3000_zps11aefb7f.jpg

Finally, western corps travel up to the Bay Area to visit Avaya Stadium, a new soccer-specific stadium.

SantaClaraCAAvayaStadium15000_zpsa3bdc8a

Credit: Bothman Construction

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The Alpine Scouts report from their opening show:

It was an exciting night for the Alpine Scouts members and staff in Santa Clara, CA, as the corps took to the field for the first time ever in competition.

"The members were super-charged going in. There was an almost tangible buzz in the tunnel," said the brass caption head. "We've had an excellent 3 weeks of all-days, and these kids were ready to show the world what they were made of."

And they delivered. Musically, the corps brought the power, beating out all other corps in the music caption by at least 0.5 points. Visually they were strong as well, beating out another several corps.

Director Leon said the following: "We have an absolutely amazing teaching staff, musically and visually. The visual staff delivers a package which is consistent and looks good on the field, and both they and the music staff instill the philosophy of 'look good play good' into the members. Our brass staff follows the teaching of drum corps greats like VanDoren and Harloff, and that showed up in the sheer power that came off of the brass tonight."

What undid the corps was the GE score. While music and visually they were competitive, they scored almost 2 points below all other corps in the GE caption. Could it be show design issues? Or is the corps just not yet performing the show to the full extent needed?

"Too early to tell," said Leon. "There's a whole season ahead of us. The corps will grow to fit the show. We still have things to add and to tweak. If all else fails, we have some room to make a few mid-season rewrites if needed. But with the level of excellence these kids are putting out there, I think we're going to end up having a fantastic season."

The corps has moved into the Sacramento area for Sunday, where they will get some time off before tomorrow's show.

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Dear DCPI Community,

It has been found that Harmonic's scores from the past two competitions are fraudulous due to the fact that they were made before we were demoted to Division 2. Those who are familiar with the caption selection format will know that Division 1 corps should have a caption point total of no more than 150; for Division 2 corps, the total is no more than 120. We were not reminded that our captions had to be changed to meet the Division 2 standards; therefore, they have remained up through our first two competitions.

What will happen next is pending Galen's response in the DCPI Q&A thread. We hope we will continue to compete in DCPI this season under one of the following two conditions:

(1) We are promoted to Division 1 without having to change our current captions; or

(2) We remain in Division 2 and change our captions to meet the division's standards.

Whichever option we pick, we hope that we will not only continue to compete, but also continue to entertain. Entertainment is always our first priority in the Harmonic Drum Corps Organization. We thank you for enjoying the season with us!

Sincerely,

Mike Gross
Director, Harmonic Drum Corps

P.S. If Galen does not respond to us with an answer for our situation by 11:59 PM CST tomorrow, we request that our performance tomorrow night in Mansfield, OH be in exhibition.

Edited by Cadevilina Crown
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Here's a look at today's events:

The southern group of corps begins their swing out west, heading to the deserts of Tucson AZ. The Aftershock group of corps will be headlining at Ironwood Ridge HS against representatives of both the Confederate Regiment and the Circle City groups.

TucsonAZIronwoodRidgeHS2500_zpse85f08fb.

Eastern corps travel to northeast Ohio to visit Mansfield's Arlin Field, which will host the largest lineup of corps today, including home-state favorites Buckeye Brass.

MansfieldOHArlinField2MSAArch_zpsc029929

Credit: MS Architects

In the midwest, Polaris Regiment will try to overcome a slow start on Saturday at Century HS in Rochester MN, but they'll face both Ivory Brigade and the Dark Knights, who turned heads with their upset victory in Rockford on Saturday.

RochesterMNCenturyHS3000_zpsd3a7bdf2.jpg

Credit: Madison Scouts

And out west, a good mix of veteran corps like Quiksilver and Star of Jupiter and newcomers like Twilight Brigade and Alpine Scouts head to the blue turf of Folsom HS.

SacramentoCAFolsomHS3000_zpsf797fc05.jpg

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