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Totally disagree. IMO the talent top to bottom has never been better. The corps in 8th...9th...10th...and beyond are absolutely amazing today.

Or singers because drum corps needs more singers.

The following excerpt from the DCI petition certainly is a problem, and since the NCAA addresses it on their governance level so can DCI: "There have been, and continue to be, instances of sexual misconduct by staff members with student performers. This can include sexual activities, solicitation of sexual activities, solicitation of sexual photos, etc. This problem is not unique to DCI, but in drum corps the adults and students spend a tremendous amount of time together and the opportunity for misconduct is large."

Is something broken? You get 150 and make do. You mange costs better and drill has more dynamic movement. And increasing size diminishes overall quality if not for one unit then at least for another. And those corps fighting to recruit and retain have a much more difficult go of it. Why can't some things just be left alone?

units that big on the field look like a mess to me

An update:... 1700 signatures on the petition so far... with their goal of up to as many as 2500. I do know there are quite a few current marchers in DCI.. ( 2017 and 2018 seasons)... that have signed the petition as well. Its a diverse group that have signed, when we see both current and former alums/ fans thinking this petition to DCI itself is worthy.

I hear ya... if what I'm seeing among the corps in, say, the 10-17 range is "diminished quality"... I would love to be in a corps of such "diminished quality." LOL. The depth and quality of DCI's top division, in terms of talent and performance levels, has never been better, IMO. Today's 15th-place corps would have been a rock-solid finalist not too many years ago.

Thankfully.

Have you seen the parking lots at the Alamodome or Lucas Oil? Where would you put 1 extra bus per Corps? Ignore logistics? You have obviously never driven a bus and had to figure where to park. I vote no.

Same here during my time, Mike. Some things never change.

It was a luxury when I marched as well, from 64-72.

Thanks for the correction.

I want to stress - this is not a rampant, wild, out of control problem. Parents should not assume that every student who marches drum corps WILL be assaulted and harassed. I would argue 90% of the performers have no real issues. As for some examples besides the thoroughly discussed example at Cadets. Someone brought this up: http://www.crossmen.org/joel-moody-bio http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-04-02/news/os-moody-sexy-student-text-messages-20100401_1_text-messages-band-director-female-student It looks like there were never charges filed. So there's no issue with passing a criminal background check. Pioneer also had an instructor who was a registered sex offender. His sentence did not bar him from working with young people. So maybe he got caught urinating in public and got put on the list. I'm also aware of situations where a young-ish staffer got caught with older students. So think 19 year old student, 24 year old instructor. Should the instructor be given a life sentence? No. Should they be able to teach a different drum corps the next year? In my opinion, no. So again, most DCI instructors are fantastic people. Send your kid off to march. I still believe it will be a great experience. And sign the petition and then ask the directors at whatever corps you kid is marching how they feel about the petition. Ask them what their policies are for sexual harassment. Ask how complaints are documented. Ask what the social media policy for instructors is. Ask about background checks. If you and every parent of a DCI performer asked these questions, we would see some changes. These individuals that manage to slip through the cracks will find it a lot more difficult.

150 is based on current bus capacity for modern-day coaches (53 is common in the busses rented today). Re: the original post, adding 50 more members would do little to improve the on-field production, and serve to increase the amount of drag for each corps when it comes to moving the members around, getting them fed, communications, etc, etc. Theoretically it would help put another 700-800 people in the stands for Finals night, but aside from that, I'm not sure I see a value for DCI in the increase.

I don’t doubt it for a second.

Very curious here ... does anyone doubt this is a real problem?

If this is true, not doubting you, but if it is true that many of the signators are current members of corps, that right there is both very telling and interesting.

what fans on DCp want and whats proposed dont always go hand in hand ya know

I was responding to this quote...."Also, outside of the top 6, the corps overall quality is diminished – the top corps get all the talent at the expense of the mid-trier corps".

if i recall Tilt wasn't trotted out super early. it's a game. builds suspense. and really if 5th is bad, heaven help us all

Ok..,great

Go back to what many consider the best of the best and watch those old videos.Its nice how sometimes our memories filter .lol I would totally agree with Mike., although like these corps today those bitd were also amazing

I see what you mean...perhaps I should have said...bluecoats was last to announce 2 seasons in a row...the first season they won...the second season they took 5th...hence the announcement is a no starter...in terms of their competitive placement...

dont be logical

I see no problem with this. I'm just afraid the extra bus would go to woodwinds and guard. Mike

My sig covers this.

To follow the analogy then to Little league World Series here and to numbers on the field... there is NO effort afloat to change the numbers on the field in the Little League World Series . It is currently 9 And it will probably remain at 9 until infants no longer need a diaper.

And yet, here you are? Mike

If this wasn’t a problem I would agree with you. But that is simply not the case. Which is why there have been so many sign the petition. Most of these issues are ignored, some handled discreetly, and others legally, all of which makes this a difficult and at times a volatile debate.

Because every time the bar is raised, more corps trip over it. We went from 400 corps to 40 corps over the DCI era. What we should be doing is looking at ways to reverse that trend. And if we adopted your philosophy, expanding from local/regional to national/international tours improved the overall appeal and visibility of DCI. Why stop there? Expand the DCI tour to other continents.

I have to admit something to everyone in cadet land here on DCP. I hold a GRUDGE, from all the way back in 1989. I need to get this Monkey off my back, so I thought I would start here. Sometime this week I will explain the GRUDGE, what I am going to do to get rid of the Monkey off my back and Yep, things are about to get juicy! Alcohol you later, Peace.

I’m so glad you can be serious when called on misleading statements. (Insert sarcasm here). Never claimed to be a lawyer either. I have watched you try to play one on DCP though lol. And if something happened in a DCI corps, in today’s litigious society think dci wouldn’t get tied to the suit as the sanctioning body?

While I understand that the subject has been all over the news lately I wasn't expecting to see it on DCP. I have enough confidence in Don Acheson's ability to run an organization like DCI that I don't think a petition of this type is necessary. This seems to be a solution in search of a problem.

Just a slight correction here.... but the man in question was director of that corps before 1975... had been in that position since before the DCI era began.

a St. Patrick theme?

The only potential announcement "hint" I've heard about so far is from Pioneer.

not all reactions to all music genres are the same. the excitement one feels for an upbeat jazz chart is very different from what one might feel for a barber orchestral piece. that doesn't mean excitement ceases to exist for one vs the other. just wanted to make that clear. i got up and whooped and hollered for madison in 99 when they did some big numbers from jesus christ superstar, but i was equally as excited by BK's wind orchestra music show even though i didn't get up and yell once. pretty sure i'm not alone. i want more jazz for sure, though. lots of amazing big band charts that haven't hit the field for dci yet.

I am not suggesting that the petition should be signed, and but this does seem to be a concern of people involved in the activity. I think in light of lessons learned from the Boy Scouts, the Catholic Church and other religious organizations, the YMCA, the Boys and Girls Clubs, and countless other groups, DCI and its member corps should know the safety of youth has to be paramount. A shared policy of protection of minors and hiring practices stating you do not hire people who would not pass a CORI, have been found guilty of sexual misconduct, have lost teaching certifications due to sexual misconduct or are under investigation is common sense and should be current practices of all corps and having all DCI members agree to such a policy and sign it should not be a problem.

Could just take the My Chemical Romance "Black Parade" album and run with it.