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Hi everyone, as 2017 comes to an end, I thought that it would be nice to take some time to look back on the events that occurred in 2017. For starters, Blue Devils won their 18th title in 2017 and celebrated their 60th anniversary. Also in 2017, the Santa Clara Vanguard finished in 2nd and also celebrated their 50th anniversary as well. It was the first time Santa Clara Vanguard medaled since 2004. Also in 2017, the Cavaliers, the Boston Crusaders, the Madison Scouts, and the Mandarins made incredible jumps in 2017. The Cavaliers managed to slide into 4th place at DCI finals ahead of the Bluecoats, the Boston Crusaders finished in 6th place and beat the Cadets for the first time since 1980, the Madison Scouts made it back into the finals and finished in 12th place, and the Mandarins had their best season ever and finished in 13th place, their highest placement ever. They also finished the season with a 85.550, their highest score ever. Lastly, to conclude this list, we have Genesis and Music City. Genesis finished their very first competitive season in world class in 2017. They finished in 23th place and scored a 76.213, their highest score ever. And finally, the biggest headline for 2017 is Music City’s move to world class. Music City finished in 4th place in open class finals and finished in 24th place in world championship semi finals. In open class finals, Music City scored their highest score ever and scored a 76.763. In the world class semi finals, Music City scored a 74.275, their highest finish at DCI world class championships. Overall, 2017 was a great year and hopefully, we will have many great new story lines next year in 2018!

http://www.draconika.com/cultures/dragons-in-celtic-mythology.php

except history shows, and i'm fiscally conservative, but tickle down always leads to recessions. If it's anything like the last one, does the government have the will to step up to the plate again?

Cavaliers have some huge plans for their 70th for sure.

I loved them from their opening hit in Ft. Wayne during the 2014 tour that wasn’t supposed to happen. They made everyone sit up and say, “Whoa. They sound bigger than they look.” The BD parent sitting next to me was super impressed. I'd still like to see a double performance of Music City doing the Tribe show and Madison doing Last Man Standing simultaneously while facing each other.

Thank goodness they didn't. The most annoying DCI show to that date. (Cadets 2008: "Hold my beer.")

what are your sources for these generalizations or are you making conjectures? Do you have facts and figures or just rumors and hear say? Cadets used a very different method of auditions for them this year including video. January and after will tell. Crown is still to be considered the current contemporary standard of the East until proven on the field otherwise. One season by an upstart is not the definition of a legacy no matter how much bitter baggage you carry.

The continued rumors of staffers not being paid anywhere near on time is scary, though. You cannot run an organization with so many bodies on the road for months with constant money issues, it eventually catches up with you.

And guard staff, that's been a weak point for years.

YES ! Listen to Frank, DONT miss this clinic, ALL are welcomed to attend.

‘74 Kilties. The best brassline they ever had. ‘78 Guardsmen. Without them, there was no ‘79 Guardsmen. I know. I was there.

If we can just get a good visual staff, this year might work out for Pio....

The Cadets almost folded in 1980. What the Cadets are going thru at the moment pales to that. They not only rebounded from that near folding of their Corps, we know they not only rebounded, they flourished, and like never before too. Time will tell where the Cadets go from here. But its not like they are on the ropes and are about to fall off the face of the earth here... lol!

True. But thats a double edged sword too. There are times when what you learned before, needs to be unlearned, to make room for some " entirely brand new, learnings ". We have always said how the " Drum Corps activity " evolves. Well, organizations, especially any run by one individual" for decades" essentially the same way, needs to successfully evolve too. Maybe we can " teach an old dog new tricks". We are about to find out over the next few years it seems to me, as good bad or indifferent, it appears no young pups are being bred in the Cadets liter at the moment to future run their operation..

As someone who works in health care, I find this rather sad. So now that young healthy individual decides not to keep their insurance, becomes ill and now possibly is left with massive medical debt. I see this _a lot_. What that uninsured person did not pay is absorbed by the federal government and states (i.e., taxpayers), the practitioners and hospital that served them, those who donate, etc. The burden is just being shifted elsewhere. This is already off-topic, and I won't argue about whether the mandate was good or bad, but an increase in uninsured individuals is not an improvement, and definitely not a step in the right direction of trying to contain health care costs.

Pretty sure 27th did Sunday in the Park their last year of existence.

There's no reason to feel bad for me. I seized my days 100% and enjoyed the hell out of them. It's up to the Cadets of today to seize their day.

don't underestimate the fact that C2 wants the kids taught the way the Cadets are. Same techniques and everything. And let's be honest, Cadets were never an age out destination for the most talented. Several of the championships were won with the hardest working kids on the planet, in addition to a staff with a united vision and the means to get the corps to where it ended up. In terms of pure individual talent, Cadets have never been among the leaders in DCI. It's how the team there molded the talent and had a design vision that worked. I'd be less worried about the talent of the kids than I would be of the design vision.

With so many age outs, it’s tough to expect SCV to remain in medal contention. They will no doubt benefit from a lot of move ups from Vanguard Cadets, but to remain a medalist contender you have to have a corps dominated by destination marchers. Likewise, this to me is the key year for Cadets. If they don’t make a comeback, which I think is unlikely, you could see them drop to the lower half of the finalists for some time to come. They have always been one of the few destination corps for experienced marchers, and I frankly don’t see that happening anymore. There are other more compelling options now, especially with Boston establishing themselves as an east coast medalist contender. I’d be surprised if their competitive grouping doesn’t end up being with/against Phantom and Crossmen. I’m still holding out hope that Knights finally make that next big leap forward. They will always be cutting edge musically, but will they design around a visual concept? Hopeful but not optimistic. They will remain in the second grouping until they get religion from a design and story telling standpoint. Bluecoats will contend for the gold, with Blue Devils and Crown. I have a sneaking suspicion Crown will emerge with their second gold medal this year.

I think Brasso has it right. There has been a lot of diversity for years, even though the recent outfits of some corps have been dramatically different. My guess is there will always be space for the traditional uniform and that its appearance will be welcome, maybe even thrilling. After a couple of years of costumes, wouldn't DCI fans shout out the return of the traditional SCV or Scouts look?

This study indicates there may be a reduction of donations across the U.S. of up to $13 billion, or 4.5%. This does not bode well for DCI or the corps involved. Many different sources indicate that benefits are overwhelmingly skewed towards higher income households, and many lower and middle income earners will actually see their tax burdens increase. Most of the corporate cuts are expected to go to shareholders instead of to investment or wage increases. The national debt will balloon over $1 trillion over the next ten years. All of this disincentivizes donations. DCI and most corps probably won't be affected immediately, but expect their financial situations to worsen over time with this trajectory, especially smaller corps or those with marginal finances.

Can't see this thread going off course

Here is our entire brass staff ... very proud of the team we've put together to teach our students. A https://pioneer-corps.org/staff/brass.html

Very positive interview. Andy will be a great instructor and mentor. Sounds like Pioneer is putting together a good brass staff. I hope word gets out.

Championship Contenders Blue Devils and Carolina Crown - No elaboration needed for BD. CC is likely to field the kind of design that put them on top. Percussion will begin to rival their amazing brass, and the colorguard will be stronger. These two corps will be the class of the field in 2018. Medal Pool Santa Clara, Cavaliers, Boston Crusaders, and Bluecoats - Santa Clara will remain strong. The Cavies' stock is still rising, propelled by MM maturity, experience, and their brand's re-acquired "it" factor. Boston's wave has still not crested. Retained veterans and an uptick in experienced recruits will keep upward pressure on design, demand, and placement. Bluecoats have weathered their first post-championship season. Their return to the medal hunt will be unhampered by having "just won" (an affliction to which only BD is immune). Mid-tier Blue Knights, Cadets, Phantom, and Blue Stars - BK's brass has been consistently good and their percussion was the talk of Indy in 2017. With an improved guard and a design worthy of the performers, they have a chance to top this tier and possibly snag a top 5 finish. Member retention and an aggressive recruiting effort are solidifying the Cadets' position in this group. Early design readiness will be key to allowing this corps' MMs and championship DNA to deliver and climb. Fine-tuning the Phantom Mystique, and fielding a design that conveys it, will show the younger generation why the "dinos" still revere this corps. Blue Stars were victorious in their last duel with Crossmen. To rise within this group, they will need more design "wow factor" to challenge Phantom, Cadets, and BK. Finalist Contenders Crossmen, Madison, Mandarins, Colts, and Academy - Crossmen are likely to remain solid finalists and challengers to the mid-tier. Madison has both passionate MMs and fans. The question is how these strength will be channeled. Mandarins are putting the most pressure on the others. Colts have a chance to jump in, and Academy needs a dose of their 2016 magic to challenge.