TexasPRfan

That's a very low bar (transparency)... More like an impenetrable fog might be 10% less foggy.

This all sounds cool and I hope Spirit does great. I loved last year's show. My only pause is this... "Expansive stages". 🤮

Make that 3 good shows in a row (counting the Celebration Year). 🙂

Any news on how auditions are going or otherwise? Harvey

I remain a huge fan of the re-organized board and leadership team that came out after the 2019 season, and this just reinforces it yet again. This is also consistent with other communication through this year about their financial situation (I think the term "strongest it's ever been" has been used before earlier this year). Bravo, Regiment!

Have to amend with Cadets not touring (come back strong in '25, HNSB!) I'll lay out 13 - just in case SCV isn't back in Indy. 1. BD - You know they gotta be drooling over being the first to get a 4-peat. Will pull out all the stops - like we've never seen. 2. Bloo - Bridesmaids for a 3rd time in a row. Hoping for fresh approach. 3. Boston - Hoping they find more shows like Wicked Games that grab the heart and fully integrate the sections. You know the guard will be amazing 4. Crown - Until they solve for better, cohesive design and take some smart risks (not risks like Not Here, Not now), all that talent will not yield the results they want. Please stop with the endless crazy technical passages that serve no purpose. 5. Regiment - Looks like the I'm the only one on the momentum bandwagon. Multiple years in a row now most predict Regiment to be static or to slide back. They keep proving everyone wrong. I think 2024 is when that staff & design team take it up a notch. Stability will yield great results and position them to challenge the top 4 in 2025. 6-12 is a complete crap shoot to me... 6. Colts - This is a bit of a wild card, but the more I think about Colts this year, they have a lot of momentum and balanced strengths. Might be over-reaching, but I would not rule this out. 7. Mandarins - Not a huge fall back in performance levels. Hard to have that kind of lightening in a bottle 2 years in a row & more west coast recruiting competition. I could see them as high was 5th though. 8. Cavies - So much ongoing turnover is never a good thing. Still, this could be low. 9. Troopers - If the guard is elevated, look out... 10. SCV - Rennick & Gaines can't be underestimated. So much uncertainty. How much will potential members (and parents) be put off by what SCV did to their audtionees a year ago? If I was a parent, you'd REALLY have to work hard to convince me that my kid should go there. We will know more after the audition turn out & quality is known. 11. Blue Stars - Could bounce back or flounder with another lackluster program. 12. BK - My heart says Spirit, my brain says Blue Knights. There is still a lot of underlying organizational strength, and it seems like they made good & needed staff/design moves 13. A knife fight in a phone booth between corps knocking on the door of top 12 (or IN if SCV doesn't make it out for full tour) between Spirit & Corpsmen. I give the nod to Spirit. I also think Madison is closer to threatening top 12 than being give credit for. Harvey

I saw that on my feed too, @kdaddy It was hilarious! And not dissimilar to my reaction seeing them live the first time in Denton! Harvey

Going smaller & raising the bar sure worked for Colts! In 2022, they came out with amazing performance levels with smaller numbers, and boom! Top 12. Then they grew in size and maturity of members & design again in 2023 and delivered their best year ever. If not for Cavies Drum Line, I would have placed Colts 8th in front of Cavies. Cavies drum line saved them.

Any news with Regiment? Or is no news, good news? Harvey

Can we please stick to the prediction topic, and any personal bickering move to direct messaging between the parties. It's beyond old...

Agreed, but you could blend modern staging & props with some iconic drill moves and references to them pretty seamless I think. The last two years there has been a noticeable trend back towards drill vs 2018-2019. I've heard from some pretty "in" visual judges that they think that trend will continue. We shall see I suppose. Back to my point, I really think there is a way to do this, and it would be an emotional powerhouse.

I wish Cadets would do a Zingali tribute show. Doesn't have to be a rehash musically, etc, but with his style of whiplash drill and some of the most iconic moments. You could make the theme expand to remembering loved ones lost & celebrating their lives. Packed with the right music, just imagine the emotional punch - and yes, closed with the Cross to Cross. Harvey

Oh why not. I'll lay out 13 - just in case SCV isn't back in Indy. 1. BD - You know they gotta be drooling over being the first to get a 4-peat. Will pull out all the stops - like we've never seen. 2. Bloo - Bridesmaids for a 3rd time in a row. Hoping for fresh approach. 3. Boston - Hoping they find more shows like Wicked Games that grab the heart and fully integrate the sections. You know the guard will be amazing 4. Crown - Until they solve for better, cohesive design and take some smart risks (not risks like Not Here, Not now), all that talent will not yield the results they want. Please stop with the endless crazy technical passages that serve no purpose. 5. Regiment - Looks like the only one on the momentum bandwagon. I think 2024 is when that staff & design team take it up a notch. Stability will yield great results and position them to challenge the top 4 in 2025. 6. Cadets - Toss Up with Regiment, just like much of 2023 was. This time Regiment takes the nod. I expect Cadets to be better than 2023 and also start to threaten the top 4. 7-12 is a complete crap shoot to me... 7. Colts - This is a bit of a wild card, but the more I think about Colts this year, they have a lot of momentum and balanced strengths. 8. Mandarins - Not a huge fall back in performance levels. Hard to have that kind of lightening in a bottle 2 years in a row & more west coast recruiting competition. 9. Cavies - So much ongoing turnover is never a good thing. 10. Troopers - If the guard is elevated, look out... 11. SCV - Rennick & Gaines can't be underestimated. So much uncertainty. How much will potential members (and parents) be put off by what SCV did to their audtionees a year ago? If I was a parent, you'd REALLY have to work hard to convince me that my kid should go there. 12. Blue Stars - Could bounce back or flounder with another lackluster program. 13. BK/Crossmen/Spirit - My heart says Spirit, my brain says Blue Knights Harvey

And that is part of the problem. If DCI's "Oversight" is that feeble, the enter org needs re-structured. Finances are black and white. If oversight can't be successful there, how in the world with oversight for member safety every be what it needs to be?

It sure would make far more sense too have a separate thread for all this judges crap and let this thread actually be for what the title implies...