Why does Jersey Surf do so bad?

[MisterA]

On 3/23/2017 at 4:12 PM, lossvegas said:

I find it interesting that the threat went from a question of placement to a question of whether or not the organization should be a world class corps. I didn't really realize that the placements could be more influenced by judges rather than actual performance, but now I understand that. 

I probably should have clarified that I mean their placement, because I have been a long fan of Surf and don't personally think their shows are bad. 

 

As to people thinking they should not be World Class I'm actually very surprised. Bob Jacobs doesn't value the placement of the corps; his definition of being a world class corps runs along the lines of how the corps as a whole approaches everything they do "in a world class manner". To the people saying world class corps should just be based on top university level performers definitely have a different definition for world class than Jacobs. And if you took that definition to every world class corps, could any of them really be world class? 

I think you misunderstood my post. In no way was I saying that Jersey Surf or Pioneer should be Open Class rather than World Class. I feel they belong in World Class. The point was brought up by others that since they are sometimes getting beat by some Open Class corps they should be dropped to Open Class. My point to that was that when Jersey Surf and Pioneer were Open Class/DII/III, they were beating several World Class/DI corps. Almost every year that the classes have competed together/against each other in Prelims/Quarterfinals, the top level Open Class/DII/III corps have beaten the bottom World Class/DI corps. I don't feel this should change their classification at all. And now Pioneer and Jersey Surf sometimes get beat by several Open Class corps.

Finances is a big part of the equation. When you drop a corps from World to Open Class, you take away a lot of the finances for that corps, since Open Class corps don't get paid as much(or at all sometimes) As soon as you take those payouts away, you will start to lose corps completely. I am surprised of all the success of some of the Open Class corps to stay active long enough to become World Class.

Placements are all relative. Why should one set of judges, make or change your opinion of a corps show? When you ask why Jersey Surf does so bad, are you asking because you really didn't care for their show? You didn't like their music, their drill, their performance, or is it just based on the placement they received? Did you think they should have placed higher, or lower? If you watch their show, and really enjoy it, and then see 22 more performances that you like more, or are performed better, should that change your opinion of the fact you really enjoyed their show when you saw it 6 hours earlier?

Several years ago, Jersey Surf placed 20th with their Bridgemen tribute show. I would say a majority of people in the audience, and a majority of posts I saw on DCP stated that it was peoples favorite show outside of the top 12, and many said they liked it better than one or more of the top 12 corps that season. And that year it seemed like there were more people in attendance earlier in the day on Thursday and Friday of finals week. I sincerely hope Jersey Surf continues to keep doing what they have been doing. Again, as long as they can financially keep going, and fill the criteria of DCI World Class touring, then great for them. And I would also like to know how many people that have commented on them in this thread actually have seen them in the last 5 years performing live. Seats a lot of years are empty until the top 12 , or top 8 sometimes. So one has to wonder if some of the negative comments towards lower placing corps, are sometimes based more on the placements given by the judges, than on a personal viewing of their show.

I can't wait to see what Jersey Surf puts on the field this summer. Good Luck Surf!!! Have a great 2017!!! Whether you place 30th, or top 12, we will be watching you all summer long, and more than likely enjoying every performance.