Jump to content

My theory about DCi finals


Recommended Posts

So in a few previous DCI finals corps have switched placement (compared to their placement during th rest of the season)- to many people's surprise and here is my theory as to why:

During the main season no judge ever got fired for following the herd/trends in scoring and let's face it, all judges want to be selected to judge DCI, so don't rock the boat too much (with a few exceptions).

At finals the judges have "less to lose" so start to evaluate the "performance on the day" rather than stick to previous trends and this means an outstanding or under par performance is finally rewarded accordingly. 

I know this is how it should be all season but clearly never is (it's always amusing at the start of the season how corps magically place in the same position as the previous year) but come finals.......

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Or could it be that DCI week is the first time the judging panels are seeing ALL of the corps at the same PLACE at the same TIME and performing in the proper competitive neighborhoods? And the judges are no longer seeing groups for the first time and are able to truly dig into the details that they are seeing and hearing on the field?

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, DCI-86 said:

So in a few previous DCI finals corps have switched placement (compared to their placement during th rest of the season)- to many people's surprise and here is my theory as to why:

During the main season no judge ever got fired for following the herd/trends in scoring and let's face it, all judges want to be selected to judge DCI, so don't rock the boat too much (with a few exceptions).

At finals the judges have "less to lose" so start to evaluate the "performance on the day" rather than stick to previous trends and this means an outstanding or under par performance is finally rewarded accordingly. 

I know this is how it should be all season but clearly never is (it's always amusing at the start of the season how corps magically place in the same position as the previous year) but come finals.......

I don't think I can agree with this for one, simple reason: Money.

If a judge goes out on a limb and makes comments the corps haven't heard all season because he can now "cut loose", it could possibly mean A) A substantial financial impact on the corps from placement bonuses and sponsorship deals, and B) That judge's legacy (good or bad) being made on Saturday night.  If he sticks out of the crowd, it's possible he'll only be judging HS band the next year.

Any "sticking out" at earlier shows can me "made up" or corrected in future shows.  Finals is only one shot.  I think judges will stick out less on Saturday night even if they've been making the same comments, and downscoring, all season.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, DCI-86 said:

During the main season no judge ever got fired for following the herd/trends in scoring and let's face it, all judges want to be selected to judge DCI, so don't rock the boat too much (with a few exceptions).

I have a friend that was doing judging (GE) and a couple of years ago had some scores that went against recent trends for some corps. Strange that he judged only once that season and not at all this year ......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don’t agree, finals are judged as a love fest, send off to the corps (listen to the tapes). If you go to finals week, you get a fuller story as to who is gaining and who is stalling, who chumps a run and who out preforms their show. And yes, some judges favor certain things so panels do matter

 

If you just go off the DVD, it may be a big mystery as they are edited

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, PeterGibbons said:

I have a friend that was doing judging (GE) and a couple of years ago had some scores that went against recent trends for some corps. Strange that he judged only once that season and not at all this year ......

I know some judges that got retired (the letter) for bucking trends, the California  Corps Maffia is strong buts that's not what happens durring finals week as it's the top judges that have set the trends all season

 

anyone that saw Crown's semi run vs finals run in 2015 knows why they dropped but if you just watched the DVD...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, DCI-86 said:

 

During the main season no judge ever got fired for following the herd/trends in scoring and let's face it, all judges want to be selected to judge DCI, so don't rock the boat too much (with a few exceptions).

 

Actually at Dekalb (I don't recall if it was DCI or late DCM) late 90's or early 00's Southwind guard member found a yellow piece of paper with brass (?) scores from previous week or so.  Somewhat of a malodorous aroma erupted.

Edited by IllianaLancerContra
bad speling
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, DCI-86 said:

So in a few previous DCI finals corps have switched placement (compared to their placement during th rest of the season)- to many people's surprise and here is my theory as to why:

During the main season no judge ever got fired for following the herd/trends in scoring and let's face it, all judges want to be selected to judge DCI, so don't rock the boat too much (with a few exceptions).

At finals the judges have "less to lose" so start to evaluate the "performance on the day" rather than stick to previous trends and this means an outstanding or under par performance is finally rewarded accordingly. 

I know this is how it should be all season but clearly never is (it's always amusing at the start of the season how corps magically place in the same position as the previous year) but come finals.......

 All the research data that I am aware of the last 35 years seems to suggest that there is far LESS change in the placements at Finals than during( as you said) the" main season". Just the opposite of your premise.  On the whole , the placements at Semi Finals ( top 12 ) tend to remain the same at Finals despite the fact there is a complete wholesale change of the judging panel at Finals. And when there is the inusual occurance that a Corps changes a placement position,  unless theres a penalty, the Top 12 Corps almost never change more than one placement position from Semifinals to Finals . 95% of the Corps don't change positions from Quarterfinals to Finals either, for approx. 90% of the years too. Also, the last 35 years of data shows we have FAR more volatility in scores and placement changes among the Corps during " the main season" ( June, July ) than at Championships. Just the opposite then of your premise.

Edited by BRASSO
Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, IllianaLancerContra said:

Actually at Dekalb (I don't recall if it was DCI or late DCM) late 90's or early 00's Southwind guard member found a yellow piece of paper with bras (?) scores from previous week or so.  Somewhat of a malodorous aroma erupted.

Are DCI judges now ranking and rating bras?

Where do I sign up?

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...