Newseditor44 Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 2 hours ago, jwillis35 said: I think he is probably the later -- a Chameleon more than a Caterpillar. Despite his ramblings about just do your best, winning isn't important, scores are not important -- things that he has been known to say over the last 3+ decades -- I believe he is very competitive and wants to lead in score, in performance, and innovation. Like any competitor, when you are unable to keep up with the Jones' you look for help. In DCI competition that help will come from a combination of things: affecting the judging sheets (in this case how electronics/amps are dealt with), getting better talent, getting better designers, and getting better teachers. Like any corps director he needs a support staff, volunteers, a place to call home, and lots of cash. If any of those things break down he is in deep doo doo. He has already lost some excellent design staff and teachers over the years. He must tread carefully at this point so that quality, hard-working kids still want to come and be Cadets. The current crop of members have done a really good job. I like the show. It is not perfect and the Cadets staff mucked around with it for too long and failed to really clean. This show is a much better product than last year by a long shot. But the damage was done last year and the 2 or 3 previous seasons before 2016. I believe GH is smart enough to know that once you get knocked out of the box (perennial top 3 contender) it is hard to recover. The Cavaliers were knocked out and have not fully recovered yet. They are incredibly good this year, but I think there is a difference between the Cavies and the top 4 (Bloo, BD, Crown, SCV). The top 4 corps from the last two years have momentum. They have staff, great recruits, resources, money, big volunteer support, facilities, and popularity. Who knows when the Cavaliers will return to top 3. Same for Phantom Regiment. And when will Madison Scouts find their old selves? With the very excellent Boston Crusaders already pushing up the ladder in year one of their renaissance it is obvious they will be a force for years to come if they keep that staff and design team together. The Cavaliers and Cadets will have to deal with Boston, let alone Bluecoats, Crown, BD, SCV. So yes, GH is looking for a way to change the game that would put him back in the lead again. Changing the sheets, complaining about electronics and amplification, and looking for other shortcuts will not get it done. Props and tarps and costumes and gimmicks will not get it done. What gets it done is money, great design, great teaching, and great performance. They need to concentrate on becoming great performers once again. Brass, percussion, guard, and marching need to be the main focus. Everything else is just icing on the cake...but only after the cake is fully baked. I think you're giving Hop too much credit to a degree... and I think we all put way too much emphasis on the competitive aspect of the activity. Hop has been pretty vocal around specific issues with electronics throughout the season on a fairly consistent basis. I doubt this has anything to do with him trying to get back into the top three, at least not directly. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 36 minutes ago, Newseditor44 said: I think you're giving Hop too much credit to a degree... and I think we all put way too much emphasis on the competitive aspect of the activity. Hop has been pretty vocal around specific issues with electronics throughout the season on a fairly consistent basis. I doubt this has anything to do with him trying to get back into the top three, at least not directly. You mean this GH, the person who penned these statements, is not directly concerned to get back into, and stay competitively at, the top? “The premier corps are the centerpiece of DCI. Corps are not the same. Those who drive sales through excellence, competition, and entertainment deserve to be rewarded. It is not wise, or appropriate, that each of the current world class corps have a vote that holds equal influence. Those who sell tickets, generate sales, and are most marketable need to control a larger portion of the vote on business and adjudication issues. Governance needs to be weighted to allow those who drive success to affect decisions. These premier corps can then be placed in well-defined events that align like levels of excellence and competitive value. Other corps can add into a show, and they can attend champs, but there should be no real service offered to them. We are still working within a competitive environment. This is a clear decision to confine our efforts to a specific group of organizations. “ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwillis35 Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 53 minutes ago, Newseditor44 said: I think you're giving Hop too much credit to a degree... and I think we all put way too much emphasis on the competitive aspect of the activity. Hop has been pretty vocal around specific issues with electronics throughout the season on a fairly consistent basis. I doubt this has anything to do with him trying to get back into the top three, at least not directly. You're probably right. I think in part he is seeing what we are seeing. He is a very smart guy, no doubt about it. I think he [GH] does see how hard it will be to keep this up and the costs involved; and I am very pleased he is bring up the poor balance issues, the harm to people's hearing, and other issues. But part of me also feels, like any competitor, that he needs to find an answer. I would be doing the same thing if I were him. If a corps I ran was not very competitive (at least in terms of design, props, electronics) then I know I would be looking for a solution. I agree with so many folks on here who have stated that despite the fact that he pushed for these kinds of things, it is nice to hear him openly talk about the problems. Rules congress will be interesting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 19 minutes ago, Stu said: You mean this GH, the person who penned these statements, is not directly concerned to get back into, and stay competitively at, the top? “The premier corps are the centerpiece of DCI. Corps are not the same. Those who drive sales through excellence, competition, and entertainment deserve to be rewarded. It is not wise, or appropriate, that each of the current world class corps have a vote that holds equal influence. Those who sell tickets, generate sales, and are most marketable need to control a larger portion of the vote on business and adjudication issues. Governance needs to be weighted to allow those who drive success to affect decisions. These premier corps can then be placed in well-defined events that align like levels of excellence and competitive value. Other corps can add into a show, and they can attend champs, but there should be no real service offered to them. We are still working within a competitive environment. This is a clear decision to confine our efforts to a specific group of organizations. “ I imagine this was typed back in the G7 days . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 2 minutes ago, Ghost said: I imagine this was typed back in the G7 days . Yes, but the question still stands: Is GH like a Caterpillar changing into a Butterfly now having very caring feelings and altruism for 'all' corps; or is he a Chameleon changing color because he thinks it is threatening his influence and corps? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 5 minutes ago, Stu said: Yes, but the question still stands: Is GH like a Caterpillar changing into a Butterfly now having very caring feelings and altruism for 'all' corps; or is he a Chameleon changing color because he thinks it is threatening his influence and corps? Well, they both have stripes during parts of their lifetimes. Tough to change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 22 minutes ago, jwillis35 said: You're probably right. I think in part he is seeing what we are seeing. He is a very smart guy, no doubt about it. I think he [GH] does see how hard it will be to keep this up and the costs involved; and I am very pleased he is bring up the poor balance issues, the harm to people's hearing, and other issues. But part of me also feels, like any competitor, that he needs to find an answer. I would be doing the same thing if I were him. If a corps I ran was not very competitive (at least in terms of design, props, electronics) then I know I would be looking for a solution. I agree with so many folks on here who have stated that despite the fact that he pushed for these kinds of things, it is nice to hear him openly talk about the problems. Rules congress will be interesting. Yes, GH is seeing what we all see and hearing what all hear. But please note these current statements of concern by GH need to also be placed in the context that he was all happy, happy, joy, joy when his corps was winning by pushing the rule limit designs. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 3 minutes ago, Ghost said: Well, they both have stripes during parts of their lifetimes. Tough to change. True, but a Caterpillar changes into something completely different, a beautiful aesthetic Butterfly; a Chameleon only changes its surface color when the need arises as a defense mechanism in order to not be devoured. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elphaba01 Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 5 minutes ago, Stu said: True, but a Caterpillar changes into something completely different, a beautiful aesthetic Butterfly; a Chameleon only changes its surface color when the need arises as a defense mechanism in order to not be devoured. "Gone Buggy": How about: Did Joanie REALLY love Chachi? Elphaba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 (edited) 1 hour ago, Newseditor44 said: Honestly, this is a great discussion between Hop and Tim and I think we all need to be prepared for some heated discussions going into this years rules congress. The question is, how much do we roll this back. And, do we limit props as well. I said this in 2003....once you let the cat out of the bag, you cant put it back in. why? because technology has ways of hiding stuff. thats why those silly rhythmic intent rules are gone in pretty much everywhere but WGI percussion. Unless you have a chief judge willing to walk into the pit to stand there and watch people push buttons to verify if it's live or memorex, there's no way to know for sure. and same thing with brass......is it real? sampled? what is it? remember sound was to be controlled on the field, til they found Bluecoats staff walking around with an ipad. that rules was changed quick. to this day you cant prove a moment is kid created on the synth or pad or the person controlling the rig or ipad Edited August 9, 2017 by Jeff Ream Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.