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2018 Rules proposals


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6 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

you've finally figured Mike out eh?

Well... his corps, the Cadets, did play "Anything Goes" in the mid-1970s. :8_laughing:

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Proposal: Increase maximum membership to 154

PROS: Gives 4 more performance opportunities to individuals for every corps. If there are 23 WC corps that equates to 92 more opportunities.  There also is enough room on the tour buses for this 4-member addition. This 4-member addition seems to allow for greater flexibility between sections. GH will LOVE to add more choir members as well...lol :)

CONS: Does this proposal address the lost bus space for alternates? or is that a non-issue? This proposal also assumes that ALL WC corps will always be at full strength. Any flaws in this reasoning? 

IN FAVOR or OPPOSED:  IN FAVOR

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Proposal: Extend World Championship Finals to 15 corps

PROS: Gives 3 more performance opportunities to another 450 students.

CONS:  Breaks with tradition of the current 12 place finalist positions that have existed since 1972. It dilutes the status of being a corps finalist for all the corps.  

IN FAVOR or OPPOSED:  OPPOSED

 

MY ALTERNATE IDEA: ANY corps that scores an 86 or above at SEMI-finals automatically earns a spot in finals. This would not make it pre-determined as to how many corps actually make it in.  I think on average a 12th place finalist has averaged around an 84 ( my best guess). An 86 puts the corps in the middle of the upper tier of BOX 4 (70 - 75, 75 - 83, 83 - 89). 

Alternatively, I would even be in favor of making the 86 the cut-off point and exclude any corps that didn't reach that threshold and is EXCLUDED from finals. For example 2017 would have still had 12 finalists while 2016 would only have 11. 

Edited by Liahona
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Proposal: No scoring before July 1

PROS: Gives corps more freedom to experiment creatively without the fear of being “slotted” based upon the early scores. Corps can take more chances in "fixing" their program without the fear of loosing to other competitors.

CONS:  Just gives corps another reason to not have complete shows for early events.  Making these events non-competitive MAY hurt ticket sales for early competitions whose price elasticity is already relatively elastic. Leaks were also rampant during the 2016 season when complete scores were not available and thus demonstrating that the public was opposed to this “lack of transparency” with scores.

IN FAVOR or OPPOSED:  OPPOSED

ALTERNATIVE: Recorded commentary and critiques are made readily available to the public in lieu of scores up to July 1st. 

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Proposal: Annual Rules Congress

Summary: Changed to a biennial process in recent years, this proposal calls for instructors and judges to come together on a yearly basis to discuss rules changes as part of Drum Corps International’s annual winter business meetings. The proposal specifies that even-numbered years would be open to rules change proposals from the corps, while in odd-numbered years the Rules and System Task Force will be able to submit rules changes to allow for adjustments, amendments and clarifications.

IN FAVOR

As long as....the odd-numbered years would allow adjustments to ONLY those NEW rule changes made in the previous even year...not to adjust proposals from 2 years prior.

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10 hours ago, Slingerland said:

15 in Finals. I'd go the opposite. Go to 10, and drive more fan interest in the Friday night show, where there are still thousands of unsold quality seats. 15 would make for an overly long night, and the audience would be exhausted/bored by the last few appearances.

FWIW, I noticed in audience shots during the Madison and Crossmen shows (2017 Blu-rays) that there were empty seats in prime seating areas behind the DMs. 5 or 6 seats next to me in the 238 section were also unused for the first few shows of finals night.

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Proposal: Brass amplification limitations

Summary: Currently with no limits, corps are free to mic brass musicians as they wish, either individually or as a whole. This proposal calls for a limit on the number of brass musicians who can be amplified at any one time to be set at six.

IN FAVOR

Alternative: I would be more in favor of 10% rule (with rounding) instead of 6

50 brass = 5 ampd

60 brass = 6 ampd

70 brass = 7 ampd

76 brass = 8 ampd

80 brass = 8 ampd

 

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Limiting brass amplification is the one "must-pass" proposal in this batch.  I would be okay with allowing eight at a time rather than six, but 12 crosses the line between featured soloists and a mini-hornline.

None of the other proposals excite me - not even the idea of music analysis addressing amplification.  So what if one more judge gives credit for A&E when it works, and ignores it when it fails?

The "no scores before July 1st" proposal makes no sense.  Rationale given is so that corps have time to "make adjustments to their show" in response to judge commentary.  But that commentary only starts a week before July 1st, and the corps are touring that week with insufficient time to make show changes.  June show attendance will suffer if they are downgraded to exhibitions.  

A better idea would be to restore full panels to all shows, so that corps do not have to wait until mid-July to get full feedback.  Alternately, make videos available to judges all over the country in June to get all of their feedback about suggested changes up front, if that is the real issue.

Four more members does not add up either.  Do the math:

80 brass
40 guard
19 battery (without cymbals)
14 pit
2 to 4 conductors

That is already 155 to 157, without a cymbal line.  So either we go to 160, or we accept that corps have to make choices.

DCI finals has always been 12 corps, and no one complains (except maybe when they finish 13th in semis).  The predecessors of DCI could not decide whether 10 or 12 was best, and many complained every time they flip-flopped, in either direction.  If the only rationale for this is "more corps in finals", then let them all in.  Why is 15 the correct number?

What would be worse than ordinals?  Still using scores behind the scenes, and only tabulating/announcing ordinals, as this proposal suggests.

The other judge changes are hard for me to gauge.  Getting the impression that activity professionals are not in agreement about what vantage points are necessary for proper adjudication.

Looking at these proposals, the idea of having the Rules Congress twice as often does not appeal to me.

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Proposal: Add a “Brass 2” judge at large shows

Summary: The brass caption is currently judged by a single on-field judge at DCI Tour events. This proposal calls for an additional brass judge to evaluate corps from an “upstairs” press box position at large regional events and the DCI World Championships.

OPPOSED

COMMENTARY: We already have enough judges sitting on their can in the box already...lol  Seriously though, this would just be an overlap of other categories IMO.  If you want more brass judging then ADD a 2nd judge to the field.

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17 minutes ago, cixelsyd said:

A better idea would be to restore full panels to all shows, so that corps do not have to wait until mid-July to get full feedback.  Alternately, make videos available to judges all over the country in June to get all of their feedback about suggested changes up front, if that is the real issue.

As a fan I'd like to see full panels from the very beginning of the season.  BUT are full panels really needed beyond indicating to us fans any possible section weaknesses? I would think that early on show construction elements would be more important.

Edited by Liahona
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