IllianaLancerContra

.

I would far rather a Corps cancel tour after ST because the costs are prohibitive than have a Corps stuck somewhere out of fuel & out of funds.

.

We had one a few years ago that tragically blew a leaf off a tree that landed on the truck.

How is the weather in your part of the world?

And how many new fans is the activity not getting due to tour in a rut? The fan model seems to be based on parents/relatives of MMs plus some age outs & legacy fans.

Neither does WC. I would need to drive 7+ hrs one-way to nearest show. Tour is in a rut - regionals always in same order & ending in Indy

In just got back from an errand - in coastal Virginia diesel is $5.85/gal.

Agree. And, I suspect there is at least a 50:50 chance that one or more Corps do it anyway.

.

Exactly

All pandemic burn themselves out. Including the scary ones like plague (Black Death).

Spanish Flu burned itself out as well.

Biologically speaking, it makes sense for the virus to mutate to be less likely to cause serious symptoms & signs for an infected host (human). If you are a parasite & kill your host, it is analogous to killing the goose that laid the golden egg. Better to keep host alive so as to be able to propagate yourself.

Thread on Reddit (so it may or may not be true) reports Covid cases (or positive tests) in SCV & Crown. Has DCI promulgated any activity-wide rules on Covid for this season? I know there were all kinds of rules in summer 21 - do those automatically apply in 2022? Or is it left up to each Corps? Poking around the DCI web site I don't see anything.

My ‘app’ is take a photo of the vaccine card.

Schoops?

Five Guys

But far less than in the 1970s & 80s

Well, that would make semi-finals: 1. Less competitive at the 10-12 place, & 2. Not last as long.

The question is where is the tipping point? What is the minimum number of Corps needed for DCI to survive?

Concerning costs for this season, charter bus contracts generally have a clause (in the fine print) that passes an increase in fuel costs on to the chartering organization. Fuel costs are at record highs. In 2019, diesel cost $3.10/ gal; today it is $5.16/gal - roughly a 40% increase. So there may be an unanticipated bill coming from the bus companies. I hope the Corps have budgeted for this.

It was the best of times....

Actually, one of our drum instructors marched with you. And yes, colorful characters. Size of some sections would fluctuate depending on who was or was not in jail that week.

And these programs are also aimed at upper-middle class youths. Just like current Drum Corps. And there are ways that some with less resources can participate, just like Drum Corps. But the era of a youngster walking in from the street obtaining an affordable life-changing, character-building experience is long past. And I think the activity is worse off for it.