Grumpy

I used to get the "dirty look" EVERY year from my ex-wife when I gave the BLOOOOO the first time in a given year that I saw Bluecoats; had to explain every time that it was BLOOOOO. Current wife BLOOOS right along with me!

FWIW, I had a comparable situation occur at a DCA contest where a DCI corps was performing as a guest, in exhibition, a few years back...and some members of the corps' STAFF and audience members nearly came to a physical confrontation because of the staff's disregard of and subsequent disrespect to paying spectators. I contacted the corps' director by e-mail and let him know what I had witnessed. I received a prompt response thanking me for letting him know, apologizing on behalf of the corps and an assurance that the the staff would be reprimanded and reminded of how they should conduct themselves as representatives of the corps going forward. Sad to say, but with the exception of the championships, and thanks in no small part to self-policing there, people no longer have any regard or respect of the corps on the field and just go to and from their seats as if they were at any sporting event. These are invariably the same clods who carry on conversations during corps performances on their cell phones (or don't turn them off so that they annoy everyone when they ring during a corps performance) and can't seem to keep seated for more than two consecutive corps before they are once again climbing over and disturbing the entire row.

It was rebuilt right behind where the old one was. Someone I know that lives nearby said it wasn't so much dismantled as literally disintegrated when they took the wrecking ball to it. The new one is NOT spectator friendly-seats are small and for the first corps, bleachers directly face setting sun. The setup does not allow for either a decent sized souvie area or good traffic flow through what was set up, and the way the concession area was set up was a total train wreck. I didn't even go to the DCI show in Lynn this year specifically because of the venue. Hope at least DCA will go back to Lawrence next year. I am totally looking forward to seeing and hearing the corps anyway and the Bridgemen are the icing on the cake. Good luck to everyone!

This is almost word-for-word what I posted in the forum about Teal Sound leaving tour. DCI can and should implement a "bottom line" dollar amount that a corps needs to have by a certain date if they are to be allowed to tour. That dollar amount must either be in the bank, guaranteed income such as investments with guaranteed income like bank CD's, a line of credit from a financial institution or a combination of them. Proof needs to be furnished to DCI. If they can't make the financial cut for a full tour, allow them to participate in any competitions within X miles or X hours travelling distance; allow them a limited tour, as happens in OC and if they are financially able, allow them to participate in the championship week. I sincerely hope that Teal can bounce back from this; one of the first priorities of a new board and new director (IMO, both would be necessary before even considering letting them return to the competition field) would be to retain the services of a fund raising expert, who could help the corps explore other avenues for generating income than having to rely solely on member's dues and the timeliness of their payment.

Remember, this is the Madison Scouts...only time I ever saw a non-male corps member there was when they did "Carmen".

Ask Kidsgrove Scouts...as long as the corps is prepared and performs well, they'll be fine. Besides, just gives new recruits from Teal more time to learn the show!

Every corps' BOD should be paying for and reviewing an annual audit of their books-it's the only way to verify that everything is being handled professionally and above board. An audit, however, does NOT determine whether there will be enough funds to see a tour through to completion, or reveal bad financial decisions by corps admin. An audit determines whether the organization is adhering to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in recording and reporting their finances. If the corps is operating within GAAP, it should not be difficult for a BOD (assuming that they are reviewing the financial statements AND have some business background) to see that the corps admin.-or even the BOD itself-is making bad decisions regarding its funds, or that there might be cash flow issues or other issues that might cause the corps to not be able to complete tour. A better option might be that DCI establish a financial benchmark-just as a for instance, let's say $400,000-plus X dollars per member-and that corps are required to provide documentation to DCI that on June 1, they have that amount either in the bank, or as GUARANTEED income (NOT accounts receivable, but things like commitments from sponsors, income from things like CD's or endowments, etc.), or available from a line of credit. If the corps can't meet the financial benchmark, they are not allowed to tour but can still perform at shows within a certain radius-or allow them a shortened tour, kind of like OC. I am glad to see that at least some of the kids are finding spots in other corps, and look forward to hearing more "success stories" like that. It is sad that it sounds like FB has become a total train wreck. I do agree with the mindset that trying to get (at any and all costs) a refund from an organization that is in financial straits is either beating a dead horse, or will ensure that the organization will have a more difficult time trying to recover. If this whole thing is a direct result of the bus debacle, and Teal is due $ from them, I am confident that once this thing plays out legally if Teal gets reimbursed, then they will offer to reimburse those that paid for a full tour but didn't receive it. If not, take the tour fee and write off a pro rated portion as a charitable donation on your tax return. If you give money to a legal non profit, you have to subtract any benefit you receive in exchange for your donation (in this case, move ins and the first part of tour expenses) and deduct the rest. You need a receipt from the organization, but if they won't or can't refund your money, it seems it's the least they could do.

And the alternative, ending the tour and the season for the members WAS good PR?

Does anyone know if any of their performances are on video that can be put up on Fan Network? I was looking forward to seeing their show, but the only show that had VOD that they were scheduled to date was the Beanpot in Lynn, MA that they had to bow out of due to the bus snafu. If there's a video out there of any of their performances, it would be great if we could somehow get it onto FN. A shame that the situation had to come to this, but I hope that they can come back strong in 2013, hope that the members that still want to march can find a DCI or DCA home. Good luck, Teal!

I did, and thought to myself maybe they were getting out while they still had all of their bodily parts attached and while I question some of the scores and the spreads somewhat, I thought the placements were correct.

There was no full retreat, DM retreat only...I was there and couldn't understand why the scores were taking so long.

There is a topic for corps housing posted elesewhere in the DCI WC forum, link to the Cadets (which links to their website) says they are staying in Randolph Thursday and Friday. Crown's info. listed is the same, Burlington, as posted earlier in this forum.

Sorry but I don't buy this...usually the pre-show hasn't started yet while corps are leaving the field...the pits are busy loading/unloading, but the next corps is usually just coming on to the field and may be in the process of getting set up, but is not ready to begin, the pre-show. Now if the exiting corps stopped and PLAYED to the stands instead of just trooping them as they leave the field, that would be a different animal. Also, from the admittedly small number of this year's corps that I've seen on FN, it looks like noticably fewer corps are doing a pre-show this year.

Thanks all, will do some traffic lookups before I leave tomorrow and probably make a decision then. Sounds like a great show lineup but it sure will be weird not seeing BAC at a local show! Parking situation can't possibly be much worse than when the Beanpot used to be at Hurd Stadium, or the ultimate parking nightmare, Camp Randall in Madison in the days before the parking garage.

If coming from the north, I would think I-93 will be in worse shape than I-95 since 93 goes right through the city...I was planning on taking 95 south and then taking 93 north...but I don't know South Shore that well...can you suggest a viable alternative(s)? I have a GPS, so I shouldn't get TOO lost...

I believe OC corps CAN choose to stay in OC, it's not mandatory they move (I don't know this for certain, if I'm incorrect on this can someone in the know set the record straight). Before Mandarins moved to WC, they easily won what was then Div III, nearly every year...Spartans and East Coast Jazz, back when there was a Div II, dominated that for several years with neither desiring to move up. Look at the current streak-Blue Devils B and SCVC have been at the top of the heap for the last several years. Corps can remain in OC if they wish because they are LIVING WITHIN THEIR MEANS. In addition, the OC status may make much more sense than WC for some of the members-who need to work summer jobs and cannot make an "entire summer" touring commitment, but can make an abbreviated OC tour doable. As for a corps looking rather "thin in the ranks" in mid-June; is it possible that the corps didn't use ALL members, because some of the younger members had school commitments that prevented them from move ins and had not fully learned the show-or maybe weren't even WITH the corps yet? Don't know if this would apply, just throwing it out there...this would be much more likely with Cascades/Pio than Bluecoats or PR for example.

I thought SNARKY was that bimbo on the Jersey Shore TV show...

That's one key, the ticket prices. I have worked with a group that put a show together, and the more corps you want, the higher the fee to DCI or DCA-which translates to appearance fees for the corps. In DCI, appearance fees are directly related to their placement at prior year's championships. The higher the cost to put on the show, the higher the ticket prices need to be to cover those costs and generate some income for the show sponsor (I would say the vast majority, if not all, show sponsors are doing this as a fund raiser and are themselves non profits). Other factors to take into consideration is WHERE corps are physically at the time of your show. You may want the Blue Devils, Cadets and Crown at your show in the northeast, and day before, BD happens to be in Colorado, the Cadets in Texas and Crown in Wisconsin. There are a whole bunch of other things to consider, such as the number of people you need as a sponsor to put the show together-including people whose schedule is flexible enough to meet a corps arriving at 5:00 a.m. and spending the day with them to make sure their support staff can do the fun things like shopping for supplies and laundry while the corps is rehearsing. Making sure there are adequate housing and rehearsal facilities available within a reasonable distance to the show site also needs to be considered. Sometimes you may not be able to pull off a show with more than 4 competing corps-but if this is the case, the show sponsor should at least try to see if they can obtain the services of a local OC corps, alumni corps, mini corps, and/or even the local high school band to help bolster the lineup-AND keep the cost reasonable enough to bring the whole family.

Unfortunate though it may be, I don't think you can separate the financial health of a corps from this debate. There are too many instances in the not-too-distant past about corps living on PB & J for the end of tour, or of one corps stepping up to the plate and feeding another because the latter was out of money. There are certainly corps like Blue Devils B and SCVC, and others, who could certainly compete and are probably financially healthy enough to move to WC, but their choice is to remain in OC. Whatever their reasons, that decision does not appear to have hurt their corps. For some, the decision to remain in OC may just be that they have learned how to "live within their means". The corps that make up the bottom tier of WC are providing the experience of a full tour and everything that goes along with it. Several years ago at the Friends of DCI breakfast during championship week, we had the privilege of having a young man from Pioneer join us at our table. From our conversation with him, he will never forget that summer and it didn't make one iota of difference where they placed. Spend a few minutes some time with the kids in these corps, I would love to hear from some of the parents of kids that were in some of these corps and share some of the experiences your kids had.

Doesn't matter if the roof is retractable...if they won't open it where it is now, why would they bother doing it someplace else? The same arguments will apply...air conditioning, curtains blowing around, etc. etc. etc.

Finals WAS held there in 2004. I thought it was a very nice location, only real drawback I recall was traffic jams on the Interstate trying to get to the stadium (IIRC, Saturday wasn't that bad but Thursday and especially Friday were horrific) and some issues with the weather (specifically, as regards the Div. II/III that year).

I was able to watch all the VOD's last night, +/- 10 pm and had no issues whatsoever-everything worked fine.

DCI Championships, 2029: Pioneer comes from third to upset the Cascades, who were undefeated the entire season until that point. The Blue Devils B beat the Blue Devils A to capture 26th place. In other news, DCI is discussing moving the championship venue out of Lucas Oil Stadium (where they have been every year since 2009), but the dinos don't even want to hear of it.

Personally, knowing the scores beforehand wouldn't really affect whether I were going to attand the theater event or not. As with a live show, there will be scores I don't agree with and my main objective is to enjoy the performances-regardless of what the scores are.

Good idea in concept, but keep in mind that most of the blackout areas you're talking apply to television coverage. With FN, the user could be watching from a laptop/notebook-which means that they could live across the street from the Can, be in Montana on a business trip, and not be able to watch because of their address. The only way I see this affecting live attendance, is if someone can't commit to buying their tickets early, and then as show time approaches the only seats available are stuck on the 20 yard line in the nosebleed section. Especially in the Can, given the option of those seats live (considering the acoustics) or watching on FN, the FN option would win hands down. Outside of that, I can't see how anybody within a reasonable distance would choose a stream of the show over being there. As an example, the FN shows two shows fairly close to me this season that will have VOD's. I was not planning on attending one, and it's nice I'll be able to see the VOD's but I am still planning on attending the second despite the fact VOD's will be available.