dcifanforlife

This is going to be interesting to see how this plays out with regard to members moving to other corps. Procedure would have to be the following All Teal members would have to return to Jacksonville and turn in all their equipment. Then they would have to apply for an open spot, best estimate there are no more than 20 open spots (no percussion) in the remaining world class corps. If they are a minor they need parents signature before they could sign with another corps. If you are a corps director wanting to insure that you are covered with holes filled and alternates you pick over the carcass of Teal offering alternate spots with dues waved but new members needing to prove that they have spending money for the rest season. What DCI is probably telling the corps is if you have open seats on your buses fill them with Teal members. You have already budgeted food for that seat so there is no real additional costs involved. If you a Teal member is it going to worth the hazzle especially if you have a boyfriend/girfriend in the corps.

Will be just like old times. Blistering heat will fry the fans and marching members. 100 plus at 7:00 PM

People are forgeting that the majority of the shows in CA are sponsored by corps. Pacific Crest in the case of San Diego and Walnut. The makeup of the lineup has a huge impact on the cost charged by DCI to the sponsor. The Blue Devils are one of the three most expensive corps to have at your show. It is a wise financial decision for Pacific Crest to have the Blue Devils at Walnut and not San Diego. Unless a sponsor has rain insurance one can lose a ton of money putting on a show just ask the Madison Scouts how much they lost with the rainout in Merriville last night. Sponsors are taking huge risks putting on drum corps shows these days. That is the resason why many sponsors have left DCI. Blue Devils don't need the show fees or feedback from judges. They have a business model that has been successful for many years and they are not about to change it.

What happens to the Banana Sticks when the show is over? Are people just going to leave them in the stands? They are not recyclabie so the corps should be charged for cleanup by the show sponsors. It is polution plain and simple.

What this shows is how difficult it is for a top twelve corps to manage their inventory (potential brass members). If you start with 300 plus at audition camp what do you do? Brass staff wants to cut to a managable level (150) but adminstration wants to have everyone return to the next camp so that they can get another camp fee of $75.00. If you don't cut you are probably only going to get 200 at the next camp anyway. So the rule is don't cut anyone. Let the members cut themselves for whatever reason. Members today are smart so after several camps they can understand the dynamics of the situtation. Be honest with members as to their status in the line. Keep improving and keep coming to camps and the chance that you will be in the line improves every day. If you follow this method and adjust as the winter moves along by having members switch sections you should be ok. I know of corps that didn't cut any of their orginal auditionee's recrutied new members all winter along and opened spring training with a full line plus alternates. While having holes at move ins is not a disaster it does slow the development of the corps concept.

Rising fuel costs and food costs have the potential to be budget busters for many corps this Summer. It is only the end of February and many fans like myself are trying to figure what we can spend on drum crops this year. I admit it I am a Drum Corps Whale (One of those guys sitting high up at every major show all Summer long) but let me tell you it has gotten very expensive. Twenty years ago you could go to a regional for $300 in expenses. Cheap airfare, Motel 6 and Piza Hut. This Summer for airfare, show tickets, rental car, hotel, food (I don't drink), airport parking and souvenirs will cost an average of $700.00 a weekend for 7 weekends = $4,900. On top of that I have donations to the corps that I marched in plus I am paying a large part of a members dues. Bottom Line: I have to cut back my spending. Three or Four weekends is my budget this year. Rest of shows I can watch on Fan Network. For these prices the corps better be entertaining.

Why would the current Executive Director's of individual corps give up voting control of DCI? The decisions made by the BOD of DCI has direct impact on the individual corps operations. The Executive Director's first responsibillty is to his BOD, staff, members, volunteers and his whole organization and not DCI. If you are a current Executive Director you want your board to be as diversified (alumni, parents, business people and donors) as possible inorder to minimize the risk of getting fired for making one bad decision and have the ability to implement a long term strategy for growth and fulfill your mission. That means nationwide recruitment for members to serve on corps BOD's. In today's economy it is difficult to find board members that have the correct skill set needed and the time and the money to serve on a non profit board. I have served on a corps BOD for six years. To make a Saturday board meeting I have take a days vacation, drive to the airport and park in the short term lot. Pay an outrageous airfare to the city where the board meeting is taking place. I normally stay with relatives or friends but I do have car rental fees, gas and food expenses. Sure I can deduct the $ 4,000 a year I spend attending board meetings but it still seems a lot when I get my credit card statement. Several other board members have similar expenses to attend the same meeting. I love the activity and I will continue to serve on my board because I know that without board members corps can't operate effectively. For those that think that the current DCI model is broken you are wrong. It has served the corps well for forty years. Enjoy the 2012 performances.

With the format that the TOC used eight corps is to many. The shows are to long. They should cut back to the top six plus a regional add on. Show in the Midwest add Bluecoats or Madison. Show in South add Spirit, Show in East add Boston, Show in Texas add Crossmen. At the end of the day the G7 got what they wanted. TOC clearly demonstrated that fans will pay top dollar to see the top corps perform. Hopkins and Gibbs are smiling all the way to the bank and you can bet they will be pushing their concept for DCI at the next board meeting.

Roof will never be open if finals are in Indianapolis. Too big of a financial risk and the corps directors want the same conditions for every corps every night. Best that fans can hope for is that once every ten years DCI will go some place else. That site will The Meadowlands Stadium not Denver. DCI has kept 40 years of data on their fan base and it clearly shows where the Championships should be held.

Blue Stars drop three places Bluecoats drop four places and the Blue Devils drop one place. I would like to point out that the Blue Stars were not the only corps not able to sell their 2011 show concept. Thank god for the Blue Knights they were the only Blue Team to sell their show.

Trying to do the top 18 corps is going be an impossible task. Total cost doesn't mean anything if a prospective member does not meet the search criterion of their preferred corps. If you are a female high school senior living in Texas with four years experience playing an instrument and you want to march DCI in 2012 cost doesn't play that big of a role in the decision process. If you are a female and you want to play in the battery of a DCI corps cost plays even a smaller role. You go audition where your friends march or your band director marched and you think you can make the corps. What are the corps looking for? The 18, 19 or 20 yr old guy six feet tall and not fat unless he plays the tuba. This pool is still very large and what the corps are pulling from.

Based on the TOC Seating Chart no seats are for sale in the third tier. Same as Denver some of the tiers are blocked off.

No in Indy all the corps will be on the World Class Sheets. BDB and Vanguard Cadets have a legitimate shot at semi finals only.

Many tuba players get offered contracts from more than one corps. So you have to go with the best situation that meets your needs. Many corps have a no cut policy which means you cut yourself by stop coming to camp or refusing to sign a contract.

Audtion with several corps. Distance from South Carolina to Blue Stars Camps (Indianapolis) and Madison Camps (Bloomington) not much farther than going to camps in Atlanta. Chances are you will find someone to car pool with. Attitude is everything. Corps will tell you what conditioning program they want you on. You need to find a corps that you feel comfortable with. Distance to camps should not be the determining factor

DCI makes it extremely hard for the 13th - 17th corps to move up. At DCI Minnesota the Crossmen will perform a full three hours before the Glassmen. The judges will be treat the second half has a separate show even through they are not supposed to. Going on early and long lunch breaks kill the chance for anyone to move up. Battle for 12th will be close regardless.

The real heroes of the activity today are board of directors of the corps today that work tirelessly to keep their corps solvent. I serve on the board of a top twelve corps and spend on average $450 to attend board meetings. I voted to approve just the type of budget that everyone here is protesting against. Majority of costs occur before the season starts and the majority of revenue comes in after the corps is on tour. Based on previous years performance I have supreme confidence in the Executive Director, Corps Director and the entire tour staff in executing the plan to meet the budgeted goals and we have a distasteful backup plan in place to cover a deficit. Executive Director's today have to deal the hand they are dealt. They sit around a table at DCI headquarters holding their cards close to their chest waiting for someone to ante up first. Then they pounce on the one with the lowest card. Everyone is in agreement that the current business model sucks but it is what it is. I would go as far as saying that one corps failure every five years is acceptable in this type of environment. If we want to see the corps on the field entertaining us we have to work within the present system.

The only way George can have the Cadets in 35 shows plus Championships is because he is counting the World Series of Drum Corps Shows. A compromise is what is going to come out of the Indianapolis meetings. The G7 is alive and well. The G7 proposal does not require a vote. As long as the G7 meet their other committments to the DCI they can have as many World Series shows that they want. Outside of the regionals and Championships corps get to chose what shows they want to attend and show sponsors can chose what corps they want to attend. Read the DCI by-laws and you will see how this is going to play out.

Friends of DCI was formed in the early 80's and has been a huge success. Friends have donated thousands of dollar each year to DCI and most support individual corps also. Once all the Friends request for tickets have been met DCI opens up the left over seats to the corps to sell. No seats within the 40's go unsold at the regionals or chapionships. I normally sit in the Friends section but I have never been a Friend of DCI since I prefer to donate directly to corps. If you want good sits guaranteed being a Friend of DCI is the way to go. The order of preference for DCI tickets is big sponsors get free tickets first, Friends of DCI have to have their requests for tickets in by a certain date. Corps get to order tickets next in whatever sections they want. Last in order is the general public in all sections. After all these years there is no mystery on how tickets are distributed. I got my seats on the 50 this year the same way I did 35 years ago.

It is only the begining of December so no corps has the luxury of sending students to other corps. If you remember just before move in's last year many corps where still looking for brass players to fill open spots. In any given year up to 50% of the hornline offered contracts in December, January and February can fail to make it on the field for the first show. Members cut themselves for many different reasons. So students should continue to attend camps show a positive attitude, work hard and demonstrate that they can meet the finanical committment and the chance that they will be offered a contract is huge. I know of a person ( 4year Vet from another corps) that attended Phantom's auditon camp for the 2008 season and was told that she was the something like the 15th alternate for her section. She attended all the Winter Camps worked hard, did everything asked of her and she went to move in camp as the 6th alternate. That person made the brass line before the first show and we all know what she wears on her finger today. If a student wants to be in a world class corps today they need to do their homework and chose the organization that they feel will be the best fit and stick with them all the way to move in's. Take an alternate contract if offered chances are high that they will have a tremendous experience.

You are right on with our comments. Most people don't understand the DCI Model. Shares in DCI have been awarded to the top twelve corps every year since 1972. The value of those shares has fluctuated over the years but they still are given out. DCI operates today the way that the founders envisioned. The corps own DCI and the shareholders share in the profits and absorb the losses when they occur. DCI has lost money on a lot of shows over the years that all of us have attended and enjoyed. Few have ever thanked DCI putting on shows that they knew in advance would make no money. Santa Clara Vanguard has made finals every year so they have been awarded shares every year. So when Jeff Fiedler and other directors attend meetings their number one responsiblity is to protect the value of the shares that their corps own. So for a new league to start up one would have to place a value on the corps shares and buy them up. Otherwise the current corps would not attend and you would be devaluing the current product. What is the value of the current shares? More than anyone on this forum would probably want to pay to get control of DCI. This year every corps was paid in advance 100% of their show apperance fees. In years past that was not always the case. The DCI board continues to make sound business and performance decisions. Give them a break. They control the activity. If Gail Royer would have been in Indianapolis he would have been extremely pleased with SCV and all the other corps in attendance.

DCI can only exit the contract if they can prove that the acoustics caused loss of revenue and that it not going to happen. The Indianapolis Convention Bureau as an army of lawyers waiting to support their claim that Lucas Oil Stadium is ok for the Drum Corps Championships. Sure changes will be made but for those hoping for a different venue anytime soon. It is not going to happen. Do you think that Carolina Crown has issues with the acoustics when they won top brass? I don't think so. Does the fact that this year's Blue Devils members won the first championship inside a covered dome in some way diminish's the value of their rings versus the members of the previous Blue Devils championships? Not one bit. A win is a win.

The DCI Championship was hugely successfull in all areas. Championship is not about music quality but raising enough cash so the corps can continue to survive. You will not see one article from any corps about the acoustics in Lucas Stadium they are all busy counting cash.. If you want music quanlity go to the opera. All future DCI major events will be inside domes with the roof closed. That is the only way that DCI (the corps) can insure the financial success of the events. Everyone has the option to stay home. The 2009 Championship was the best ever and I have been attending since 1972.

Magic of Orlando stills owes money to DCI and other drum corps vendors. DCI should not promote them unless paid in full. Suncoast Sound, Freelancers and Star of Indiana paid all of their bills before they went inactive.

If any corps is going to make a move it is The Academy. Perfect spot in quarterfinals. This show has the most upside potential when compared to Troopers, Colts and Madison. It is going to be interesting. If all three corps put on super shows before them the Troopers are sitting in a spot ripe for an upset.