My sentiments exactly! Have we allowed DCI to take the reins of responsibility of keeping smaller markets going and dictating how,where, and why these "open class" corps can (or cannot) perform, raise money, and be of benefit to kids from smaller centres? OC Directors should and will have to play a vital role in reinventing the mindset we seem to cling to about the Wizard of DCI. Living in a small mining town in Northern Ontario, far from the mainstream, and having worked a little with the Blue Saints organization, I am constantly amazed at the truely heroic efforts of Director Mark Ripley and his staff of volunteers to keep this activity alive for the hundreds of kids who have played, traveled, sweated, worked as hard as anyone, and now understand the drum corps experience even if only for a short time every summer. And I'm constantly amazed that that a large metropolitan centre south of us (you know who I'm talking about) cannot, in my opinion. 5-6 million people within a hours drive of each other! DCI is not the only thing on Earth, but maybe we need to start pushing the elephant out of the room, and making our own playground, as the SDCA has. Just my 2 cents worth.