jkmummer

It's actually NOT USSBA's show. They are merely the sanctioning body, and BEING PAID to be so. It is in fact a fund raiser for the high school hosting event. Maybe there is something stated in the "contract" about excusivity to USSBA. That being said USSBA has a very specific "BRANDING" of their shows more so than any of the other circuits. I've personally seen this and in other situations where I'm being paid by the school to provide sound and announcing services, I am being MANAGED by USSBA.

All good points. That's why it's smart to consider ALL the costs. Tuition and fees are only the beginning. You need to factor in gas or contribution to gas and not just to practice. Not sure how C2 will work, but you may have to drive to a competition venue or parade since some corps won't use buses to all gigs to save money. Some competition sites will be farther than the commute to practice in Allentown so there will be some weekends it will be "more expensive" You also need to figure in cost of food for the weekend. Corps will not supply your food and drink for the weekend. This isn't DCI where there will be a food truck going with you. I'm pretty sure Cadets only have one and it will be with them. There may be "some" food or snacks at certain times but figure on this as an out of pocket expense. My son existed on tuna fish sandwiches and lunch meat since he paid for his costs, and we tried to help with his tuition when we could. You'll need a place to stay for the weekend rehearsals. Not to sway you, but some of the more established corps have alums that offer their homes to performing members to stay for weekends. With C2 there may be the possibility of staying with another performing member, but this is an aspect that the older DCA corps will have a better handle on and a support system. Hope this helps and whatever you do enjoy the experience.

I'm pretty sure Mark has a full dance card without DCA. He judged 2 shows last year both on percussion and didn't do prelims or finals. If anything it's DCA's loss of a great judge.

All valid issues. The liability alone would be cost prohibitive since you would have to carry insurance specifically as a vendor. Also most state now require training and classes to obtain a "Safe Serv license" in order to manage or operate any type of food distributing business. In the long run it would cost more money than a corps could take in.

Don't knock it. They are a great example of marching music from a bygone time. I've seen them live and had the opportunity to meet with their director Dr. Jon Woods. He is originally from Pennsylvania and at one time judged at the high school and corps levels. The history and traditions of "TBDBITL" (The Best #### Band in the Land - Coined by the late Woody Hayes as he mentioned that the band was worth 7 points at home and 3 points on the road) are deep and the there is NO better relationship between a band and a major college football program. Game day in Columbus is just as big because of the band as it is the football game. One of the hidden traditions is the week of the Michigan game the band and football team have dinner together and the team participates with the band in a script OHIO after dinner. They hold an Alumni Band Weekend the first home game every year. The band itself is by tryout only and limited to 225 members, but the alumni band will march a minumum of 800 that weekend all with their own instruments. Nothing is more impressive the both bands performing 4 script O H I O's on one football field. Trust me the level of demand in performing the script is huge and safety is an issue. I've seen the move broken down and at various points ALL members have multiple line pass throughs that if merely a count off will ruin an instrument and your chops as well. There is no stronger collegiate alumni band organization then at OSU. Sure it may not be corps style, but it really is to be appreciated that they've stayed true to their identity and carry on that great traditional style.

Whoever has the most runs wins . . . .Right! Sorry had to do that.

Didn't think he would. The news here is Rich Hammond is the Program Coordinator. Also how does this corps get taught when all these people will be spending their summers with C1

Cadets2 announces age adjustments and staff additions Monday, September 12, 2011 "Base of leadership" will set up model for first year Cadets2, the new weekend-only corps to be offered by the Cadets and Youth Education in the Arts has announced that the age range for those to be considered for membership will be 16–25 years of age, with special consideration for those over 22 who have marched with The Cadets DCI corps. According to George Hopkins, "We do wish to maintain our commitment to youth and by that we mean those who are attending high school and college, but for our first year we would like an assortment of experienced performers and past Cadets so that there is a base of leadership for folks to model." Hopkins added that after next summer, "we will evaluate our success and go from there." The design team and caption supervisors for Cadets2 include: Brass Arranger Jay Bocook; Visual Designer Jeff Sacktig; Percussion Arranger Colin McNutt; and Brass Caption Supervisor Gino Cipriani. The program coordinator will be Rich Hammond, with George Hopkins serving as a consultant to the entire process. As previously announced, the director of the corps is Eric Kitchenman. Cadets2 begins rehearsals on November 26–27 with a weekend camp in the Eastern Penn. area. Rehearsal and auditions will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday and end at 3 p.m. Sunday. For more information or to sign up, visit the Cadets2 website. To contact someone with questions or comments regarding Cadets2 write to Melissa Babalonis Barlow at Melissa@YEA.org or at 610.821.0345 ext 115. var addthis_pub="yeawebmaster";>

Great question, or better yet once the decision to do full retreat was made and the corps are standing out on the field why was there no sense of urgency to get through scores. It was nice to see those giving speeches wearing ponchos and carrying umbrellas why the performers got to stand out in the open. Also if you were one of the last 3 corps on you got to load your trucks in a full down pour as well as lightning.

Judges only need to be consistent to themselves and not each other. Different tolarances different number usage. Reading received a 19.7 Saturday and a 19.2 on Sunday in percussion. I don't have an issue with that, I'm just comparing one number to the other. There was over a point spread at finals and close to 2 overall at prelims. Another couple of tenths in brass wasn't going to make a difference in the big picture.

Thanks Tom. Appreciate it. We're en route and in a perfect world we'd like to be there at the start. But with checking into a hotel and getting dinner it helps with planning.

I understand the order. I'm looking for times

Glen, What's the thinking behind not posting recaps? I don't understand the harm in this. Just asking no drama intended.

Totally agree. How do you ask a fan base to be invested in your competitive activity and not post the numbers in a timely manner. It would also be nice if they would post the performance times tonight as well. Why have a website and not use it during your season finale.

Totally agree with this. Great read and insight. The Lewisburg recap shows big spreads in the visual and visual effect catagories, and very close in the music catagories. The judging panel was also major, with folks that will absolutely be working this weekend. So the experience of that panel says allot about those numbers as well. Yes, that was then and this is now, but .9 spread in visual ensemble and .8 spread in visual effect are pretty big to overcome, yes it will be closer, but not that much closer because .9 of that 1.7 spread in those captions was on the design side and not performance. Because there isn't a caption in which MBI dominated Reading to possibly make up the lost ground, I think Reading takes this in a close competition. I'm heading up Sunday, and will be watching via laptop on Saturday. I'm looking forward to great shows by both and a hotly contested competition.

Depends on whose doing the asking and my relationship with them. I've taught, performed and I judge. I'm assuming that I'm being asked for all of those reasons and because the person asking values my opinion for those reasons. I answer honestly based on MY read both good and constructively. I continue to get asked by the same people and others who've been around when I've answered, so I guess this method works. But if I'm not asked, then I don't offer. Plain and simple. I don't want to be the "Who does that guy think he is guy"

Don't think it'll have too much of an effect at the top between 1 and 2 since they'll probably be within a tenth of each other in that caption, but lower down it could have some sway in the 3 to 5 range because those corps are a little closer together.

They would be relative to 2 weeks ago, and in the contexts of the competition that they were given. The NE competed against each other and the Midwest competed against each other in separate competitions but not head to head. Since nobody will have been seen for 2 weeks the prelim judges will be under the gun to make the first relative call with all corps competing head to head and with 2 weeks of work under their belts and because of the hurricane maybe less. To be honest even if the shows went on this week it would only be "slightly relative" since MBI would not have gotten a number but did have a full weekend to practice so who know what they really would have had, and if it was head to head with the NE corps than that maybe different than in their own region. Relative numbers are only relative if ALL competitive aspects are equal. So take the current numbers (at least for this year) for what they are. Merely a method to determine line of march, no more or no less.

I would worry about putting 2 shows together and not what the stats and historical relevance are. Especially since an act of God assured that none of the NE corps were able to post a number and have any type of relative score for prelims. At this stage ALL numbers are 2 weeks old and have no bearing on prelims except to schedule order of appearance, and everyone in the top 5 will be judged on the show they give Saturday night. And if the Bucs were not to win prelims and then that someone couldn't finish the job the next night the Bucs would spend little time mourning the loss of an undefeated streak and celebrating another title.

Well done, to be man enough to be wrong. But let it be noted that it took and act of God for it to occur. LOL

Didn't take long to get this started did it. Numbers are locked. Seedings are now in place. Everyone east of Minnesota is trying to figure out how to get the most out of this weekend. Will they rehearse? Can they rehearse? WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN????? Not sure, but it'll be fun.

Let's hope we're not singing "Goodnight Irene" Thanks for the tix, they're fine. JK

Unless the decision to persue a level 5 book was flawed to begin with. By the time we get to champioships those decisions get judged as well and assuming acheivement will get rewarded. But if someone bit off more than they could chew they must also bear the consequences of that decision as well and pay the price in both the "What" and the "How"

Sure if you assume that the guy with the higher number is always right. Maybe the guy with the lower number is the more experienced judge with different (lower) number tolerances. Plus you need to take into consideration where each guy goes during the performance. Is he always in the right position. (With the leg line, while the pit) is playing. I would agree that the performances may have been relatively the same if not slightly better. However, after looking at your numbers, it looks like the guy at Scranton had a "Small Corps, Small Number" issue. Thus the wide spread (THIS IS THE REAL ISSUE - SPREADS)between Cabs, vs Bush and Fusion. Bush and Fusion have nice lines In fact it's Bush's strongest section and IMO not that far off Cabs if not in the same ball park. I think the guy in Seacacus actually judged the show with an open mind and probably closer to what I've seen and heard from both of them this season.

Not sure what you're going for here. In both shows there was only 2 judges that carried over from Scranton. Guard and Music Effect. Percussion was 2 totally different judges and reads so there can be a wide variance.