DCI-86

Thought it was full panels from here on in?

I imagine it will help Blue Stars close the gap on Spirit and open the gap again with Glassmen - given Blue Stars strongest captions are guard and probably percussion. I would say Spirit's weakest section is guard.

I guess what I mean is that groups around Blue Stars ranking (Glassmen, Spirit, Crossmen and Academy) dont have particularly strong guards compared with Blue Stars - and this could mean all the difference for them coming in 12th rather than 13th. When there was a guard judge at the Saturday show they pulled away from Glassmen and closed in on Spirit, then the next night, without a guard judge, Glassmen were only 0.1 behind.

I have just been watching some of the FN shows from the weekend and it struck me that the key thing that keeps Blue Stars in finals (and maybe climb higher) is the quality of their guard compared with Spirit, Crossmen, Glassmen etc. Granted they are dirty right now but the content and contribution to their show is considerably higher than others around them. I can see why they placed 2nd at the show. The same could well be true for Phantom and their final position. I imagine that once full panels kick in, we are going to see some shifting about.

Does Vanguard have new uniforms this year or are they just recycling old ones?

It really doesnt seem that bad to me. Just setting expectations high that I hope/am sure they will live up to!