Eleran

have you ever run a youth organization? I have (and always in the black) and the ONLY income was the youths' tuition. I don't know a sports club that doesn't operate the same way, since there are virtually no other sources of income.

To touch on an earlier side point, the Arsenal ex-director's use of the word "fraudulent" was incorrect from a legal definition, but lay people mis-use legal terms all the time. He simply should have indicated that the DCI sentence in question was "false".

They played music. They marched. Can't say much about anything else. I thought the numbers in attendance were rather robust, actually.

In other news, Cadets' January camp begins in a few hours. That is all.

Maybe ALL drum corps should follow the lead of BDB and SCVC ... stay home in 2019 ... get your #### together

But snark is cheap.

Or Ted Kaczynski

Post the poll on the Facebook page for the Cadets Parents ... post it on other corps' FB pages ... let DCI ignore it then at their own risk.

So start a poll on DCP: "should any person who has been (a) convicted, or (b) had their teaching license suspended or revoked, or (c) otherwise been the subject of reasonably credible accusations that did not result in either (a) or (b) for some reason, as a result of that person having had romantic or sexual relations with a minor, or person 22 or under who was then a student of said person, be permitted to work directly with marchers in a DCI corps?"

You so sure about that? I could mention something, but frankly I don't want to raise dead ghosts

A Miramax film, starring Kevin Spacey.

I think I mentioned this back in April/May, but I don't believe that DCI has done anything to set up hiring guidelines about what past actions would disqualify someone from working with a corps. Simply requiring background checks means nothing if the decision whether to hire someone despite what shows up in their background still remains completely at the corps' discretion. That gaping hole in their policy will continue to cause problems for DCI.

Do you mean they have to go on tour with a corps? Good luck finding someone looking for a job that only lasts three months, and involves sleeping on a bus or a hard floor, other than people who are already drum corps fans or alumni, in which case they will more than likely be too attached to the people and activity already to be truly objective.

Can't we just get a line of trading cards?

I, for one, mentioned DCA as an option since the majority of Pioneer's problems seem to relate to an inability to manage all the needs of a full touring corps - bad or lacking food on the road; medical issues while on the road; bad buses on the road ... if they were to eliminate, or reduce, the "on the road" portion of their mission as much as possible, they might be able to eliminate many of their inherent problems. As far as finances, Pioneer's Form 990 for 2016 showed $381,126 in revenue, whereas Hawthorne Caballero's had $181,979, Fusion (2015) had $217,840, and Reading had $267,831. Sure, Pioneer's numbers would go down moving from DCI to DCA, but it would likely be much more manageable for them than a DCI tour. Whether or not they are too far West to feasibly make weekend trips to DCA shows is a different concern.

Or go to DCA

Not probation. Suspension.

I'm fine with Cadets going out of their way to continue bringing back all alumni to the fold, but when did the number "85" take on an important meaning? Are we at the point where every fifth season now has to be referred to as an anniversary show? I guess if the marketing department wants to use that angle for its thing, that's ok, but I hope it won't have any bearing on show design or performance pressure.

Do you mean Stewart Copeland? Or Aaron Copland? That does not fill me with confidence at all. Not only do I not feel there is much good "undiscovered" Copland out there that has not already been done (to death, in many cases), but it's simply "more of the same" as far as Cadets are concerned. 1975, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1996, 2008, 2014 ... Copland would once more be a case of Cadets looking backwards, not looking forwards.

Paging Drew Shanefield. Three words ... Mathis der Maler

Who is Males?

And yet in related news, I've seen at least two Northern Virginia High Schools announce within the last two weeks that they will not be able to field a Varsity Football team this fall, due to low enrollment. If that is indeed the trend (and between cultural shifts and medical awareness, that may very well be the trend in certain parts of the country), what will it mean for the marching arts in those locations? I doubt it will mean anything good.

The same reason every youth sports club is an autonomous organization, that merely agrees to participate in a cooperate group that structures the competition. They will never cede their autonomy to the organization group itself.