zackiedude

Scores do matter. The longevity of the corps depends on the scores. <----an alum who still cares about the members and entertaining shows.

I just don't think he worded what he meant so that others would understand him. People got caught up in gun deaths so they kinda stopped reading. I think it would be good for the activity itself to move past rifles, but again I don't think drum corps itself is ready to. If I taught a bunch of Lisa's kids who had been trained on many things, then yes, I think the group would be able to pull it off. But again, kids spend years perfecting just a single toss on rifles and the talent will be there until high schools and independent winterguards change what they're doing... but seeing as WGI defines the activity as flags, rifles and sabers, I doubt things will change anytime soon. WGI would have to change first, and I doubt with the popularity of the indoor activity that that's going to happen soon. I guess if you look at SCV 04, yeah, the guys spinning those large wooden scimitars was really cool. They developed their own technique and everything for that. But then if you look what they do on rifle it's much more advanced than what they did on the scimitar, mainly because everyone already know how to toss 6's and 7's on rifle.

Have you seen guard costumes since the 80s? It's about the lycra-spandex blends now.. maybe some crushed velvet.

Well if all young guards did it the way you did, then we'd probably see more people spinning different things. People would be more versatile. But when you take a group and all you have is 3 months, you use their strengths. Most people have already spun rifle, so training on that takes much much less time than training on anything else. We already have people complaining about incomplete shows in June, so why add something that would take more weeks of training to master?

The reason they stay is because its familiar. EVERYONE spins rifle, not everyone spins such-and-such piece of equipment. To get a group that spins one piece of equipment together takes years and years of training on that piece of equipment, and if you were to initiate a change it would take a long, long time. Kids may have been spinning rifles up to 10 years before you see them spin it on the field. Also, who's going to teach how to spin these new pieces of equipment if no one ever has? Phantom's sickles that they spin may be the thing to replace rifles, but time shall tell. It's not like switching to Bb because everyone played Bb anyway. Not everyone spins other equipment.

The litigation would not have been for me at all, if it could have existed. It would have been for future boys who want to spin. No one should be degraded for doing what they want to do, especially by faculty. The legal system can be a force in changing ideals about colorguard and gender dynamics, and create a positive atmosphere in the future. I think about California and how there are so many boys in guard there and it's simply okay. You don't get that in the Midwest... boys in guard are gay and effiminate by association, mainly because guys are discouraged by administration and staff from doing it. If the legal system could help change discrimination, then that's exactly the proper use for it. Guardjul is right, though, if you don't have the support of your parents, it wouldn't be feasible. And it wouldn't solve YOUR particular problem. But it could change things in the future.

Winterguards use school insurance, so they receive funding from the government. If there is not an equal opportunity for the other gender (aka an all male guard with the same opportunities for achievement), it is in violation of federal law. Take it from someone who was degraded by staff because he wanted to be in guard, a lawsuit would have really made things right. But unfortunately, most Catholic high schools are exempt from Title IX.

Correct. Under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." If it's a public school or receives any funding from the state, they can't discriminate based on sex.

Dicks should have them. Wal-Mart sometimes carries them too (either bicycling or weight lifting gloves). I don't know what you mean by half but you probably want fingerless. Just make sure there's lots of padding in the palm area but they still allow full movement of the hands.

Well if you're going to have a defeatist attitude, then why teach kids at all? They can't spin flag without training either.

Show them where the exact point when the rifle leaves the hands is. Some people assume since a lot of free hands are straight up the rifle leaves your hands when your fingers are up, but that's a physical impossibility haha. Maybe clarifying that could help.

Here's how I look at it... Yes, teaching should be about teaching excellence. But overall it should be about giving kids the tools they need to be successful in life. It should change their lives for the better. And if all you can do is teach them to do slams and drop spins while walking turned-in, if it changes their lives, then DO IT. Yes, people cringe when they see a bad guard, but you know what, those kids are learning the exact same things about life and dedication that the top World guards are. And if I personally don't have the tools to bring out an amazing guard, I will sure as heck bring out a decent (or even bad) one if it positively affects kids.

I can't play them :( I think my computer doesn't like the format or something.

I agree -- sometimes I'd clap for rediculously clean or difficult flag phrases and I swear to God I was the only one in the entire arena doing so. BTW, I loved your show again this year :)

I like electronics and think they could be added to make some unique sounds. I doubt it would become an electronics show but it would be cool.. Narration on the other hand, is VERY hard to understand if you're not on the 50. I hate seeing a show from the 30s and not knowing what the heck they're saying. But I think a HUGE concern is cost. Electronics are expensive, and yes, some corps could get them subsidized, but what about transportation? I think most corps trucks are pretty full already... not to mention costs of replacement if they get damaged. Not to mention parity -- the top 4 or 8 could probably get free electronics, but where does that leave the bottom ensembles? Lacking "transitions" or "effect" because of their inability to buy them? So in theory, it would be a cool idea, imo. But it would be an impractical one.

There was a baton feature but there were plenty of flag and a lot of rifle work, some good tricks. I don't remember how they spun sabre, but I was really impressed with their rifles. Die hard technique, man.

I think Aimachi still had hard work, they just weren't doing impossible to clean work. Some guards get rewarded for doing really hard stuff that will never be cleaned, and some guards get rewarded for doing stuff that is pristine but a little easier. I'd rather take perfect technique, heights, rotations, etc. any day.

I think people get excited if a rifle is caught hard so the biggest visual impact is on the catch. With flags people care if they go up together, so the biggest visual impact is when they're in the air.

It you're looking for a reason to wear shoes outside, mention that DCI now requires everyone to wear shoes for their protection. Outside, I just think you're taking too many risks. Indoors it can be bad on your feet too.. I've marched 3 winter seasons barefoot and every weekend the only thing hurting me are my feet.

Just a note on Avon -- you NEED to see this show live. Now I'm someone who loves their colorguard pretty simple.. cute tosses, some tricks, clean rotations.. but this show is so emotionally deep and powerful that I can't describe it. At the end of their show at Chesterton finals, no one clapped for about 10 seconds. As the girls were cleaning up, the crowd all stood up on their feet. They had all been affected by this powerful work of art. That's the only way to genuinely describe it. It touches you like art is supposed to without being over the top and hard to understand. Just absolutely amazing.

As ugly as some people may think they are... Rubber crutch tips can help flags spin faster.

Well we use industrial advertising tarps and they're really heavy grade and you get stuck when turning, so we thought using tons of baby powder would help.... Unfortunately it just made all our rehearsal sites baby powder-ey whenever we opened the tarp :(

You could try taking it outside and shaking it like one of those parachutes kids play with in gym class... But that generally doesn't work well. I'd suggest lining your kids up in a line each with TONS of paper towels, slightly moistened (not soaking wet). Have them go all the way across the tarp, picking up the excess. But don't worry, you're not alone in your over-powderage.

That flag is the closer from the '03 show. It's gold, green, and red.. much like the title of the '03 Scouts show :). Nothing like the flag on that website. It has a fleur-de-lis designed into it (you can kinda see the curves in the image) and is not striped like the Seychelles flag. I'm not the person in question though, just marched that year.

I don't believe so, but if you can find judges sheets online you should be able to find them