cmchandler

I would propose it's even simpler than this. There is absolutely no financial incentive for an Open Class corps that is not financially "covered" by a World Class corps to stay Open Class. Open Class corps are expected to go on the same tours as the WC corps but are paid nothing for shows (even most of the Open Class ones, although a few are moving toward creating an Open Class pool for participants if/when they can afford it). If you're fielding 150, making the scores, and you're able to make it through the DCI hoops, it's in your best interest financially to move up, which is why you won't see corps like Pioneer who struggle with numbers move back down.

I know our guys were head to head there at the end, but allow me to tell you how much I really enjoyed watching that show. Open Class was a goldmine for entertainment this season.

Found the imaginary person in the crowd.

FloMarching doesn't show the corps performing in Big, Loud, and Live. Only way to see the top 15 tonight is at the theater.

My husband is at the theater in Mobile. Same thing there. Not sure if they're quitting but they're definitely not getting signal at the moment.

I am so excited for what these young men and women accomplished this season. Couldn't have asked for a better last performance for this group. Love these guys so much.

IIRC, they laid down a good foundation by fielding an indoor group for a few years prior so they could step into Open Class with a good financial base. It was a smart move.

We had an electric run tonight. But holy cow, Guardians were fantastic. EVERYONE was fantastic. What a great year for drum corps in Open Class.

Probably has to do with the wind. It was pretty wicked last night from all reports.

We will have one soon. Our inventory is on our truck. #lifeinopenclass

Show time. Love these guys.

For what it's worth, the bit about FloMarching comes mostly from me, I think. I emailed them about two weeks ago asking about the feasibility of covering Open Class corps, especially since so many of the south and eastern ones were more or less shut out of World Class shows this season. Their response was to say they were indeed looking into it for next season, and they would be keeping a close eye on how well Open Class prelims and finals did to help them decide if it was worthy of expansion. I've been spamming out the DCP Facebook page and Reddit pleading for people to watch, as I firmly believe and support the mission that this level of music education deserves a worthy stage. So PLEASE watch. First of all, you're just flat out missing some amazing drum corps if you don't. There are some REALLY great things happening in Open Class (especially Southwind, says the homer). Secondly, support the growth of the activity! The Open Class corps you see today may be the champions of tomorrow. It wasn't that long ago (sssshhhh, it WASN'T that long ago) that I was competing head to head with Carolina Crown, Blue Stars, and Mandarins on a nightly basis during the summertime. Now I see those groups competing on Saturday night, and it makes me love this activity even more. Just watch! It won't be wasted time, I guarantee.

Pretty sure it's been much longer than that. Spirit was playing Salvation as a warmup back when I first marched corps in '90.

As a JSU alum, I've always wondered about the chicken and the egg ("Salvation Is Created"). Nice to get confirmation that Southerners did it first and Spirit lifted it (as I kind of suspected).

And me. #totalhomer

You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me. I'M DYING HERE.

I want to thank you all so much for the compliments about Southwind. We are beyond proud of them. The average age of the corps is just under 18 so we see good things still to come but right now, I'm just so excited for all of them to see their hard work come to fruition.

Just about 30 minutes out. Anyone there in person today?

Ours woke everyone up with "Legends" this morning. It was lovely to watch.

Southerners alum here. Tell your son welcome to the family. Also, Box 5 parenting.

According to a reply on a post I made on DCP FB pleading with people to watch, he has to cover the Massillon show tonight but will be watching up until he has to leave and on Tuesday for finals.

I like this placement for them. It lets them still be scored but also serve as an "encore" for the Open Class corps. Caught them via FloMarching at Allentown the other day and really like the show.

The directors received a notice this morning that Aug. 4 scores were thrown out for consideration because half of the slate didn't receive scores because of the rainout in Sheffield. So it's the two highest out of the date range above except Aug. 4.

Agreed. Not to diminish those programs in the slightest because they're solid, but that show seems way inflated, score-wise. That has them currently scoring ahead of a good number of the rather solid lower-tier WC corps.

Pretty sure I can support this campaign. Who doesn't like chicken nuggets?