Rule Proposal 2008-02

[EKBari]

What would be the effect of beginning a new division of older members? Perhaps offer age-out's something other than DCA? No offense to the senior honks out there...I may be joining your herd soon! But there are obviously a good deal of people who are obsessed with this activity and whose bodies are still of the age to take the abuse it wrings out.

There is no question that we need more corps. There is no issue with the idea that we have enough people capable of marching older than 21/22. How old can one march? How old can an NFL'er play? Depends on if your name is Young, Aikman, or Favre...or Rice. I'd probably fall out around age 30 (DCI...wouldn't have made the NFL!). Others might go a bit longer.

And again, no offense, but DCA just doesn't do it for some people in their twenties. I guess it would be like Aikman in his prime handing off to Tony Dorsett or tossing the ball to Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson, both icons of the 1970's Cowboys, etc. But another DCI league, perhaps? Just a thought. And it would bridge the gap between the current junior and senior activities nicely, me thinks.

Didn't read all the other stuff...picked up off of the "most recent post" thing on the chat home page. So I don't know all the details behind the rule. A couple of thoughts. It's not like we're short on auditionees, are we? I mean, Phantom alone could fill out Cavies, Scouts, Phantom and send a few over to Racine, too, from November camp reports. Probably the same in most finalist audition camps. 22 for DCI? I wouldn't support it just for the heck of it. Separate division? Different corps? OK, maybe. Don't HAVE to have it, but no reason not to.

Thoughts?

The effect would be having a group of people of around who need to get on with their lives.

As good a time as I had in my three years with the Emerald Knights, it in no way compared to graduating from college, joining the Navy and representing our country in the 50th anniversary of D-Day, the birth of my son, or having a CAREER instead of a job.

Why does it not compare? It doesn't because I fully understood that I only had three years to march and and when I marched my last show, there were no regrets. It was time to move on and and get ready to take on the real world and there would be plenty of other opportunities if I made myself available to take advantage of them.

DCI is the YOUTH division of the drum corps activity. It would be hard to justify the fundraising for having young adults trying to hold on to their glory days.

As it stands right now, most DCI shows are meant to accomodate and provide performance opportunities for the World Class corps with some slots left open for some Open Class corps and maybe an All-Age Corps. With that in mind, when and where would the new division perform? If it ends up being on the weekends with some weekday dates, then in effect DCI has just created it's own all-age division. And if you only have 22 and 23 year olds marching, you will eventually have 24, 25, 26, etc coming back saying "What about me? Why can't I march too?"

As for DCA not doing it for some folks, that's fine. Just like DCI isn't for everybody who can march in a junior corps, DCA isn't everybody who has previous drum corps experience.

[corps-mudgeon]

As I've said before, it's a bad idea. However, if for some reason my opinion is overridden by the board, they should at least add a provision for members to be allowed to participate in age-out ceremonies under the current rules. If you've been planning to age out and get on with your life, and then the finish line is moved, you're not going to be in a position to turn everything upside down and march another year just to be able to say you aged out. Maybe a few years of dual age-out eligibility until most age outs have joined under the new rule. Which I hope doesn't pass.

[liebot]

As I've said before, it's a bad idea. However, if for some reason my opinion is overridden by the board, they should at least add a provision for members to be allowed to participate in age-out ceremonies under the current rules. If you've been planning to age out and get on with your life, and then the finish line is moved, you're not going to be in a position to turn everything upside down and march another year just to be able to say you aged out. Maybe a few years of dual age-out eligibility until most age outs have joined under the new rule. Which I hope doesn't pass.

Pretty sure you can attend the age-out ceremony whenever you want to. I know someone who went when he was 20.

I heard from someone that this rule change passed.

[BeoJ09]

It is my understanding that if for some reason you cannot participate in the activity during your "official" age out year year then you can go through the ceremony whenever you would like. i.e., injury, personal reasons, joining the military, etc.

[Will Valenti]

The effect would be having a group of people of around who need to get on with their lives.

I'm replying (as my first post on DCP) because I feel like I'm approaching this particular rule change from a different perspective. I'm not someone who is really heavily into DCI, at least I wasn't throughout my youth. I knew about it and was a casual fan, but I only really got into it just before my junior year of college (the 2006 season). I first auditioned for a corps this year. My DOB is 9/22/86. That means I was 21 years of age going into my first audition. I had always kind of wanted to do it, but never had the money to fly out of the northeast where I live to attend camps. I figured since this is my age-out year, I should say, "To heck with money," and just do it.

Now, even though I'm studying trumpet performance in college, because I had never marched before, I didn't do that great, and I don't think I stand a reasonable chance of making the corps. It wouldn't make financial sense for me to keep trying this year without a reasonable understanding that I could make the line. I do know, now, though, some of the physical demands required to at least make a drum corps, and if I spent this whole year training, then by the next set of auditions, I could make the line for my very first time. Unfortunately, as the rules stand right now, I don't stand a chance. It will take me 4½ years to graduate with a degree in music ed and trumpet performance, and after that I'm hardly done, since every state near me requires a master's degree to teach for more than five years. I'll be going to school for a while, and for most music degrees, taking summer classes doesn't make much sense (Most ensembles, for example, don't meet during the summer, unless the school is absolutely huge.).

Now that I've had a taste of what it's like to learn in a drum corps environment, I really want to go back, but it doesn't look like it's happening this year. This rule change would give me a second chance to experience a summer of drum corps for the first time. I understand that I could go to DCA, or something, and that's actually a lot more prevalent where I live, but it's just not the same kind of atmosphere, and I think that at the ripe old age of 21 or 22, I'd still rather spend the summer with people I consider my peers.

Cheers,

Will

[Will Valenti]

So I just re-read the proposed change, and I guess it wouldn't actually affect me anyway. Still, I can see a situation in which people in a similar situation to mine would be afforded a second chance, and I don't see anything wrong with that.

Cheers,

Will

[WilberSoprano]

Why does it not compare? It doesn't because I fully understood that I only had three years to march and and when I marched my last show, there were no regrets. It was time to move on and and get ready to take on the real world and there would be plenty of other opportunities if I made myself available to take advantage of them.

DCI is the YOUTH division of the drum corps activity. It would be hard to justify the fundraising for having young adults trying to hold on to their glory days.

This will be my 6th year marching and I'll have two more years after this one. I love drum corps and if I could make myself a few years younger for the purpose of marching, I DEFINITELY would.

I'm all for marching longer--hell, I'd want to. The problem, as previously mentioned, is the fact that going to college and/or having a job/career starts right after high school.

I guess that this post isn't really necessary, as it is just a repetition of things that were already said.

However, not all of us are music majors. I know that many pre-meds work over the summer in hospitals. Furthermore, there are science majors who work in labs over the summer. Finally, what about internships? All of these start in the early 20's. This change would cause some major problems.

Life is not fair, that is evident. I understand that this does not apply to everyone; I'm just adding my $0.02.

[SF2K4]

I think 21 is already way beyond a "youth activity" anyway... So to me the only problem was those who said they didn't want to march after college graduation... just let me ask... how many of you will really graduate in the stereotypical 4 years? I know I won't... though I'm an engineering major, but I have at least 5 to get my masters... but most of the music majors I know still need 4 1/2 to 5... in today's day and age college just takes longer, and if we're already past what I consider the youth stage (I think 18 is probably my cut off for "youth") then I see no reason to do this... especially since it does away with a "bonus year" and gives everyone, not just the bonus year people, one more chance. Me personally, I'd love to get it.

I vote yes.

[SF2K4]

I do want to ask a question about it... my opinion won't change but I'm a little lost on the details of the rule now.

My birthday is on December 15th. I am 20 now for the 2008 season. I will then be 21 for the 2009 season. For the 2010 season I would be 22 and would turn 23 in December of 2010... from what I read that actually still excludes me from the so called "extra" year, correct?

[Will Valenti]

I do want to ask a question about it... my opinion won't change but I'm a little lost on the details of the rule now.

My birthday is on December 15th. I am 20 now for the 2008 season. I will then be 21 for the 2009 season. For the 2010 season I would be 22 and would turn 23 in December of 2010... from what I read that actually still excludes me from the so called "extra" year, correct?

I believe it would. What's tricky is that in the wording of the proposal, he says "be 22" when he means "turn 22" in the year of competition, I believe. It's pretty poorly written.