EndzoneEric Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I think the economic pressures would be better addressed by breaking the season up into a regional tour folllowed by a national tour. I've given this some thought. So... if there were a regional tour first, followed by the national tour, the only way it would be a real cost savings would be if the regional tour forced the corps to send everyone home between the weekends. Hear me out... Corps staying in their regions still costs the same as corps going cross-country because all of the fixed costs are the same. - since most of the corps charter their buses now, a day's rental is still a day's rental, whether the bus is sitting still or going over the road. - if the corps are sitting still, you still have to feed them and house them, you still need staff to instruct them and volunteers to take time off from work to feed them and drive them and sew for them, etc... the same as if you were on the road. So... and this is not directed to you, jthomas, where is the big savings of staying regional for a part of the season? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salad315 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I've given this some thought. So... if there were a regional tour first, followed by the national tour, the only way it would be a real cost savings would be if the regional tour forced the corps to send everyone home between the weekends.Hear me out... Corps staying in their regions still costs the same as corps going cross-country because all of the fixed costs are the same. - since most of the corps charter their buses now, a day's rental is still a day's rental, whether the bus is sitting still or going over the road. - if the corps are sitting still, you still have to feed them and house them, you still need staff to instruct them and volunteers to take time off from work to feed them and drive them and sew for them, etc... the same as if you were on the road. So... and this is not directed to you, jthomas, where is the big savings of staying regional for a part of the season? gas? thats the big one - but still not going to save the world. It might be a little easier on corps not to have to find new housing every night as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I've given this some thought. So... if there were a regional tour first, followed by the national tour, the only way it would be a real cost savings would be if the regional tour forced the corps to send everyone home between the weekends.Hear me out... Corps staying in their regions still costs the same as corps going cross-country because all of the fixed costs are the same. - since most of the corps charter their buses now, a day's rental is still a day's rental, whether the bus is sitting still or going over the road. - if the corps are sitting still, you still have to feed them and house them, you still need staff to instruct them and volunteers to take time off from work to feed them and drive them and sew for them, etc... the same as if you were on the road. So... and this is not directed to you, jthomas, where is the big savings of staying regional for a part of the season? I have said just this many times. A regional tour would still require travel, food and all of the expenses you note. Corps membership, esp at the World level, comes from all over the country, unlike back in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Brace Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 gas?thats the big one - but still not going to save the world. It might be a little easier on corps not to have to find new housing every night as well... fuel is not as huge a cost as some might think compared to all the fixed costs. That's the biggest issue with this activity...I could pull budget records from the late 90s, however I seem to recall approximately 70% of the costs associated with running a drum corps were fixed. Contracts on horns, drums, uniforms, have fixed monthly payments for instance. One of the biggest variable cost comes down to food. However, fail to feed kids who are burning tens of thousands of calories a day and you are asking for huge problems. So, there is a fuzzy number in there regarding the minimum amount needed to spend on food per day, however, that is still negotiable because of where you can shop and whether you can get a food drop from your national supplier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 gas?thats the big one - but still not going to save the world. It might be a little easier on corps not to have to find new housing every night as well... Is it a "big one"? How close do you think the shows will be? What I see happening is that the corps would be criss-crossing a smaller geographic area at first, but they would still be driving far enough every night so that the shows would far enough away to not draw each others potential audience. I don't see that total mileage shrinking all that much, as even smaller geographic areas will still be pretty big to cover the entire country. Also...given the dificulties geting housing these days for even ONE night...finding places to house all of the corps for X nights in a row would be REAL tough...and not really a cost savings, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle B Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Is this typical of all DCA groups? Sounds like Kilties are a great bargain! Not typical, although some groups do offer food for the weekend for pennies. If I get the specifics, I'll let you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salad315 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Is it a "big one"? How close do you think the shows will be? What I see happening is that the corps would be criss-crossing a smaller geographic area at first, but they would still be driving far enough every night so that the shows would far enough away to not draw each others potential audience. I don't see that total mileage shrinking all that much, as even smaller geographic areas will still be pretty big to cover the entire country.Also...given the dificulties geting housing these days for even ONE night...finding places to house all of the corps for X nights in a row would be REAL tough...and not really a cost savings, IMO. Like I said, it's the 'big one', as in the only major thing that would change. I didnt say it would save the day, in fact I said it WOULDNT 'save the world' aka - it wouldnt fix everything. You just kinda ignored that part. Relative to everything else (because like others have said - a lot would not change), gas is the biggest issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Like I said, it's the 'big one', as in the only major thing that would change. I didnt say it would save the day, in fact I said it WOULDNT 'save the world' aka - it wouldnt fix everything. You just kinda ignored that part. Relative to everything else (because like others have said - a lot would not change), gas is the biggest issue. Maybe I worded it poorly...take another look. I am saying that the daily travelling distances would not decrease all that much, so corps would still be travelling close to the same distances each day, only criss-crossing a smaller area, in order to reach shows far enough apart to not cannibalize each other's audience. Hence, the gas savings would also be small, if any, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salad315 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Maybe I worded it poorly...take another look. I am saying that the daily travelling distances would not decrease all that much, so corps would still be travelling close to the same distances each day, only criss-crossing a smaller area, in order to reach shows far enough apart to not cannibalize each other's audience. Hence, the gas savings would also be small, if any, IMO. Ohh...i know it wouldnt make a big difference. Besides, without at least one 'supercorps' at the show (actually, its better to have 2 or 3), people wouldnt go to the show anyway....thats just how it is.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellodramatic Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 The wretched state of the economy is unlikely to change any time soon. Given that, the standard pattern of working September through May, assembling some cash and marching drum corps is not going to be possible to all too many people today. I don't know how to quantify that. Perhaps the corps directors already have some sense of the size of this problem. So, maybe a couple of years should now be added to the age out rule so there is a greater time window for participation for someone wanting to march world class. Again, maybe the corps directors and DCI personnel are already considering extending the upper age limit. A change in the age out policy would give a lot of those now being clobbered by the economy some extra time to prepare for a tour some future summer. . No. Just.....no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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