Dave 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? When I started in Blue Stars in 2000, we had our tour set up largely in this manner (and so did a lot of Midwest corps, save for the top few who could afford to rent space for their members). For the first half of the summer our times on the road for shows ranged from only two or three days at the beginning, until up to DCM when we'd be on the road for a week and a half or more, depending. Between our times out, we stayed with people in La Crosse--alumni, family of members, and people who were kind enough to let us stay at their houses, and often fed the members at least for dinner in the evening. We were responsible for our own meals during the day, which wasn't too difficult if you planned ahead--someone who was low on cash could pick up groceries and a lunch bucket or small cooler and easily supply themselves with what they needed. Those with a little more or someone buying would head to one of the local restaurants. So, there are ways to deal with it, although these carry their own issues as well. The thing about a regional tour was that it allowed us to ramp up how much traveling we did and get people used to the issues inherent in being on the road, but still provide us a chance to go home and rest, resupply and all that without having to halt the entire corps somewhere along the way. I'm not saying that the current touring model needs to be done away with, just that this isn't new territory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbell211 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. . I don't think so...it just doesn't make any sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegalEagle50 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Life isn't always fair. If due to the economy Person A can't afford to march and age out, I'm sorry but THAT is a life lesson. Changing the age-out age isn't going to do anything for Person A, not in the long term. We can't always change the rules because things didn't go as planned. Don't get me wrong, it would be nice if that is the way the world worked. It's doesn't. We deal with the hand we're dealt. End of story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob J Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I still don't see how raising the age-out age would help in a bad economy. Yes it automatically increases the pool of potential marchers, but there are only so many spots in the top corps, and those will be filled no matter how bad the economy gets. Very few 22-30 year-olds are going to settle for marching in the bottom 10 WC corps, and those juniors who would be displaced from the top 12 corps by the "adults" would likely as not just stay home. Just like they do now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UWGKKpsi Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Is this typical of all DCA groups? Sounds like Kilties are a great bargain! CorpsVets supply as-needed housing with other corps members near the rehearsal site and occasionally provides food as well. We provide busses for shows in states that do not border Georgia and carpool to shows in states that do touch Georgia. CV arranges housing for the corps near far-away sites (such as Bridgeport, Lewisburg, and Nashville). The largest fee is simply the gas to get to rehearsal and the hotel room in Rochester (cost me about 120.00). Is still a good deal considering the experience you get from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I still don't see how raising the age-out age would help in a bad economy. Yes it automatically increases the pool of potential marchers, but there are only so many spots in the top corps, and those will be filled no matter how bad the economy gets. Very few 22-30 year-olds are going to settle for marching in the bottom 10 WC corps, and those juniors who would be displaced from the top 12 corps by the "adults" would likely as not just stay home. Just like they do now. I believe the original poster's point was not that extending the ageout limit would make things better now, but that it would be to allow people who were forced to miss out on marching now because of having to work or whatever catch up on missing years. I just don't see it as being a good idea, not to mention that this isn't the first recession we've gone through and these won't be the first people forced to miss out on junior corps for whatever reason. As was mentioned, as callous as it sounds, that's just the way it goes sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellophonium Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 No. It is a youth activity. Sooner or later, Skippy has to grow up and get a job. Besides, DCA is always there for people after they age out. I'm just glad I started at 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndzoneEric Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Relative to everything else (because like others have said - a lot would not change), gas is the biggest issue. For groups that charter, they're paying a contract price that includes gas. I'd imagine that many charter companies, after possibly taking it on the chin – albeit inadvertently – from groups who locked in early in the year, probably have riders on their contracts to account for surging fuel prices if they were to occur again this summer. So, the point is, the bus charter usually includes fuel... it's based on days and miles... thus... a regional trip or a national trip both cost the same when you net it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmroth1 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 no...if the kids cant afford to march...then DCI will just have to restructure itself so that kids can. Look at how much lower fees are in DCA EXCELLENT POINT!!!!!!! DCI has pretty much priced itself out of exsistance. It was coming even before the economy tanked. Now it's just in overdrive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmroth1 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 (edited) Gotta go with the no. In hard economic times, we need people working. If a DCA corps fits into your schedule as a contributor to the GNP, then by all means do it. But raising the age-out is not the answer.The best option for DCI would be regionalization to keep costs down, therefore corps fees down. You know, this just occurred to me. If DCI went to a regional model, would people still travel across country to march with a corps that essentially spent more time in their own backyard than the 15000 mile/6 week tour juggernauts of today? I wonder if it would inspire more local involvement from a membership stance, i.e., would someone from Florida march in Blue Devils if the majority of their appearances were west of the Rockies with a two week swing into Indianapolis for finals? Garry in Vegas Thank you Garry!!!! This is what DCI should have never got away from!!!!!! Yes, Yes and Yes! Fuel Costs in particular would be down and local involvement up. This is why allowing the regional circuits to Die before is what so many people were clamoring about. DCI needs to get back to it before its too late. Instead of DCI looking at why it should allow the regional circuits to fail they should have looked at what they could have done to improve them! But it seems as if the good of the elite outweighed the good of the activity. Someone mentioned if a super corps wasn't there they wouldn't draw attendance wise. Well, first of all the so called super corps use to perform at these shows and secondly if there were more decent corps to participate then there would be plenty of people coming to these shows. IMO Edited March 10, 2009 by bmroth1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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