Why is I&E necessary?

[perc2100]

FWIW:

Looking at the I&E schedule it appears, with Cavies pulling out of the event, that 12 of the World Class corps participated and 10 did not. Among those that did not are Cadets, Cavies, Crown, Bluecoats, and Phantom.

Will the extra rehearsal time be of any advantage to these corps? I think we can all agree that these corps get ONE additional rehearsal block by NOT participating over the corps that do. Is one additional block the day before quarterfinals going to have any impact of their finals score?

Could that ONE additional block be worth as little as .03 of a point? What could .03 of a point possibly be worth? Let's see....if my final score was say a 98.1 that .03 would give me a 98.13 would it not? Could that possibly make any difference in my placing???

Of course, an argument could probably be made that by having my members actually participate in I&E may have helped my corps get to that 98.1! Maybe participating is worth MORE than .03?

I personally like the I&E event and wish ALL of the corps were required to be represented by at least one performer in each event. That eliminates any perceived advantage to a corps that does not choose to participate.

But I won't bring up the fact that some corps have housing much further away from Indy than others so travel time is also a big factor.

Obviously some corps are philosophically against I&E and some aren't. If corps think it is advantageous to not participate in I&E, then they don't participate. If corps think it's a good idea to participate in I&E, they let their members participate. Blue Devils have ALWAYS, to the best of me knowledge, participated in I&E and competitively they do better than OK. Cadets have ALWAYS, to the best of my knowledge, NOT participated in I&E and they competitively do better than OK. It's just different philosophies: they're both "right."

[bmroth1]

Could that ONE additional block be worth as little as .03 of a point? What could .03 of a point possibly be worth? Let's see....if my final score was say a 98.1 that .03 would give me a 98.13 would it not? Could that possibly make any difference in my placing???

Of course, an argument could probably be made that by having my members actually participate in I&E may have helped my corps get to that 98.1! Maybe participating is worth MORE than .03?

Actually, I would argue that that one additional block at that particular time could be worth much more than .03 potentially, but I'm not saying that should be an argument as to whether or not to participate. Participation has always been voluntary and IMO should remain that way.

[jplattSCV]

You know

it's really hard

to read

when you have

lots of unnecessary

blank lines

in your post.

Also I completely disagree with you. Hey kids you're all winners? Um, last time I checked people get ranked at I&E too, and only one person takes first. It sounds like you're complaining about crappy bands, which I'm not sure how that relates to drum corps I&E at all...

So, yes, you win the bipolar curmudgeon award.

And I think this might win the Missed the Sarcasm Completely Award.

[the_aborigine]

Still have a virgin set of Rob Carson DC-10 Sticks...

I have a couple and I was a lead bari

(I also have a '78 snare I bought from the player, a high school friend; it's been in an Anvil case, played regularly, ever since. The DC-10's I play with are taped like the line did.)

[Fievel]

They should back up I&E a day, if not open the week with it.

[SF2K4]

Because it's fun? That word is still allowed in drum corps, right?

[Jeff Ream]

here Tom I'll partially agree:

anyone doing I&E on woodwinds or synths is a waste of time

[Tom Brace]

here Tom I'll partially agree:

anyone doing I&E on woodwinds or synths is a waste of time

and you have a large number of corps not participating...this is like the picnic at DCM, fun...a great day...but, not necessary. The kids who can play...flat out can play, regardless of what a judge says after their 3 minutes. Kids who are struggling with their instrument or equipment are vetted by their corps in most cases and do not appear anyway.

This serves such a small number of members....have a picnic instead.

[BRASSO]

So, is I&E anything more than a day long ego trip? Or, do winners get scholarships or endorsements?

I mean...I think logistically, it would make sense for corps to rehearse than to spend the day with I&E.

But, being the buzzkill I am, I am probably alone in this sentiment. I&E is a waste of time.

Some of the participants are from top corps but also many are from the much lower placing Corps as well. I think it's neat to go one on one with ( say ) a member of the Blue Devils in your particular instrument and beat out that individual from the Blue Devils ( or one of the other Elite Corps ). I also think some of the individual performances are well worth watching. Over the years , I've seen some amazing performances in these I & E competitions. I'm glad DCI has them available for those that want to partake of them.

Edited August 6, 2009 by BRASSO

[korsakovisjesus3]

I've never gone to an I&E competition. Does anyone know of any videos on a site that won't be named? I'd really like to see if there are any examples of really good players that I can see online, since I can't go to the actual event? I'd specifically like to see any of the past Brass winners, but any division would be cool.

If you can't post the vid on here due to infringement reasons, can you PM me?

Thanks either way!