camel lips Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 I do take issue with those who act like there aren't any drawbacks to Labor Day weekend. They are real and if they don't affect your corps yet, they will soon. The push towards more school days and shorter summers is inexorable. The demographics of the population and the competitive direction of DCA will continue to drive DCA as an activity to get younger. It would be nice to have our championship in a football stadium and that is nearly impossible on Labor Day weekend. WEll said sir.Wasted breath but well said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allie Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 This is actually my third season marching, and I have never been to the Reading show because I was moving in for school (I finally get to go this year, but will be mising the Norwich show instead ) I always have a conflict with school and finishing out the season. I can never make it to the mandatory Friday practice because of classes, and end up meeting everyone at I&E. It would be impossible to change based on college schedules, because schools start at different times. My school is going back early this year, and I will still have 3 more drum corp weekends left. It kinda sucks moving into school and seeing people you haven't seen all summer and having to leave right away for a drum corp weekend. But I love my Cru family too much to care Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danielle Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 I was in HS and college and made it... In HS in 01, I left Friday morning after our week long band camp, and those that left a little earlier were able to. We drove back over night from Scranton about 2 hours after retreat in 03 because my school decided to have classes on Labor Day. We rolled in 30 minutes before my 8am theory class. Yeah, I couldn't miss any classes for the rest of the semester, but I survived and didn't miss a show. You could move in early, or after the show. Most colleges are pretty flexible. It is not impossible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeDz Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 I do take issue with those who act like there aren't any drawbacks to Labor Day weekend. They are real and if they don't affect your corps yet, they will soon. The push towards more school days and shorter summers is inexorable. The demographics of the population and the competitive direction of DCA will continue to drive DCA as an activity to get younger. It would be nice to have our championship in a football stadium and that is nearly impossible on Labor Day weekend.<snip second paragraph of post> I can see how there will be a growing problem with DCA "kids" going back-to-school as the popularity of DCA continues to grow and draw high school and college students in higher numbers and as a higher percentage of each corps. As for football stadium availability, that SHOULD NOT be a problem as exactly one-half of all football stadiums will be empty on game day, and the schedule is known YEARS in advance. In the event that the first problem becomes an issue by causing too many blanks after August 20th or so, would it be possible to hold DCA Championship earlier in August and continue the regular season afterwards? While baseball and football end with the World Series and Super Bowl respectively, the American Legion Nationals, VFW Nationals, CYO Nationals, and World Open weren't the end of the drum corps season. The 1963 Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights won the American Legion Nationals in early September and still competed in (and won) five more Saturday contests after that, ending on October 8th. I would leave it up to the DCA corps to decide if this is a problem, although I would suggest that they get input from corps that do not make the finals, since some may have fallen short because of such an issue. I FULLY trust the DCA staff and member corps leadership to address their own issues......after all, they're the ones who are creating this "problem" by making DCA so attractive to younger participants. Nice problem to have......... Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 honestly...continuing the regular season after finals makes no sense given how the activity is driven now. Ok...you're the World Champion. now go do 3 weeks of shows that mean nothing. yeah i see members saying "see ya". and half the stadiums may be empty. 2/3 of them are natural grass and have owners who wont rent out unless they make a small fortune. DCA does not have the crowd support to fill those stadiums up and not lose their shirts. Remember the corps make money on Finals weekend. you go to a place with huge overhead costs, and you dont fill it...they lose money. for right now...we're at the level we need to be. In time...hey never say never. But since no one can/will answer the question I have asked twice in this thread, I'd say my point has been well proven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camel lips Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 I'd say my point has been well proven NOt really but if it makes you feel better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reeses0316 Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 it rains every year on Labor Day weekend?I can think of 5 times DCA was affected by rain, and 3 where it rained but didnt cause massive issues 1975 1987 1988 1990...show delayed a bit 1993 1999 2002...a little rain at prelims and a little at finals 2006 that's 18% of DCA's history. as for bids....do you have a big name stadium willing to bid for it earlier? also....will a DCA sized crowd look good in a major football stadium? I know what Winston Salem looked like. that wasnt pretty. a bigger stadium will not draw a bigger crowd. look at Winston Salem 2006 Ernesto=6 years worth of rain. At least it felt that way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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