A problem With Holes

[DrillmanSop06]

I agree that most people who think they know what they want from their money will not spend it except in pursuit of that goal. It makes financial sense since it costs the same to march Finals as it does to miss it by a mile in many cases. And for someone with limited exposure to the activity, it would be hard to justify it otherwise. The Catch 22 is that the experience in a non-finalist corps might be better than one offered by a perennial champion but there is no way to know this as an outside observer or fan of the activity where the competition and performance aspect is all that can be consumed. How could one assume that an equally powerful experience could be had in a less competitively successful corps? You couldn't assume that without independent verification and experience, something which many new hopefuls lack. It's a problem without a solution. How can you market something that isn't your performance level or show to a prospective member? Since you can't do this, it must be assumed that the money you're paying is directly proportional to the placement/show. When it costs as much for a Glassmen show, how can you justify spending the amount it takes to be a Blue Devil, for instance?

Edited June 23, 2010 by DrillmanSop06

[euponitone]

Having a caption head sit down and have a real discussion with me about my audition/opportunities to go elsewhere, as well as having the option of a group/regional audition, would have really encouraged me to march somewhere else. Sorry Nick, as much as I appreciated you yelling at me to stop sucking and go march, it clearly didn't work so well. :) But great ideas to the rest of you!

Hey now...i gave you some lessons and helped with your audition music!!

[Jeff Ream]

So, DCI marketing the scores and placements over the performance benefits of "all" corps creates a problem for lower corps recruitment. That would also mean that a responsibility of attempting to influence youth to audition for other corps instead of staying at home after getting cut from a top tier corps would lay directly at the feet of DCI Marketing Director Bob Jacobs and DCI Marketing Researcher and DCI At-Large Board Member, Steve Auditore. Correct?

agreed, and they just took that over recently, and I see some attempts at making it better.

don't get me wrong...many corps fail at this too. it isn't just DCI's problem.

[KeepItReal]

agreed, and they just took that over recently, and I see some attempts at making it better.

don't get me wrong...many corps fail at this too. it isn't just DCI's problem.

I agree it isnt solely DCI fault. No single entity is to blame.

I am curious as to hear about what these changes are that DCI is doing to move away from pushing only the their big boys.

The only thing that comes to mind mind is preseason previews of various corps, but this is usually done during the coutdown, a full day or two before most corps start move-ins, and when most kids have already made plans for the summer if they didnt make a corps they wanted.

[rayfallon]

My "general" theory on why many corps today have holes all summer:

Pre 1972: performers mainly came from the local area and were loyal to that local corps. Dues were not that much and tour, if at all, was not that rigorous. Holes were filled by inviting someone to come join the corps and have fun.

1972 through the early Eighties: performers still mainly came from the local area, but the corps also began to draw in people to audition from outside the area because of national touring and competition. Loyalty to each corps was still prevalent. First tour was in the local region and a short national tour happened in the second half of the season aiming toward DCI Finals. Holes were filled out on the road by picking up what was affectionately known as plugs.

Early Eighties through the Mid Nineties: The gradual shift from corps mainly recruiting locally over to recruiting nationally took hold. The cost of dues began to rise. The corps able to build the largest capital base were also the ones able to build the largest audition base. Loyalty to the top tier corps remained in tact but loyalty to mid level and lower level corps began to wane. It became harder and harder to plug holes out on the road because of the rising cost of dues.

Mid Nineties through the beginning of the New Millennium: Another gradual shift began because of the elimination of Regional DCW, DCM, and DCE. The cost of dues started shooting up at a rapid rate because of the national tour demands all summer. More and more people were auditioning for the top tier, and now they were also coming in from around the world; and then when cut, would move over to mid to lower corps to audition in hopes of gaining enough experience to go back and audition for the top tier. Filling holes out on the road was extremely difficult. Loyalty to the top tier groups was solidified leaving most of the other corps, especially in the Div II and Div III, with the stigma of being feeder corps.

The New Millennium: Today, a massive amount of people will show up at the top tier audition camps and some will show at lower tier corps camps. Many of these top tier corps have moved away from actually cutting people over to stacking them in groupings (audition group 1 receives a contract to march, group 2 has potential so keep coming back to camps, group 3 will not march this year but are invited back for instruction). Finally when a top tier corps is set and the last person is let go in April or May, instead of going to another corps, those who do not march with top tier now head home. This is because audition fees and performance dues are so high in "all" corps that those who audition today would rather wait until next year and try again to get into a top tier corps than spend thousands of dollars marching the rest of this year with a lower group. Loyalty to the top tier groups has become prevalent; loyalty to all other groups is rather sparse (I know that there are still some loyalty exceptions, so please do not pounce just on this particular observation).

Anyway, that is my general theory on why many corps today have holes and are having a hard time filling them. Now it is time for everyone on this site to blow my theory to shreds. Fire away!

Holy mackerel! There have been Scientific Journals posted on black holes that were shorter than that!!! I'm sure your theory must be right because it took so many words to describe!

Nice work.