toneslinky Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Not to long ago I was a strong advocate of the OC splitting with DCI however, because of the services that DCI provides the OC, it would not be wise to split with DCI at this time. Which makes the G7 proposal even more egregious because the G7 know how valuable these services are to the OC Div. And they knew that eliminating said services would cripple the OC at the very minimum. I know some have said that the proposal is now dead. Yet that does not change the fact that Bluecoats, BD, SCV, Cadets, Cavies Crown, and PR have stated for all to read their true feelings towards the OC Div.I feel that DCA and the OC Div. would be a great fit. However, it is clear to me that is not going to happen at this point in time. To me, this option is off the table. I feel that SDCA and the OC Div. can work. If, and only if, DCI gives their blessing and they work together on the schedule. With a stretch goal of taking over the services DCI provides one step at a time. Not cold turkey. This would be a great opportunity for the OC to create their own brand, create their own identity, and create an executive BoD where most members are not Corps Dirs. A blank slate, if you would. What would be the issues if SCDA with DCI blessing ran the OC shows and regionals during the season? Dean It doesn't look to me that DCI is G-7. George Hopkins is G-7. George is trying to pull the G-7 away just like Star of Indiana becoming "blast". DCI will lose them but still have OC corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasgroh Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 (edited) No one seems to taking into account what the kids will decide to do. Will they remain loyal and stick with the g seven or do otherwise? I don't think it is a guarantee that the level of quality will remain. ...this is very insightful. Take Star for example, in another thread it came out that the membership at the time, when presented with the future of their corps, were as much devastated as elated...when confronted with the ongoing examples of longevity (like Cavies or Cadets or Boston or...) that same portion of Star's membership feel badly that their alumni base is so small and stagnant (read; done), this as a result of the corps going "pro". Would this phenomenon become a more modern result of the G7 split? Who knows, maybe with so many organizations splitting away it will become a non-factor? Dunno, but I would think, however, that there would be a significant portion of those members not so glad 'bout the switch... cg Edited August 21, 2010 by chasgroh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntheMood Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 I think a lot of people tend to search for some non-existent utopian solution for Open Class in which, all of a sudden, a huge fan base for the drum corps grow and all their monetary woes somehow disappear. The bottom line is, that won't happen. Open Class drum corps need start getting their act together, run more efficiently, purchase solid equipment, fund well-supplied tours, and provide a product that captures audience attention, especially the eyes and ears of potential marchers. That's the bad news.The good news is, this seems to be happening. In watching open class, yes the amount of corps has been shrinking, but that seems to have stabilized. What we have now is a situation where corps that don't have the money, stay within their boundaries and don't attend finals. Look at Impulse, they've played it smart and, fortunately for them, they've started seing competitive success this year that eluded them in many years past. Corps that do go to finals go fully prepared. How about the Blue Saint's diesel food truck? Not too shabby for a corps their size. And have you guys seen Forte's uniforms? Those guys look sharp. At the end of the day, DCI has done a lot of good for the Open Class. They've created an atmosphere where, if they aren't fit to succeed completely, they do not go out at all, and that has done wonders for the financial stability of these drum corps. Yes, corps still fail, but are those failing corps doing it right? Probably not. Do we want that? Again, probably not. But it's not the end of the world. Rather, it's the opposite. The future of open class looks very bright. And, if it's one thing that drum corps teaches us, it is to set up a system that allows for nothing but greatness, and develop consistency in all our actions to that we may one day achieve that greatness. Great drum corps are not built in a single day, not even if your last name is Cook. Thank you for your perspective. We happen to agree with each other on many of your points. I would encourage anyone who has not read the OC thread called Open Class only shows please do. You will walk away with a better understanding of the relationship between the OC and DCI. Thanks to some very knowledgeable poster, we now know what those services are. And make no mistake about this fact: The G7 wanted to eliminate all the services, cold turkey. I see from your writing that you understand what would happen to the OC Div. if the G7 had their way. Utopian solution? No sir, valid solutions that address: Long term sustainability Increase in attendance OC Corps getting paid One step at a time. I understand there is no magic bullet out there. However, there is no reason not to be proactive on these issues. Start now, who's to say that the services DCI provides the OC Div. will not be eliminated one service at a time. Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mokumi Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 (edited) Utopian solution? No sir, valid solutions that address:Long term sustainability Increase in attendance OC Corps getting paid I guess I was a bit too hasty in tossing out words like "utopian." I'm glad my youthful zeal was not misinterpreted for negativity. However, there is no reason not to be proactive on these issues. Start now, who's to say that the services DCI provides the OC Div. will not be eliminated one service at a time. And on that we can both agree. The purpose of my post was merely to respond to the idea that OC drum corps should cut and run, which I disagree with wholeheartedly. The Open Class is well on its way in becoming a proud, positive, and most importantly marketable division of DCI, but we, and I stress the "we", can only get there through long, sustained work towards those goals you listed above. How's that for "utopian?" Edited August 21, 2010 by Mokumi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wturner901 Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 (edited) No one seems to taking into account what the kids will decide to do. Will they remain loyal and stick with the g seven or do otherwise? I don't think it is a guarantee that the level of quality will remain. Not many of the members I've talked to are fans of the proposal. And by not many, I mean none. Personally, I just don't understand it well enough to form an opinion. I will probably look at it more later though. *shrug* Edited August 23, 2010 by wturner901 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 what's the deal with OC finals next year? I see the fantastic 5 packages are gone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardcorpscadets Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 what's the deal with OC finals next year? I see the fantastic 5 packages are gone I believe to bring down the cost of the tickets, DCI eliminated Open Class from the package. Truthfully, few people used the tickets. I was there for OC Finals this year and saw a very small crowd. IMO, having Finals and Semi-finals competing on the same day as World Class is ridiculous, its too much in one day and makes fans choose one or the other. I believe they should return Open Class Finals to wednesday night, thereby making it more of an 'event'. Did it really make sense to have semi finals with 16 corps this year? If your competing field is 16 corps why not let them compet in both prelims and finals. I know I would be there on wednesday and I would think that there would be a larger crowd. This would also not require all the OC corps to spend the whole week, bringing down some costs. It would also give the OC corps a day where they don't live in the shadow of WC. I'm not sure if this change in ticketing has any effect on the corps payments, I don't think they are getting that much from DCI to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 oh i agree....it made for a little bit of drum corps burnout to see that many corps in a day. but, crowds on Wednesday were still small too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 (edited) To me this would make a wonderful Finals Week: Mon: OC Prelim Tue: OC Simi Wed: WC Prelim Th: WC Simi Fri: OC Final Sat: WC Final Positives: a) Gives OC a special night (Fri) so more people might attend; and b) Gives the WC top 12 a full day of Fri rehearsal to put in that extra whip cream and cherry for finals! And the problem is???? WC is the DCI cash cow; so the ticket sales for WC Prelim and Simi would more than likely go down even further. Edited August 23, 2010 by Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardcorpscadets Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 oh i agree....it made for a little bit of drum corps burnout to see that many corps in a day.but, crowds on Wednesday were still small too. Agreed but I would say that the crowd would be 3 or 4 times the size of what I saw this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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