Ways to save money without killing DCI

[IntheMood]

It appears that your reading comprehension is working just fine. The people who put together the assignments do try to use local judges when possible - lets give them credit. Outside judges flying in doesn't happen at every show but it happens often enough that it has to be on purpose. As the season goes on, the judging assignments are more and more about the mix of people on the panel and less about where they are traveling from.

To answer your questions:

DCI books the flights or the judges book flights through DCI's travel agency's on-line system (an example of outsourcing that DCI has in place - to go all the way back to the original post) and DCI pays for those flights. DCI also pays for mileage if a judge drives instead.

Hotels are paid for by DCI if it is a DCI event. If it is a tour event, the local show sponsor pays for the hotel.

The judges are paid for their services.

Thank you for allowing me to learn some of this process. I am so glad that DCI books the rooms and flights this is a good thing. If DCI receives some discount in booking rooms through their travel agency's, could not this cost savings be extended to the TEP?

What is so wrong in giving the Corps a list of local judges. If the Corp Or Corps want a judge that has to be flown in they foot the bill, not DCI?

Dean

[Jeff Ream]

Sure they have the options .. but is anyone counseling them on their options? NO!

For every 500 kids that show up for 40 spots ...... there are 450 going home in short order.

Umm that's enough to make up 3 full corps out of one corps cuts! If DCI seeds some new corps .. it's another opportunity for a kid to march in DCI and expand the Jr. circuit.

If the kid is auditioning in Allentown and lives in Texas but doesn't make it ... why isn't someone making a call for them to the Crossmen, Academy, Forte, Genesis, Revo .. SOMEPLACE. Granted they could march DCA, but that's a different part of this forum.

some corps do offer information on other options. but too many kids today want the big time or nothing....and part of that is how the "not big time" has been marketed. I've encouraged kids many times over the years to go to a Surf or Raiders or Crossmen when they were local. And they'd all say "yeah, but they aren't the Cadets...."

[Jeff Ream]

It appears that your reading comprehension is working just fine. The people who put together the assignments do try to use local judges when possible - lets give them credit. Outside judges flying in doesn't happen at every show but it happens often enough that it has to be on purpose. As the season goes on, the judging assignments are more and more about the mix of people on the panel and less about where they are traveling from.

To answer your questions:

DCI books the flights or the judges book flights through DCI's travel agency's on-line system (an example of outsourcing that DCI has in place - to go all the way back to the original post) and DCI pays for those flights. DCI also pays for mileage if a judge drives instead.

Hotels are paid for by DCI if it is a DCI event. If it is a tour event, the local show sponsor pays for the hotel.

The judges are paid for their services.

which IMO makes sense, and I'm hopeful the travel agency goes for discounted rates

[audiodb]

It appears that your reading comprehension is working just fine. The people who put together the assignments do try to use local judges when possible - lets give them credit. Outside judges flying in doesn't happen at every show but it happens often enough that it has to be on purpose. As the season goes on, the judging assignments are more and more about the mix of people on the panel and less about where they are traveling from.

The more I think about it, the more this "first read" issue bothers me.

I don't know if you follow the marching band activity at all, but there are 100 times as many HS marching bands competing in this country each fall vs. the number of junior corps competing in DCI. In the busiest areas (like the greater Philadelphia area, where three circuits serve/compete for area bands), a band may compete six or seven times in a season. Many other areas see the typical band only competing three times, and some only do one contest per season. If "first reads" are as big an issue as us drum corps folk make them out to be, we might as well scrap marching band judging altogether, as there is no way to avoid the problem there. Yet, I don't see organized marching band competition coming apart at the seams. Somehow, they cope.

[Jeff Ream]

but...being in that area you mentioned...first reads are still a huge complaint. People will even say you claimed "well it was a first read" when in fact you didn't.

but there is a difference....at least in the area you talk about, the 3 circuits butting heads have hundreds of bands each. DCI has what, 50 corps? so I can see why DCI would be more concerned about it.

[audiodb]

What is so wrong in giving the Corps a list of local judges. If the Corp Or Corps want a judge that has to be flown in they foot the bill, not DCI?

But DCI is the corps. Member corps of DCI established the system by which DCI flies judges around to the extent the corps desire. Kind of ironic how some of those same corps now take the position of objecting to the cost of practices like this....which they developed in the first place.

[IntheMood]

But DCI is the corps. Member corps of DCI established the system by which DCI flies judges around to the extent the corps desire. Kind of ironic how some of those same corps now take the position of objecting to the cost of practices like this....which they developed in the first place.

I could see flying judges in if the palcement of the Corps would effect their payout for that show. Yet we all know what Corps are going to make before they even cross the starting line. (sorry 70's flashback LOL)

I would like someone please tell me why flying in judges to shows would create an ROI?

Yes indeed, the Corps Dir's created this mess. It can be fixed with little or no money.

Dean

[mobrien]

Perhaps this is a rationale for DCI to reach out to some of the marching band circuits and look to recruit some of their best-qualified personnel as regional judges. No doubt there are situations in which the most experienced, the most knowledgeable judges should be the panel (any of the regionals, and Finals week), but for a typical TEP show, couldn't the corps get a fair hearing from a judging panel made up of those who live within a 60-100 mile radius of the contest site? I'd hope that they're not putting shows in places where there are NO qualified adjudicators living within 100 miles....

Edited August 24, 2010 by mobrien

[MikeD]

Sure they have the options .. but is anyone counseling them on their options? NO!

For every 500 kids that show up for 40 spots ...... there are 450 going home in short order.

Umm that's enough to make up 3 full corps out of one corps cuts! If DCI seeds some new corps .. it's another opportunity for a kid to march in DCI and expand the Jr. circuit.

If the kid is auditioning in Allentown and lives in Texas but doesn't make it ... why isn't someone making a call for them to the Crossmen, Academy, Forte, Genesis, Revo .. SOMEPLACE. Granted they could march DCA, but that's a different part of this forum.

I've said before that it would be great if Open class corps were able to make a presentation at World class auditions in their area...not for their corps specifically, but for Open corps in general. That way the kid from Mass. who gets cut from The Cadets might hear a presentation from the Raiders admin about Open class, and give the more local (to them) Spartans a shot, for example.

However, a person who auditions for a World corps would have to give that corps their permission to pass their info along to an Open corps. Might be as simple as a checkbox on an application, but IMO one corps can't go around giving another corps a auditioners personal information without the person's permission.

[supersop]

some corps do offer information on other options. but too many kids today want the big time or nothing....and part of that is how the "not big time" has been marketed. I've encouraged kids many times over the years to go to a Surf or Raiders or Crossmen when they were local. And they'd all say "yeah, but they aren't the Cadets...."

Maybe it's just me, but I'm the kind of guy who would rebut the kid.

"They aren't the Cadets ... but neither are you .... yet. Take my advice and get the experience you need by marching in another corps. I'll make a call for you if you want ... and maybe I'll see you back here next year when you're ready."

Then again, if there were a Coordinator in place at the DCI level, they would be contacting these kids or passing names lists to the other corps so they have a call list to follow up on. If 1 in 20 get the message and march somewhere else ... that's a huge increase in numbers to smaller corps. 5% growth is not an unreasonable margin.