New Championships Week format

[HappyDad]

Not really too much different than now. The open class corps can perform to an empty stadium on Thursday rather than Saturday. The people that only want to see world class will show up later in the day just like they do at any regular show.

I did not expect this kind of reaction. In my days, it was common to have many corps perform on a single day during championships. Someone has to go on first and someone earns the privilege to go on later in the day. I see this as a return to those days.

Preliminaries, as they were called in those days, were my favorites. True. The stadium wasn't as packed as it was on Finals day, but I got to see every corps perform that I could and many more of them had something to prove in order to continue in the competition. I believe this will force some corps in the bottom tier of World Class to perform at a higher level in order to advance. Fans choose whether to attend or not. I see this as a way DCI is encouraging more fans to be in attendance for Thursday and Friday in addition to Finals on Saturday.

[HappyDad]

It might give Pioneer some motivation as to not be embarrassed to finish out of the top 25....

There are other corps in the bottom tier which should also take on more motivation from this.

[dbg]

Nice to see Open Class included in the main competition - sure can't hurt to try.

Also the inevitable compromise with the top 8 to allow them to do their own shows, and I'm sure, keep more of the money, but if it staves off a full-on split, then it's probably worth it.

Mike

If the G-8 thing is based off of how corps finish from the previous season then I think it is pretty cool because it may not be the same corps every year. I remember Boston, Glassmen, Blue Knights, Madison, Croosmen all being in the top 8 at one time (and Im sure there are others that I am forgetting. But if corps know they could possibly get more money based on how they finish, it could possibly result in a much greater product from everyone

[rkfdPRphan]

My question is: will just one ticket get you into Prelims for the WHOLE DAY?

OR will there be a 'morning session' and an 'evening session' to get more ticket sales????

I remember sitting in the sunshine at Camp Randal for HOURS!

....nothing like the temp controlled, easy food/bathroom access of the Lucas Oil Music Stadium.....

[Daave]

Oh, to be a judge. The numbers "management" dance, now x40.

[ItsOnTheField]

Then, SEPARATING I & E into separate open AND World divisions?

I & E was separate this year.

[HappyDad]

Interesting approach.

Speaking of variety ... I wish DCI would go back to having the finals rotate throughout different cities, especially cities that fans would like to visit on a vacation when the drums and bugles are done.

I think that would be a good thing too. Minneapolis is a great city and I think it would be a great new venue for DCI finals.

But, I think I read that Indianapolis gave a number of incentives for DCI to have its championships there. I remember that Disney did the same thing for Orlando events for some time in the 1990s. Are there other cities willing to invest in DCI in order to have their city host the championships. For instance, people like Madison as a finals location, but what has the City of Madison done for DCI?

I can see how the city benefits with the added tourism of a major event/conference like this, but perhaps the incentives flow one way, for the city's benefit. Does DCI have to pay for the traffic control, the stadium, etc. and isn't in the best interest of DCI to shop around for the best deal for them? That would help keep ticket prices lower. The information I got from DCI says tickets are same price again this year. So, there is benefit for getting finals in a place where DCI is truly a partner and the City is a partner in the success of the events.

I also look at the time my wife and I had in Indianapolis this summer. We were prepared for the worst because of what I had been reading about the 2009 finals. I didn't see any of the problems people pointed out from 2009. We had a great time and enjoyed ourselves. The stadium was great and very helpful as my wife has a walker and it was no problem. The sound people complained about was good. The stadium was cool and comfortable...my wife brought her sweater...in August. We had a great place to park and it was easy to get back and forth to our hotel. Our trip to Indianapolis and back home were fine. I am now planning to go back in 2012 as we cannot make it this summer. But, it sounds like DCI listens and they are open to change things to make it better for the fans. I also enjoyed the show that the Star of Indiana alumni played for us. That was a special treat. I hope a group like that is at every finals. I remember Spirit of Atlanta in the 1970s and 1980s and they would be a good group to get to play at finals too.

[3rd Glasgow BB]

One of the provisions of the "International Division" is that no North American corps gets displaced from advancing to semis or finals by an international corps. This provision has been in effect since at least 1991, when Phoenix Regiment made the A-60 finals cut and we had a 13-corps final round as a result.

The DCI rules state that if a non north american corps (international class), all 21 years of age & under place high enough to make semis, they won't be allowed to progress if any north american corps places bellow them?

I would hope not!

[Michael Boo]

My question is: will just one ticket get you into Prelims for the WHOLE DAY?

OR will there be a 'morning session' and an 'evening session' to get more ticket sales????

I inquired about this and was told even when DCI had prelims and finals for premier events, one ticket got fans into both. And, if I may speculate, the one-ticket price for ALL of Prelims is an encouragement to get fans into the stadium early in the day.

Perhaps if I offer doughnuts at my perch for those who are there first thing in the morning...

[Michael Boo]

The DCI rules state that if a non north american corps (international class), all 21 years of age & under place high enough to make semis, they won't be allowed to progress if any north american corps places bellow them?

I would hope not!

No, that's not what they said. The International Corps may progress if their score is high enough, but if they have different membership rules than DCI, they won't knock out a DCI corps that may have been displaced...we'll just enjoy one more corps at the next show.