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What is the biggest challenge facing drum corps today?


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1. smaller pool of qualified membership (who wants to work so hard, when playstation is indoors with a lot less effort? On the other end, the best-of-the-best membership types are volunteering or working)

2. operational costs, and the balance of passing them on to membership vs finding philanthropists.

3. smaller pool of qualified directors and admin (It's very difficult to find qualified, dedicated leaders, who can also find qualified and dedicated staff. Any sane qualified leader would put their talents toward anything but drum corps)

4. artistic lethargy

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Drum corps will die because it is no longer special. Once woodwinds are added (it'll happen within 5 years) there will be nothing to differentiate it from marching band. Kids will have no reason to participate. Why would a kid (or parent paying for it) give up an entire summer and $3000-$4000 to participate in something they can do for much less or free in the fall?

Drum corps was great because it was different.

If the caliber was as good as it is today even with woodwinds, kids would still want to do it, it's a matter of will there be people in the stands to watch.

The "youth" will love drum corps with or without woodwinds, its the long-term fans that take offense to it.

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Did you hear that from Hop himself?

Lke hes ever been quiet about that.

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What do you feel are the three largest challenges facing the drum corps activity today?

1)Anticipated rise of OPEC Oil prices

2)14 trillion Dollar US Government Debt

3)US family finances deterioration

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Right. So how do you plan financially knowing you or may not go all summer?

Good try tho

Have the regional qualifiers the week before finals week. If a corps that makes the top 5 in a regional qualifier can not go to finals week because of costs, the 6th place corps from that region would be invited to go. Most corps that are good enough to make the top 5 of a regional will be able to afford to go to finals week, plus all 25 corps who go to quarter finals will get performance fees for competing.

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1. Lack of enough corps that can create shows to draw big enough crowds other than the top 6, 7 or 8 (however you wanna look at it, and don't get angry with me for saying this because it's true; just look at attendance when those top corps aren't present at certain shows).

2. Gas Prices

3. Cynicism.

My opinion. Hate me for it, but that's what I think.

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1. Lack of enough corps that can create shows to draw big enough crowds other than the top 6, 7 or 8 (however you wanna look at it, and don't get angry with me for saying this because it's true; just look at attendance when those top corps aren't present at certain shows).

2. Gas Prices

3. Cynicism.

My opinion. Hate me for it, but that's what I think.

Used to be a couple big names at each show to get draw. Also, with local corps that usually gets draw from supporters and families that don't want to travel all over the country to see their kids compete or cannot afford it. This is like economics 101. It's like..yeah gas costs more..well hell the answer is have them drive further...doh.

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1. Decreasing opportunities to march. Fewer spots and higher fees within drum corps, and the rapidly inflating costs of (now nearly mandatory) college education dissuade many would-be marchers from even trying, or force them to march only one or two seasons. Yes, I know, there is always a way to march for those who really want to, and that means that those who do march tend to be extremely dedicated. In many ways this is great, but in the long run I feel it does more harm than good.

2. Creation of long-term fans. The most dedicated drum corps fans tend to be those who marched, or those close to people who marched. Yes, there are exceptions, many of them on this board, but if you were able to take a survey of fans who had followed junior drum corps for 10+ years I'd wager a hefty sum that most of them were former marchers. Fewer people marching for less years per person means fewer of these long-term fans. DCI does seem to be worried about this. The initiative to give recent age-outs free tickets to finals seems to be an attempt to make sure more marchers become dedicated fans.

3. The contest some (but by no means all) non-G7 corps to see who can up with the dullest, least memorable shows possible in some vain attempt to maximize intellectual GE. Some of these corps are older than G7 corps and have much richer histories, but many of them have made the bizarre decision to rid themselves of any trace of their brands that were once as recognizable to the audience as any elite corps -- while at the same time the elite corps have actively maintained, developed, and promoted their own recognizable brands. By giving up on entertaining the audience and by squelching their own uniqueness these groups are 100% complicit in the recent events that have shaken DCI.

I feel pretty strongly about number 3 (I was in one of these corps after all) but to me numbers 1 and 2 are far more serious.

Edited by Rifuarian
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Have the regional qualifiers the week before finals week. If a corps that makes the top 5 in a regional qualifier can not go to finals week because of costs, the 6th place corps from that region would be invited to go. Most corps that are good enough to make the top 5 of a regional will be able to afford to go to finals week, plus all 25 corps who go to quarter finals will get performance fees for competing.

ok...so say you raise the funds to go...then don't get the score. then what?

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