camel lips Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 now every one of those can be argued for sure and I didnt post them for a debate on each thing , just maybe to point out the concerns of mini corps, alumni corps, etc etc although that has all grown , has it been at the expense of the DCA competiting corps and another reason for less of the older members along with other reasons people have posted. Just a thought. DCA is wanting a younger more athletic marcher. The complexity of the shows and scores being awarded to those shows clearly show this. So naturally the AGE OUTS will seek out other activities to feed the hunger for marching. I do feel like one of the reasons there is a decline in DCA corps numbers is due to the fact that many members are aging out and seeking other venues to perform in. Myself included. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koldsilver Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 (edited) The one thing that i can say is that,MBI and the RENEGADES keep it real when it comes to age.They are two of DCA'S best corps,and Their age ranges represents DCA well.The reason so many new corps are popping up all over the country,is because people are learning that drum corps doesn't end at age 22.and that's just the truth.I really don't think competing corps should walk the path of limiting it's members to a certain age. To the RENEGADES and MBI,you guys keep up the good work. Edited July 7, 2011 by koldsilver 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shenandoahsound Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Well I can say this, my 40 something year old sister went to see about marching with one of the top 5 DCA corps and was told (in not so many words) you are too old, maybe the national section would be ok. I will point out my sister runs road races and is doing a half marathon, so she is in very good shape, and could probably show some young'uns a few things, but if this is the attitude of staff of our "all age" corps, then yes, there is a problem. So back to your question, where are they? Look around in the Alumni/Sr corps, and Minicorps, this is where many of us have migrated. Myself, I am 54 and wouldn't even attempt traveling to a competing corps. I have chosen Minicorps, and an Alumni corps to spend my time playing and doing what I love. She would certainly be welcome in Shenandoah Sound. We have many under 20 and many over 40, but few in the 20s and 30s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabalumnidrummer Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 (edited) I agree with several of the previous posters as to the various reasons for the younger median age of DCA corps. Speaking strictly from my own personal experience: Family/time commitments vs. longer rehearsal weekend camps, and much greater drill demands are the two greatest factors which prevented me from returning to the competing corps several times. I recall a conversation with a friend in the mid-1980's already, telling him: "I can play anything in their show, but I can't do it marching the way they are." The many health issues connected to advancing age made marching today's drills virtually impossible for me. Oh, and I should also mention some of the incredibly heavy drums most corps now use. I have tried some of them, and with my back issues could never have carried one even 15-20 years ago. In my opinion, it has simply become a young-person's game. Edited July 7, 2011 by cabalumnidrummer 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jware Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I don't think there are too many corps that would turn someone away because of age, however the unwelcome feeling may come from that person having difficulty being able to adapt to the difference in the way things are done nowadays. I think if you have the ablity to "fit in" with the program you wish to be a part of and not be a "back in my day" sort of person, the door would be wide open anywhere. btw, my "age-out" year was 2000 at the age of 48. Frank, You are right on center with your comment about the person fitting in. Positive large group dynamics depend upon everyone "swimming in the same direction". Another thing that can get in the way of a potential over 40 member is their health. When someone can't take 32 steps across a gym floor in the winter without wheezing for 5 minutes afterward, chances are, they've mistreated their body for a number of years and a competitive corps may not be the "right fit" for that person. Heck, some individuals join corps in their late teens and can't hack it even though they are young and "look" as if they can. Attitude, aptitude and a good set of legs and lungs will get darn near anybody through a season of competitive corps. Quoting Yoda...."Do or do not! There is no try." Jerry 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Holleran Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 As DCA quality improves, it supports the case that corps need younger members. Programs, especially the visual caption, call for more athletic marchers. This, to me, is a natural progression. I see DCA corps attempting much more than they did 20 years ago, when I started writing about drum corps. I have covered DCA, DCI and alumni shows. IMHO, it's all good. No, I do not condone automatically excluding potential members due solely to age. If the candidate can play/march the show, why not? For years I have heard complaints that DCA programs are "turning DCI." This doesn't bother me a whit. Younger players are happier performing in the manner of what they did in high school, college or DCI. Since it's an all-volunteer activity ... QED. I think there's a reason that the Bucs have established this unbeaten skein. As did the Brigs before them. I think that the excellence these two corps displayed over the years raised the bar for contenders. One excellent example is the Hurricanes, who have displayed increased excellence in the past few years. See where they have come since they garnered tenth place in 2005 .. then a tie for second in prelims just four years later. Best to all, Ace 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDeux Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I think what you need to remember is that "21" is an "average... In Fusion.. we have MANY members 21 and younger, but also, MANY that are in their 30's and 40's. When you take all of our age's and make an average, you get somewhere around 25, however, we maybe only have around 2-3 members who are actually of that age. So before "you" jump to conclusions... please understand this simple fact. :) Just my 2 cents ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewpubco Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Ive said this for quite some time.( not popular to say but....) Many of the great directors of years gone by were very concerned with the formation of many of these Alumni Corps. I think Alumni corps are great BUT have they taken over in many ways like. 1. Taking members other than Alumni 2. Because of more participatation in exhibitions as well as Parades Have they taken that from competiting corps. 3. Have they made it easier to socialize so many of the20,30 40 year olds can get thier drum corps fix and NOT have to put in the time. 4. Costs alot less? now every one of those can be argued for sure and I didnt post them for a debate on each thing , just maybe to point out the concerns of mini corps, alumni corps, etc etc although that has all grown , has it been at the expense of the DCA competiting corps and another reason for less of the older members along with other reasons people have posted. Just a thought. I think many of your observations are correct. I would venture a guess that many "alumni" corps started out with that intention, but finding enough true alumni members proved difficult. My corps today probably has less than half its membership who played with the original corps. The rest of us played with a few dozen different corps over the years. I think many corps hardly use the term "alumni" today. I'm not so sure alumni corps have "taken" parades etc. from competing corps. I suspect that alumni corps are simply more willing to do them. In the past three years, I've been in a lot of parades and have almost never seen a competing corps in the parade. Perhaps they want too much money? Socializing is a big factor in an alumni corps. We love it, and it's an enhancement to the drum corps we love. Remember, many of us are in our 50's, 60's and even 70's. We're "old corps", and see the alumni corps as offering us a lot on many different levels. Lastly, it certainly does cost a lot less. All things considered, it probably doesn't cost us individually much more than marching with the old junior corps did. It's a bargain. One other thing I'll mention: Many of us "seniors" grew up with the "old style" drum corps and just can't relate to the DCI/DCA style. Alumni corps give us the kind of drum corps we like. An indeed, alumni corps are growing, and that's a good thing. I list close to 50 alumni corps on my website www.alumnidrumcorps.com 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomPeashey Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 While it is obvious that the visual demand has increased and this has had its effect on perhaps fewer marching in their twilight years (proper acknowledgement to Ace Peterson, tom Meek, Blackie and a few others who marched competitive dca corps at ridiculous ages), I would like to again remind a few of a couple points... 1. I marched senior corps at 13 on the field... and 14 and 15 and 16 etc. - some of you are either assuming wrong or have very short memories of the aveage age of corps... in the 60's and 70's the average age of corps was not much higher than it is now... all you 65 year olds who marched in your teens... think about it... those old timers marching around you were what? 25? 26? I go down the roster of the 65 Rochester Crusaders super corps and yes... I believe I was the youngest member (not totally sure)... but we had very few really old timers... the guys I thought were old... were NOT... I still doubt that our average age was more than 21.5 or so... 2. I was considered an old timer when I retired in '78 and what was I? 32? 3. In my frequent management position and partially because I was married had 3 kids and was stable... I was frequently one of the "babysitters" in the corps whose job it was to watch out for those under 18... believe me... they existed back then too... OK... that being said... the average of of Bucs is down some but I don't see that carrying through the competition... and I don't give that low average age credit for their success... I give that credit to management and staff who have proven to be quite amazing... and until some key players on the management and staff move on - they will remain very tough to beat... and finally,... for now at least... the terrible economy and its effect on everything has caused dca corps to struggle financially... whether it's a bingo game that's down or unexpected gas prices, the cost of belonging to a corps has gone up... with the exception of Bucs who were full at the first show (good management and their success)... looking at the 2011 corps I see the averages size of the corps going down and the average age of the corps going up... as some of the high school marchers either can't afford corps fees or must work this summer to get extra money for school in the fall... I think this thread has been beat to death... and in many instances is making assumptions that are not true... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomPeashey Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 As DCA quality improves, it supports the case that corps need younger members. Programs, especially the visual caption, call for more athletic marchers. This, to me, is a natural progression. I see DCA corps attempting much more than they did 20 years ago, when I started writing about drum corps. I have covered DCA, DCI and alumni shows. IMHO, it's all good. No, I do not condone automatically excluding potential members due solely to age. If the candidate can play/march the show, why not? For years I have heard complaints that DCA programs are "turning DCI." This doesn't bother me a whit. Younger players are happier performing in the manner of what they did in high school, college or DCI. Since it's an all-volunteer activity ... QED. I think there's a reason that the Bucs have established this unbeaten skein. As did the Brigs before them. I think that the excellence these two corps displayed over the years raised the bar for contenders. One excellent example is the Hurricanes, who have displayed increased excellence in the past few years. See where they have come since they garnered tenth place in 2005 .. then a tie for second in prelims just four years later. Best to all, Ace as always... good post ACE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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