Ghost Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 But DCI should have been on top of this before it happened. If DCI is somehow "not" supposed to be aware of a bad financial condition of a member corps, then the DCI system is broken, and it should get out of the way of the activity before it kills it off. Does the Directors of DCI currently have the responsiblility to varify a corps financial stability each year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I'm thinking that possibly the bus contracting company or the drivers did not understand that this was more than a trip to Massachusetts - and bailed out of the contract leaving Teal having to come up with more contract money. This may have been discussed elsewhere, but one big issue the drivers supposedly had was sleeping on a school floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortAndFast Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 My understanding is that each corps is its own separate non-profit org, as is DCI... DCI is just an organizing and promotional body that relies on corps existing to justify its own existence... Clearly, DCI has vested interest in a corps being financially stable and competitive, etc. but my understanding is DCI doesn't have any responsibility in providing corps relief or stepping in and bailing them out... They have to take care of their own house as well, and that would be a huge liability financially... So DCI probably has their hands tied behind their backs as well. All the corps are separate organizations, but DCI is the overall sponsor of the World Class tour. If you want to perform in DCI's tour, you have to play by the rules DCI sets, which certainly could include financial criteria. As a practical matter, DCI is governed by its member corps. It's more accurate to say that the member corps do not want their finances audited than to say that DCI is failing to so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCfan76 Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 (edited) Is DCI broken? No. Is drum corps expensive? Yes. Very. Are there corps out on the road right now that should not be? Probably. A lot of corps are out there running on a shoestring. Sometimes that shoestring turns into a rope strong enough to get them through one more year, and sometimes that shoestring turns into a wet noodle and breaks. That's it. I don't know anything about the TS situation except that ALL of drum corps is very expensive and whatever they were trying to do, sadly didn't happen. My best to all of the kids, parents, staff and leadership - that they can find a way to work things out together. Edited July 10, 2012 by DCfan76 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bldbrkr Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 DCI isn't exactly broken. It continues to change and try to keep up with the ever changing financial and social climate. I'm sure DCI has rules, bylaws or something in regards to corps folding and financial situations. Someone should post them if allowed. This isn't the first corps nor will it be the last. I agree that it's sad for the marching members and staff that put so much hard work into this season and have to stop. Should DCI swoop in and solve the financial situation? They can't. Can they prevent this from ever happening again? They can try, but they are limited by what their board agrees to. So, maybe they'll take a look at the grass roots of the whole thing, go back to basic and rebuild. So many things could be done here. But it does cost. Gymnastics is taking a hit right now from the judging system and figure skating is still trying to be more accessible...more youth activities that are having some issues in the finance, judging and popularity sense. Hard to get some people off the couch and off the net! Just my two cents, John Crossmen '80 & '81 and yes, a skating coach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carolina09Spirit Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Since the moderators is their infinite wisdom somehow decided that this was to be placed in teal sound thread when clearly they (TS) were only used as an example, i have pasted my thought/question below I am sure this has been talked about before, so bear with me. After hearing of yet another corps folding today, I looked at Teal Sounds web site under the heading of instructors. Including administration, there are 40 people under this caption. My question... who on this list is paid? All 40 of them? 1/2? none. If they are all paid, is it necessary to have 10 instructors for brass? Yes, I can be considered a dinosaur, but seriously? I remember when there were 2-3 per section. All volunteers. Add in costs of synths, amps, extra trucks to haul...so much.. Have we really lost our selves and as drum corps? thhis is all getting out of hand. I forsee one day in the not too distant future that there will be 12 corps left and finals will be top 5 This exactly. Sorry, but NO World Class corps needs four front ensemble technicians or eight colorguard techs. Don't get me wrong, the more instruction the better, but you've got to balance everything out. And yes, I do understand that not all of those listed are all on tour at once (some of them come and go throughout the year), but I'd hope the corps isn't spending tons of $$$ to staff an organization with some un-needed people. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkfdPRphan Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 (edited) The more I think about this, the more I see it as a bus contract problem. A lot of corps 'rent' busses for the tour BUT have their own volunteer drivers. Mostly school bus drivers that load up and tour with their favorite corps - on a volunteer basis. What if Teal contracted buses AND drivers? Did they read the fine print? Did they write their own clauses into the contract? Professional bus drivers I have contracted with (ones that come with day trip tours, casino tours....) must be provided with a hotel room and restaurant meals. Home cooking for weeks? Sleeping on gym floors? Teal staff might have messed up there, but until more facts appear, I'm looking at the bus contract. Edited July 10, 2012 by rkfdPRphan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84BDsop Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I'm addicted to coffee and I'm always eager to learn. That's why I ask questions. HE'S ALL YOURS, LEE!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
actucker Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 This exactly. Sorry, but NO World Class corps needs four front ensemble technicians or eight colorguard techs. Don't get me wrong, the more instruction the better, but you've got to balance everything out. And yes, I do understand that not all of those listed are all on tour at once (some of them come and go throughout the year), but I'd hope the corps isn't spending tons of $$$ to staff an organization with some un-needed people. I can guarantee you that corps are not "wasting" money on staff. With the exception of the top one or two staff members for each caption, salaries are not extravagant. Considering that many tech staff members are often only on tour for part of the season, yes, there are plenty of reasons why a corps might need 4 front ensemble techs (for example). Consistent instruction is the key to a successful product on the field, especially in the case of a group like Teal where a significantly larger percentage of its membership are drum corps rookies as compared to some of the top tier corps. Its not always a case of having at least one person in front of the section at a given time. Tech staffs who are working with the same section need time to teach together so that they are on the same page in terms of the direction and information being given out. That way, regardless of who is in front of the group, the philosophy and technique information is the same. All of that being said, the tech staff salaries are a drop in the bucket in terms of the overall budget for the summer. As one poster already pointed out, most corps will spend over 1000$ a day on fuel just to get the corps from one place to another. Over a 6 week tour, you're talking about at least 35,000$ just for fuel (assuming there are days with no travel involved, thus no fuel costs). That doesn't even include payment for the busses, trucks, equipment, housing, etc. Point being, having 2 front techs instead of 4 would not have made even a remote difference in the ability of the corps to stay on the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skajerk Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 (edited) My question is to all the "short tour" haters... Do you still think Mandarins, Academy and PC are going about taking care of themselves the wrong way now? Edited July 10, 2012 by skajerk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.