BigBadMadMan Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Since this relates... Hops/Cadets facebook like 2 minutes ago Well, Hop and some of his fellow corps directors only have themselves to blame. The regional touring model was the easiest way to keep more corps healthier for longer and only the most financially capable continued on to the DCI half of tour. Shame, but they have created the monster. I can remember playing in front of sell-out crowds in no-name little towns in Wisconsin and Illinois on the DCM tour. Now you have to travel 5 and 6 (or more) hours between shows. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Flores Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Since this relates... Hops/Cadets facebook like 2 minutes ago I just read that and maybe people on high places are starting to wise up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Flores Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 (edited) Well, Hop and some of his fellow corps directors only have themselves to blame. The regional touring model was the easiest way to keep more corps healthier for longer and only the most financially capable continued on to the DCI half of tour. Shame, but they have created the monster. I can remember playing in front of sell-out crowds in no-name little towns in Wisconsin and Illinois on the DCM tour. Now you have to travel 5 and 6 (or more) hours between shows. in the DCM tour, the furthest we ran was to Toledo, when DCM championships traded between Toledo and Dekalb. May be a show or 2 in Michigan, but if you lookup the old DCM logo...that's where we stayed for the 1st 3-4 weeks. And all corps were judged on the same D1 sheets. I remember towns that had 500-1k in the very small stands an we loved it. Just check out the DCM your in the mid 90s. Small dots on the maps, but we enjoyed the venues. Some of the "bfe" towns we visited would welcome us in, block out the laundromat and even for us a meal. DCI needs to grey back to that regional model. But like I said. It would not have helped forte...IMHO Edited July 26, 2012 by Tony Flores Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBadMadMan Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 As someone mentioned here or in another thread, I fear it may be too late even if they DID want to resurrect regional touring models. As someone stated in my thread, 193 corps have folded or gone inactive since 1996! 1996!!! That's 16 years!! At this point there aren't enough corps to pull 2 and 3 shows on a given night in each region like they used to be able to. Their only salvation would be to try it in hopes of it becoming a breeding ground for new, upstart corps to strengthen and flourish in. Perhaps even put qualifiers in that you have to finish at a certain level to continue on to the DCI circuit. Who knows? But they have to do something before even Blue Devils, Cadets, Scouts, Phantom and Cavies can't even afford to tour anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBadMadMan Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 in the DCM tour, the furthest we ran was to Toledo, when DCM championships traded between Toledo and Dekalb. May be a show or 2 in Michigan, but if you lookup the old DCM logo...that's where we stayed for the 1st 3-4 weeks. And all corps were judged on the same D1 sheets. You're right. Rare shows in Michigan, but mostly Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaseyW Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 There are several reasons of why this needs to happen, and they have all been explained in deep detail on DCP. Maybe DCI should listen to their fans a little bit more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shostahoosier Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 The regional tour model, as Tony said, encompassed the first few weeks of tour. In the case of DCM, most corps didn't leave the Wisconsin/Minnesota/Iowa/Illinois/Michigan/Indiana area (Indiana was even at the edge), and some of the smaller Div II/III corps would end their tour at DCM championships in Dekalb in mid July. That allowed them to run a 3-4 week tour and compete in the DCM circuit and then perhaps travel to Div II/III championships at season's end, while not over-extending themselves. Biggest mistake DCI made in the last 10-15 years, IMO. In the thread I started, we had already listed 70+ corps that had folded since the mid-90's and I'd bet most of those after the death of the regional circuits. On conservative numbers of an average of 60 members per corps, that's over 4,000 spots that can no longer be filled. Insane when you really look at that. I think you might need a refresher in US geography, but I know exactly what you meant to say. I think the edges were Iowa and (western) Pennsylvania. I felt like most of the shows were in Wisconsin, Illinois, or Ohio (the places were most of the DCM corps came from). The DCM tour was a lot of fun and DCM Finals itself was a blast. I always enjoyed the DCM social/potluck/sports day that we had the day after. I don't think the BOD will care that much in the end though. People say that Div II/III corps are the recruiting grounds for the World Class Corps but the truth is that top corps can recruit from high schools just as easily. It's easier to teach someone how to march than it is to teach them how to play. How is attendance at the Div II/III only corps show doing? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortAndFast Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 DCI probably can't recreate DCM, DCE, etc. out of thin air. It's a reasonable mid-term goal to have more local tours in the early season, but they can't just wave a magic wand and have a viable circuit in place next year. The core DCI tour of (Denver for western corps) -> Minneapolis -> San Antonio -> Atlanta -> Allentown -> Indianapolis is pretty reasonable geographically - it hits the main concentrations of fans without a lot of back and forth travel. It's around 3500 miles travel between the 5 main shows, although obviously the midweek shows can add a lot to that for some corps. If you made me God Emperor of DCI, I'd decree that - Corps shall stay close to their home regions before DCI tour - Corps shall be able to join the DCI tour at whatever point they choose. For example, if a FL group wants to do some early shows close to home, and then join up in Atlanta, that should be their choice. - DCI shall reduce the total tour mileage by at least 5% per year for the next 5 years, primarily by keeping early shows regional and better scheduling of the midweek events Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Since this relates... Hops/Cadets facebook like 2 minutes ago funny he would say that. he's one of the architechts of the current system Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 There are several reasons of why this needs to happen, and they have all been explained in deep detail on DCP. Maybe DCI should listen to their fans a little bit more. but everyone knows DCP is a cesspool of old bitter fans with where the activity is 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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