The show MUST go on....NOT!

[fsubone]

When it comes down to it, things just happen. Members make mistakes, and they don't execute things properly. It happens, we learn, and move on. To attribute this to the staff failing to train the members just isn't reality.

Excellent point, and sometimes it's not even the member's fault. There are bad fields, wet fields, someone falls and trips someone up, there are sprinklers sticking up, a shoe lace comes undone. In other words, S*%! happens. You can't blame the staff for that happening. And sometimes, parts of the body fail and let go. I wasn't expecting an injury, but it happened. Apparently my shoulder already had an undiagnosed problem, and just decided to tear itself apart during basics. These things happen.

[Stu]

In all fairness to Crown, the incident happened towards the extreme end of the show, during the company front that magically came together after dissolving earlier. The horns and drums were then in front of him and out of the way, allowing people (including the bus driver that got injured himself) to run out on the field to take care of the marcher. Everyone seemed to respond in a responsible manner and I'm betting the marcher's grit got him as far as he got...to the point where he just couldn't go any further.

Here's the blog snippet from DCI.org that evening. I still remember the horror of witnessing that.

9:24 Michael Boo:

Oh my God. Some horn player just broke their leg. I mean, REALLY broke it.

9:25 Michael Boo:

Pray for them. They've got to be in a lot of pain right now.

9:25 Michael Boo:

How horrible.

9:25 Michael Boo:

Medical personnel are attending to them now. It happened going in to the big company front right before the end of the show.

9:27 Michael Boo:

In retrospect, I don't know if they actually broke the leg, so I shouldn't have speculated as such, but the leg did bow out in an unnatural direction.

9:29 Michael Boo:

Medical personnel are now putting a splint on the left leg.

9:30 Michael Boo:

The audience is given the marcher a standing ovation as they're put on the gurney. That's what drum corps is all about.

So, within one min the medical personnel were with the performer on the ground; within five min a splint was on his leg; and within six min he was on the gurney leaving the stadium. Sounds like they were as efficient as any pro football injury situation!!!!!

[RockyGranite]

You ever have someone run into you at a jazz run at 180 because they missed instructions? Yeah, probably not. I took a contra to the side of the head because some idiot didn't stop when they were supposed to in rehearsal. I was bleeding and missed a chunk of the day getting patched up. I've also seen guys have teeth get knocked out because someone backed up into them while their horn was up.

It really is dangerous to stop something mid-run.

You are so right.

My son has a chipped front tooth that's been fixed at least three times...all from marching high school band.

Oh, and he chipped it the first time playing clarinet.

Edited July 28, 2012 by RockyGranite

[Marianne]

Understandable, but we are looking at small percentages. If 1 kid gets hurt out of a group of 150, that's only .667% of the entire corps. That's really a small number. The vast majority of kids are marching and handling it fine, without injuries. Some people are pre-determind to be susceptible to injury, and that can cause issues for them. But not everyone is likely to get hurt, or will marching modern drill

But is it really just one kid out of 150. Yea, maybe in the performance, but how about during the course of the season? How many times are there announcements of openings in a corps due to an injury? When DCI was in Denver in 2004, we went to watch one of the elite corps rehearse. It seemed like every third member or so was wearing a knee brace. That's not even counting how many were wrapped up in ace bandages on various limbs.

[garfield]

You are so right.

My son has a chipped front tooth that's been fixed at least three times...all from marching high school band.

Oh, and he chipped it the first time playing clarinet.

Had to chuckle at this... Sorry, but I don't get it; how does one chip a tooth with a clarinet? We're they beating him with it?

I also don't understand why this thread is still open? Stuart posted the official announcement that the kid is OK, and will not lose the whole season. No one else was hurt. The circumstances (off to the side of the main activity, he wasn't out cold, the show went on, they got him off the field, had him checked out within a few minutes, he's going to be fine) all point to the FACT that how it was handled by staff was perfectly acceptable and correct.

Why are the pitchforks and hangin' rope still being displayed?

Move along. Nothing to see here excpet a bunch of pseudo-experts pounding their chests.

How about that G8-thing?

[supersop]

Had to chuckle at this... Sorry, but I don't get it; how does one chip a tooth with a clarinet? We're they beating him with it?

I also don't understand why this thread is still open? Stuart posted the official announcement that the kid is OK, and will not lose the whole season. No one else was hurt. The circumstances (off to the side of the main activity, he wasn't out cold, the show went on, they got him off the field, had him checked out within a few minutes, he's going to be fine) all point to the FACT that how it was handled by staff was perfectly acceptable and correct.

Why are the pitchforks and hangin' rope still being displayed?

Move along. Nothing to see here excpet a bunch of pseudo-experts pounding their chests.

How about that G8-thing?

My only contention the entire time was that judge could have helped the situation a ton sooner. At least 2 minutes were lost due to that persons inaction. What if it were broken or torn? Ever had something broken or torn and then try to move on it when you shouldn't? Just so you wouldn't hurt someone else? That's GUTS and mighty painful. Had that judge turned around and yelled at the T&P judge to get help .... this thread would have been dead 10 pages ago.

[supersop]

Well, to be fair, your drill wan't quite at the same degree of difficulty as the drill today. If a corps came out and did 70s style drill, they would be completely slaughtered by the judges. The incident in Whitewater was in '84 with the Cadets.

As a recent marching member, as much respect as I have for the people that marched in the 70s, I will much rather take the current style of drill and the years I marched over high mark time for 12 minutes.

I wouldn't say Surf is being slaughtered ... they aren't exactly doing 70's drill but some of it is pretty darn close.

AND, I think you're both saying the same thing. The poster you're responding to acknowledges the changes in demand since they marched .. and doesn't want it all to go away ... there just needs to be a better way with respect to certain sections because of what they are wearing or carrying. I agree, but I also know there will be 4 or 5 times in a show when they will have to book it. It's when they're hauling buttissimo for the entire 13 minutes that one begins to wonder the logic or illogical decisions being made by the drill writer just to get a few extra tenths of a point on a sheet. Grand scheme .. it's not worth it.

[bill]

You are so right.

My son has a chipped front tooth that's been fixed at least three times...all from marching high school band.

Oh, and he chipped it the first time playing clarinet.

Well, there it is, more proof.............there should be no woodwinds in drum corps!!

[sarnia sam]

I wouldn't say Surf is being slaughtered ... they aren't exactly doing 70's drill but some of it is pretty darn close.

AND, I think you're both saying the same thing. The poster you're responding to acknowledges the changes in demand since they marched .. and doesn't want it all to go away ... there just needs to be a better way with respect to certain sections because of what they are wearing or carrying. I agree, but I also know there will be 4 or 5 times in a show when they will have to book it. It's when they're hauling buttissimo for the entire 13 minutes that one begins to wonder the logic or illogical decisions being made by the drill writer just to get a few extra tenths of a point on a sheet. Grand scheme .. it's not worth it.

Thank you for getting it.

Regards,

John

[sarnia sam]

I wouldn't say Surf is being slaughtered ... they aren't exactly doing 70's drill but some of it is pretty darn close.

AND, I think you're both saying the same thing. The poster you're responding to acknowledges the changes in demand since they marched .. and doesn't want it all to go away ... there just needs to be a better way with respect to certain sections because of what they are wearing or carrying. I agree, but I also know there will be 4 or 5 times in a show when they will have to book it. It's when they're hauling buttissimo for the entire 13 minutes that one begins to wonder the logic or illogical decisions being made by the drill writer just to get a few extra tenths of a point on a sheet. Grand scheme .. it's not worth it.

A little more.

We often see music writen for drum lines that is beyond their ability to execute. Either the talent isn't there, or the staff doesn't know how to get them there. Out comes the water, sometimes, sometimes the staff doesn't even know how to do that well.

Same for brass. No one goes home on crutches.

Yet, for drill it's an entirely different story. I get the impression from some here it's OK to write beyond the capabilities and talents of the marchers, beyond the capabilities of the body, and then not know how to teach it, or when to ditch it.

Pushing the envelope is desireable, but you have to know how to do it, and you have to understand how much the envelope can hold.

When I see a corps member go down, its usually because a mistake was made, either in design or by the member. And contrary to the Garfield reply, they were going backwards, football players, etc. usually have their eyes invovled in their injuries, or they are sustained by deliberate action of another player. When I see, or hear of a corps that has one or more members sidelined because of injury just from pratice, something tells me that the risk is being ignored and not dealt with. Everywhere else in life we assess risk and mitigate or eliminate, but I get the sense from some here drum corps can be an expcetion. Accidents will still happen, but I think right now the instances of corps members getting injured on the drill field (practice counts too) is higher than it should be.

I don't want to see fast moves and hard moves eliminated, but let's assess the risks more carfeully and deal with them. That inculdes; what happens on damp grass, damp carpet, hot carpet in 100+ degree weather, uneven fields, is it reasonable to cover so much ground in so few steps, visual awareness, and the talent level and abilities of the marchers. Think through the process and possible negative outcomes and come up with ways to still achieve a reasonable goal.

As a drummer, I suffered a lot of back problems over the years caused by not wearing my drum properly. I didn't know how to and no one paid any attention until Tom Float entered my life. He was constantly on us to stand correctly and wear the drums right. Probably saved a lot more damage from being done. Point is, there are some thngs that have been recognized along the way as injurious by observant people and corrected. I think it can and should be done in the case we are debating.

Regards,

John