Jump to content

George Hopkins and hash marks


Recommended Posts

So I live in Southern California so the only time I ever really saw Cadets was during quarter finals in pasadena in 07. And Hop made the corps get off the field so they could paint hash marks and now I hear he did the same thing at nightBEAT.

Does he do this often? Or do Cadets just use a different hash mark system?

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

He didn't make the corps get off the field. They were painting the feild weel before the Cadets went on. Hop was around when they started, imo the field looked fine. I'd like to know why too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He didn't make the corps get off the field. They were painting the feild weel before the Cadets went on. Hop was around when they started, imo the field looked fine. I'd like to know why too.

He made them march off the field in 07 in pasadena they didn't come back until they were repainted. So we all cheered for the painting crew when they came out after 5 minutes of empty field.

Good times.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just to be fair it's not only Hopkins. I don't remember which year but we had a show in Buffalo at the NFL stadium and someone forgot to lay down the correct hash marks so all we had to go off of was the NFL hashes. All of the members noticed right away so Roman pulled us back off the field until a grounds crew could tape down the correct marks. Now granted that's a bit more serious than just having faded marks but you get my point.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With the speed of the drill today it is important for the safety of the performers that the field be lined clearly.....everyone bashes Hop for this but the reality is he is just doing his job. Also with literally hundredths of a tenth difference between the competition having the correct reference marks for the performers to hit the dots is critical.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kids these days. :rock:

In 1987, we performed our show at the MLB All-Star game in Oakland. We got cones every 5 yards for the front "sideline" (diagonally across the outfield) and a center "x" on the "50" made of those reflective dots they use on the highway. No lines or other marks allowed (had to keep the field looking good on TV). Fun performance.

Okay, seriously, today's shows rely more than ever on using visual guides on the field. I remember when we got to our finals housing site in 1986, our visual staff made a trip to Madison. They measured out the exact location of every marking on the field (hash, yard line #'s, etc.) and painted our practice field to match exactly what was there.

While you can't do this every show, you should at least expect to have visible hash marks and yard lines every time. GH has every right to request these to be re-painted, BUT perhaps he should do it sooner. He knows ahead of time it is a grass field. Make a big deal before the show about painting them during INT. Or, send a staff member up there to check on how they are holding up (again, before INT).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I live in Southern California so the only time I ever really saw Cadets was during quarter finals in pasadena in 07. And Hop made the corps get off the field so they could paint hash marks and now I hear he did the same thing at nightBEAT.

Does he do this often? Or do Cadets just use a different hash mark system?

Here's the lowdown on what happened in 2007. A director of a corps that performed before Cadets told George the hash marks were too faint for the members of that corps to get any use of them. I know that because that director told me that's what happened. The hash marks were supposed to have been painted during the break before the last corps, but it was forgotten and so the hash marks kept getting fainter and fainter. George did what he thought was best for his corps after being told what the field was like by the other director, and he took a lot of heat for it; but I bet the corps that went on after Cadets was thankful the hashmarks were repainted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...