Boston Crusaders not in TOC shows?

[thirdcoast]

For my money, it would suck. Sorry, I like those corps as well, but finals w/out Blue Devils, Cadets, Cavaliers, SCV, Crown, etc. would be really lacking (unless, of course, all of the current Top 6 corps tanked and were replaced by those corps mentioned who performed better). I don't agree with those corps attempting to break from DCI (if that's the case), and their "we're better than everyone else" attitude, while possibly true, does sting. But to say that we would have a better Finals w/out their participation is either blind disloyalty or naivety

Yes perc, it would suck. Just for the record nobody said that we would have a better finals, just that we would be fine with what we had. That brings me to an end of a great weekend. Wow, how quick we (or I ) have to go back to reality... back to the grind as I like to call it, making money, supporting my family the real things in life.

I have to wonder... why certain Corps are not pushing to get into the Music and Motion series?

PEACE!

[Ghost]

A goodly number of these G7 Corps each year take into their Corps, marchers that marched in other Drum Corps. Some started in Open Class Corps. So we can say with a degree of certainty that these elite Corps received the" service offered" from these Corps each time they take in a marcher with previous Drum Corps experience to their the non elite Corps. Lost apparently in the process is that without a steady influx of marchers from previous Corps, these G7 Corps would likely have never attained their current competitive placement status.

If there is a split, I'd guess that the G7 corps will have their own "recruitors" attending shows of the other corps. Then again, the members themselves may care less about what's going on and still want to march with an elite DCI corps.

[nysader]

I go where Boston goes bottom line. I am the type of fan who congratulated every person with a Crossmen insignia in Indy. I would not support a sporting league where the same few teams win every year. I root for the Casper Troopers! Madison always scares me!!! The battle from 10th thru 14th is where the real battle is!! That is where kids, "not good enough to make the top corps", grow into great people and great members. The problem is that they then leave to chase greatness that, unfortunately for them, they had already achieved but didn't realize. You cannot grow an activity without hope. Young people, stay with your corps, be proud and make them grow from within. Ranting, I know, but this G7 thing really gets my blood boiling!!!

[Rhumbline]

And if I'm not mistaken, the G7 architects that wanted to kill off the Open Class Corps ( among other things )were replaced on the DCI Executive Board by the membership Corps of DCI in an emergency meeting once the scheme was revealed. Elected by DCI membership Corps for replacement on the DCI Executive Board ( with others ) was Tom Spataro, Executive Director of the Boston Crusaders. Tom apparently had the strong support from the DCI membership despite his young age. I believe that Tom is the youngest member ever to be elected to the DCI Executive Board of Directors bythe DCI Membership at large. Boston,according to what I heard, made it quite clear early on that they believed that the G7 was a potentially disruptive and divisive measure and counterproductive to the stated collaborative mission and charter of DCI since its inception that all Corps agreed to. (Recall... this G7 was done in secret and behind closed doors at the behest of 2 Corps Directors). Meeting behind closed doors with what was perceived by 50 other Corps as extortion demands did not go over well at all by all the other Corps in DCI. The fact that the Boston Crusaders are not scheduled for TOC shows this season, when understood in this context, is thus not all that surprising. I think from a distance it appears to me that the Boston Crusaders, good, bad, or indifferent are fully committed to DCI.... not to a subset of a handful of self ordained Corps within DCI. I personally find this enobling from the Boston Crusaders Corps. They have abided by the mission statement that ALL the Corps of DCI initially agreed too. As an Original Charter Member of DCI they have remained steadfast it appears to me to that Mission Statement, when some, it appears, have lost sight of what the Mission Statement among ALL members Corps has been agreed to. Ironically, and not lost on some, is that if this G7 was adopted in the first few years of DCI, the self ordained Corps of today would have been left out, as they were nowhere to be found in the top 12 in placement in those years, let alone the TOP 7, top 8. But the top Corps in those days... Troopers, 27th Lancers,Anaheim Kingsmen, Kilties, etc would NEVER have done this behind closed doors to THEM. And my guess, this is probably why the Boston Crusaders want no part of this now either.

Excellent statement. Brasso you have spelled it out ... The G7 is a concocted group, and members will be determined by those who are perpetuating this sub culture within the drum corps activity. BAC has been through the mill in so many ways over the years, and now that they are a surging healthy corps, they are not about to torpedo others I.E. Spirit,Troopers, Crossmen,Glassmmen,Madison.. I cannot ever imagine corps like the Bridgemen and Royalaires ever being a part of this fabricated elite group either. I agree with Craiga.. Finals will be just fine without a few of the corps that are the product of a few of the people that have engineered this weakening move to the drum cors activity.

[bluecoats88]

two quick questions

Didn't Boston participate in the TOC shows in 2012?

Doesn't DCI set the 2013 schedule and decide who will be involved in the TOC (or whatever their called now) shows in 2013?

[craiga]

two quick questions

Didn't Boston participate in the TOC shows in 2012?

Doesn't DCI set the 2013 schedule and decide who will be involved in the TOC (or whatever their called now) shows in 2013?

Two answers:

Boston did participate in the 2012 TOC, because that grouping of corps was determnined by the prior (2011) year's placement.

For 2013, DCI placement no longer qualifies corps to be in the TOC (now rebranded as "Music in Motion"). The G7 corps are organizing and hosting their own series, featuring only the seven corps they choose, in effect, disregarding BAC's 7th place finish in 2012.

Music in Motion participation is NOT decided by DCI...it is decided by Music in Motion.

It is a new world in drum corps for 2013.

[Band Diddles]

Two answers:

Boston did participate in the 2012 TOC, because that grouping of corps was determnined by the prior (2011) year's placement.

For 2013, DCI placement no longer qualifies corps to be in the TOC (now rebranded as "Music in Motion"). The G7 corps are organizing and hosting their own series, featuring only the seven corps they choose, in effect, disregarding BAC's 7th place finish in 2012.

Music in Motion participation is NOT decided by DCI...it is decided by Music in Motion.

It is a new world in drum corps for 2013.

I could've sworn they were part of the TOC stuff last year. They did place 8th in 2011 and I'm pretty sure the 2012 TOC included the top 8.

[craiga]

I could've sworn they were part of the TOC stuff last year. They did place 8th in 2011 and I'm pretty sure the 2012 TOC included the top 8.

That's what I just posted... Boston WAS part of the TOC in 2012, because they came in 8th in 2011. They came in 7th in 2012, but the OTHER SEVEN corps decided to make it about only them. Hence, the "TOC" is now called "Music in Motion" and only includes last summer's 1-6th place corps + the 8th place corps, so NO BAC.

[perc2100]

And if I'm not mistaken, the G7 architects that wanted to kill off the Open Class Corps ( among other things )were replaced on the DCI Executive Board by the membership Corps of DCI in an emergency meeting once the scheme was revealed. Elected by DCI membership Corps for replacement on the DCI Executive Board ( with others ) was Tom Spataro, Executive Director of the Boston Crusaders. Tom apparently had the strong support from the DCI membership despite his young age. I believe that Tom is the youngest member ever to be elected to the DCI Executive Board of Directors bythe DCI Membership at large. Boston,according to what I heard, made it quite clear early on that they believed that the G7 was a potentially disruptive and divisive measure and counterproductive to the stated collaborative mission and charter of DCI since its inception that all Corps agreed to. (Recall... this G7 was done in secret and behind closed doors at the behest of 2 Corps Directors). Meeting behind closed doors with what was perceived by 50 other Corps as extortion demands did not go over well at all by all the other Corps in DCI. The fact that the Boston Crusaders are not scheduled for TOC shows this season, when understood in this context, is thus not all that surprising. I think from a distance it appears to me that the Boston Crusaders, good, bad, or indifferent are fully committed to DCI.... not to a subset of a handful of self ordained Corps within DCI. I personally find this enobling from the Boston Crusaders Corps. They have abided by the mission statement that ALL the Corps of DCI initially agreed too. As an Original Charter Member of DCI they have remained steadfast it appears to me to that Mission Statement, when some, it appears, have lost sight of what the Mission Statement among ALL members Corps has been agreed to. Ironically, and not lost on some, is that if this G7 was adopted in the first few years of DCI, the self ordained Corps of today would have been left out, as they were nowhere to be found in the top 12 in placement in those years, let alone the TOP 7, top 8. But the top Corps in those days... Troopers, 27th Lancers,Anaheim Kingsmen, Kilties, etc would NEVER have done this behind closed doors to THEM. And my guess, this is probably why the Boston Crusaders want no part of this now either.

That's a pretty awesome story! If this is all correct, than major kudos to BAC's director for standing firm on his principles!!

[perc2100]

Also chilling in my view in the power point presentation ( on another thread here) on page 12, the G7 document states the Open Class Corps (quote ) "provide no real service offered ".

These people have gone completely off the rails. They have lost themselves in their own narcissistic greed and self importance and have totally lost sight of " the real service " of Drum Corps.

Notwithstanding the very real importance of the financial aspects of Drum Corps, one should not divorce oneself from the fact that this is a non professional youth activity. Its " services offered " go way beyond competitive placement of each Corps.It is the height of arrogance to believe that a marchers learning and maturing experience with its life changing experiences can only be found and derived from just among the self proclaimed elite units. That is not only arrogant, it is false on the facts as well.

While no doubt the G7 document was referring more to financial than anything else. It's undeniable that Open Class corps have major problems filling a stadium, and when they share events with WC corps the stands are fairly empty for the OC performances.

That being said, I too find it a bit disingenuous to say the Open Class corps provide no real service when they are supplying membership for the G7 and other WC corps on a regular basis. I know that at least in the mid-90's Cadets rookies were generally almost exclusively FMM's from Open Class or less competitive (i.e. not Top 5) World Class corps. Perhaps that has changed over the years, but I know plenty of my students who started in an Open Class corps, then marched a non-Finalist WC corps, then marched a non-Top 6 WC corps, and then aged-out at a G7 corps. One could make the argument that those students would not have made the G7 corps without going through the steps of marching a lower corps first, including cutting their teeth in an Open Class corps.