KeithHall Posted March 21, 2013 Author Share Posted March 21, 2013 Yes, but nowadays kids have been brought up that everyone wins. Have to make them feel good. Back when DCI started (72-74) there was only one class and there were 39 - 57 corps competing in one class. Nothing wrong with that. We know who's in the top 10 anyways (by August 1st). The only other option is to completely get rid of the miniscule amount of Open Class corps we have now by just putting them in World Class, let the OC corps who don't want to financially commit to the WC tour model be regional-based, and just do away with the entire class. Open Class Prelims/Finals seems pretty pointless as it currently is, as all 14 corps got to perform in OC Finals anyway, even if two of them were exhibition. Maybe instead of doing away with World Class Quarters or Semis, DCI can get rid of Open Class stuff and save more money by not using judges or the stadium Monday & Tuesday. Attendance seems fairly miniscule for those shows anyway (especially for OC Prelims) Perhaps that's a more apt solution that the OP is looking. I'm fine with DCI dissolving Open Class all together and just lumping everyone into World Class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 I used to work with a guy who was born and raised in Indianapolis. He told me that if I went to the Indy 500 not to bother going to the race - it was a waste of money - instead go to the time trials because that's when the teams have to qualify, so they pull out all stops and really push the envelope. I don't imagine that Drum Corps is is that much different. A corps like BDA might not be too concerned about it, but a corps that's on the bubble is really going to pour it on. To me that's part of the fun. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmroth1 Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 The only other option is to completely get rid of the miniscule amount of Open Class corps we have now by just putting them in World Class, let the OC corps who don't want to financially commit to the WC tour model be regional-based, and just do away with the entire class. Open Class Prelims/Finals seems pretty pointless as it currently is, as all 14 corps got to perform in OC Finals anyway, even if two of them were exhibition. Maybe instead of doing away with World Class Quarters or Semis, DCI can get rid of Open Class stuff and save more money by not using judges or the stadium Monday & Tuesday. Attendance seems fairly miniscule for those shows anyway (especially for OC Prelims) Perhaps that's a more apt solution that the OP is looking. I'm fine with DCI dissolving Open Class all together and just lumping everyone into World Class. I think you may be on to something....I am a firm believer that Drum Corps did itself a big diservice by abandoning the regional circuits back in the day. I could talk for days as to why but will spare you that rant right now. The main thing at this point is the growth of the activity. To address its survival, I firmly believe you need to approach it from an idea of growth. FACT....Open Class shows have difficulty drawing large enough crowds to sustain the class and if you want to foster the growth of the activity, the growth/survival of open class corps is vital. So by including them in World Class events you expose their exsistance to people who might otherwise never know about them and make the activity more meaningful for those corps/kids.....Like I said, I could go on about this for days, but for now I'll just leave it at that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perc2100 Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 I think you may be on to something....I am a firm believer that Drum Corps did itself a big diservice by abandoning the regional circuits back in the day. I could talk for days as to why but will spare you that rant right now. The main thing at this point is the growth of the activity. To address its survival, I firmly believe you need to approach it from an idea of growth. FACT....Open Class shows have difficulty drawing large enough crowds to sustain the class and if you want to foster the growth of the activity, the growth/survival of open class corps is vital. So by including them in World Class events you expose their exsistance to people who might otherwise never know about them and make the activity more meaningful for those corps/kids.....Like I said, I could go on about this for days, but for now I'll just leave it at that. Yeah, on one hand you could make the argument that OC corps have been performing at WC prelims for a long time (taking into account they did it for decades before stopping it & then restarting the policy) with little to no obvious payoff of more casual fans going to OC shows. I'm kind of think that if DCI wants to increase awareness & audience attendance of OC corps OC corps need to offer a service or entertainment factor unique to WC. It's kind of cold to say it (or maybe its just blunt), but if OC is essentially doing what WC is doing only at a significantly lower standard (meaning the best OC corps is no where near the upper 3rd/half of WC from a show design or performance perspective), why spend time/money seeing that when you can focus your fandom on WC corps? If OC is seen as being the inferior little brother of World Class, it's easy to for one to say, "that's cool that there is a facet of the activity dedicated to younger members or not-as-talented members: I support it philosophically" while skipping their segregated shows. Besides, at this point I'm all for anything that can save DCI substantial expenses: I don't know exact figures, but I would guess not hiring judge crews & not renting out LOS for two days would be significant savings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 As long as all of the corps which now compete on Thursday are allowed to compete on Friday, then I certainly can see a cost saving reason to eliminate the Thursday contest. I'd eliminate Michgan City and move everything into Indy as well 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcat Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 They won't drop Thursday. It's the biggest paying audience of the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 I'd eliminate Michgan City and move everything into Indy as well The Open Class directors are the ones that decided they wanted to hold their championship in Michigan City. The townsfolk turn out well for it, the audience looks great with a couple thousand people in the stands, and it's economically reasonable. The city rolls out the red carpet...even giving the corps a police escort to the expressway. I've seen the Open Class World Championship Finals in the big stadiums with far less people in the stands than show up in Michigan City. It looked like practically no one was there. I've talked with enough Open Class directors about this to know they'd rather play in a great smaller stadium in front of an enthusiastic audience than play in the big stadium that looks empty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 I've talked with enough Open Class directors about this to know they'd rather play in a great smaller stadium in front of an enthusiastic audience than play in the big stadium that looks empty. I am sure that having the World Class corps in Lucas Oil Stadium has a lot to do about a deal with the city of Indianapolis for DCI to bring in tens of thousands of fans with disposable incomes to boost the economy of downtown Indy. However, to your point about a full medium sized stadium, as opposed to a rather empty huge stadium, being important to the Open Class Directors: Why is that apparently not all that important to the WC directors? One of the most electric Finals that I have attended was 2008 held at Indiana University. What made it so electric was that while approximately the same number of people were in the stands as 2009> Lucas, the stands at IU looked and felt 'Packed'. The audience explosions came across as more electric, the buzz for all corps came across as more electric, and I contend it was directly related to people looking around and seeing a packed venue instead of a huge stadium that is at least 3/4 empty. And as for revenue vs. expenditures, unless DCI has a very sweet deal with Indy, I am sure that it is far less expensive to lease a stadium like IU than Lucas. So, again I ask; why is that packed stadium electric feel apparently not all that important to the WC directors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perc2100 Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 They won't drop Thursday. It's the biggest paying audience of the season. In that case, I think they should eliminate Open Class Prelims & Finals and just let all OC compete in WC Prelims on Thursday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perc2100 Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 The Open Class directors are the ones that decided they wanted to hold their championship in Michigan City. The townsfolk turn out well for it, the audience looks great with a couple thousand people in the stands, and it's economically reasonable. The city rolls out the red carpet...even giving the corps a police escort to the expressway. I've seen the Open Class World Championship Finals in the big stadiums with far less people in the stands than show up in Michigan City. It looked like practically no one was there. I've talked with enough Open Class directors about this to know they'd rather play in a great smaller stadium in front of an enthusiastic audience than play in the big stadium that looks empty. If I remember correctly, Michigan City is a great stadium & a great little drum corps town. I enjoyed performing there, and the crowd always gave it up for every corps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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