GREENBLUE Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 (edited) I think if something like this were to happen, then it would be opening pandoras box for more rule changes down the line regarding similar issues. What about housing? Cavies are all together 24/7 and in dorms the month of pre tour. Other corps must find their own housing, buy their own food. What about practice sites? Corps like BD, Cadets and Cavies who host larger shows get to practice on performance fields, while others do not. And I'm referring to the big boy stadiums. What about Indy? BD stays at a hotel and practices indoors at the Colts facility. That's gotta be a huge advantage right? What about sponsors/endorsements? I can guarantee you that there's a handful of corps that reap the rewards more then most. What about membership costs? Should there be a cap on fees? The corps that charge more, must have an advantage, right? Point being, if you want to level the playing field its going to take a lot more then changing move in dates. Edited July 17, 2013 by GREENBLUE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seen-it-all Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 (edited) This is an area, I believe, where it's just best to let each corps decide what's best and what works for their own corps. Unilaterally mandating things in this regard seems unnecessary to me. I'm also not generally a fan of punishing corps for being successful. Edited July 17, 2013 by seen-it-all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GREENBLUE Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 (edited) .... Edited July 17, 2013 by GREENBLUE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dixon Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Yes, and then DCP can spend June/half of July complaining about "unfinished shows" 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max.meigel Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Respectfully, not buying it. Even if it could happen, which it can't. Why not legislate that all corps have shows written by same composers/arrangers/designers? It works now, not the same for everyone, but it works. That's a little unfair. I'm not saying that this will work (because it probably won't). Too many of the top corps would be harmed by this and their directors exert too much influence on the system. But as someone who came from a corps that could not reasonably begin full corps rehearsals until after Memorial Day, I'll say that this rule, in theory, would even the playing field somewhat between corps with different membership ages. What it wouldn't do is stifle creativity to the point of pointlessness. I hope that your comment was hyperbole. Either way, I do think there are enough negative consequences of this that the benefits would be outweighed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerriTroop Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 I think if something like this were to happen, then it would be opening pandoras box for more rule changes down the line regarding similar issues. What about housing? Cavies are all together 24/7 and in dorms the month of pre tour. Other corps must find their own housing, buy their own food. What about practice sites? Corps like BD, Cadets and Cavies who host larger shows get to practice on performance fields, while others do not. And I'm referring to the big boy stadiums. What about Indy? BD stays at a hotel and practices indoors at the Colts facility. That's gotta be a huge advantage right? What about sponsors/endorsements? I can guarantee you that there's a handful of corps that reap the rewards more then most. What about membership costs? Should there be a cap on fees? The corps that charge more, must have an advantage, right? Point being, if you want to level the playing field its going to take a lot more then changing move in dates. Nah, all of those things should be left alone. Some people thought we'd see sections of woodwinds on the field in drum corps by now because of other rule changes, but that box is still firmly shut. (hopefully forever - and if anyone wants to have the woodwinds conversation again, start your own rules proposal thread! ) There have been some supportive comments from people who have lived firsthand with the constraints of longer school years in the local population (Oregon Crusaders, for example). Those are exactly the corps that I see would benefit from such a rule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerriTroop Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 Directors and staff would push the first show back to July 1. The season would last five weeks. The time it takes to teach these visual shows is what it is, and rushing the process only increases the likelihood of injuries to the members, either through strains or through collisions. No one wants that. If you wanted to introduce an age handicapping system, where corps with the youngest average age have their scores boosted by a handicap, that would have some of the effect that you seek, but wouldn't be enough to make up a difference of, say, 73 points up to 85 points. And in the end, is a corps with an average age of 18.5 really working with that much younger a talent pool than a corps with an average age of 19.5? It still comes down to finding the best instructional & design staffs and giving them the leadership they need to design and teach to the sheets. Addressing what I put in bold specifically: that question is not so much about talent as it is about time, thus my proposal. When a large number of your members are college age and can move in around May 15, or even earlier, you have a distinct advantage over corps who have a large majority of members who can't move in until near or after Memorial Day. To address other points: I would not want a handicap system. Let the ensemble earn what it gets once it gets on the field of competition. Just don't give the other corps up to 3 or even 4 weeks head start over them. I agree about the instructional and design staff. That's a given. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerriTroop Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 Yes, and then DCP can spend June/half of July complaining about "unfinished shows" :rolleyes:/> Perhaps design choices might be different given the time constraints. (I can dream, right?!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayfallon Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 (edited) That's a little unfair. I hope that your comment was hyperbole. Yup - wasn't meant to be taken seriously. Tell you what - I'm pretty much on the sideline permanently now - last year I didn't even get to see the two shows that came through the Dallas area. But back in my day the most fun I had in this activity was working with Boston, whose members were younger, not all brass players, and whose move in date was weeks past the corps they went head to head with. It isn't all about when you move in. It's about what you take with you to move ins. They never cracked finals while I was there, although we were 12th going into Semis in 1994, but I've had few if any better experiences in this activity. Great kids, knew what they were up against. Most of them wouldn't have changed it for the world, including 2 of mine who stayed until they aged out. (in finals by that time). It all depends on what you want to get out of that level field. Some fields, and some people, were meant for experiences that had been pre-leveled for them. I think the current Crusader corps benefits from that never say die attitude of much of their alumni, and some of their staff. Edited July 17, 2013 by rayfallon 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Other Mike Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 So, in this pipe dreaming world.... ( and this is just being a wize ### ) University of Southern North Dakota at Hoople decides to feature a Spring semester class call "Drum & Bugle Corps" that meets an hour a day and all day Saturday and Sunday. Everyone gets a music scolarship to play at basketball games. All members of the Dakota Dimwits drum & bugle corps are required to take this class every spring where they learn their show for the upcoming season. They get performance credit for the summer semester as well as master classes etc. Ya gonna punish them ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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