Local members in the corps?

[lncnhwyfan]

Does anybody know what percentage of corps members are from the local community these days for any of the corps? I have tried to support a couple of my favorite corps with purchases and donations to the fuel fund, but I am getting the feeling I am not not enabling some kid from Casper, WY, or Canton, OH, or Rockford, IL, or Santa Clara, CA, etc., etc. to have a chance to participate in the local drum corps. The nearest corps to me is now over 90 miles away., the opportunities I had to march in a corps are just not available for kids today.

I am not trying to start the argument about how much better it is to have fewer corps with more talented members, I am just curious about if local kids are getting a chance to march at any corps.

[Kamarag]

Does anybody know what percentage of corps members are from the local community these days for any of the corps? I have tried to support a couple of my favorite corps with purchases and donations to the fuel fund, but I am getting the feeling I am not not enabling some kid from Casper, WY, or Canton, OH, or Rockford, IL, or Santa Clara, CA, etc., etc. to have a chance to participate in the local drum corps. The nearest corps to me is now over 90 miles away., the opportunities I had to march in a corps are just not available for kids today.

I am not trying to start the argument about how much better it is to have fewer corps with more talented members, I am just curious about if local kids are getting a chance to march at any corps.

The Blue Devils and Santa Clara Vanguard always have a large percentage of NorCal kids. Cadets have a lot of kids from the PA/NJ area. Surf, on the other hand, is almost overwhelmingly PA/NJ/DE members.

With the ease of travel today, the term "local" has a different meaning. Even in the mid 80's when I marched at Suncoast the number of Tampa Bay area members wasn't as high as you'd expect. We pulled from all over Florida and southern Georgia and Alabama, and usually had a few long-distance members as well.

[burgerbob]

Troopers historically was ONLY kids from Wyoming, but that has almost completely inverted.

I was the only member from Wyoming in the hornline for my first three years, as long as a few members in percussion and guard.

[hrnguy500]

Depends on the corps. I bet half the members in each corps are "local". I would generalize that local implies they are from the same state or within 4 hours of location. Folks in the corn belt really get the shaft in finding a corps. Most of those kids have to drive 7+ hours to get to a corps.

[TerriTroop]

Depends on the corps. I bet half the members in each corps are "local". I would generalize that local implies they are from the same state or within 4 hours of location. Folks in the corn belt really get the shaft in finding a corps. Most of those kids have to drive 7+ hours to get to a corps.

Geographic distances are very problematic in this particular assertion. Let's take two examples, just for fun: Crossmen and Troopers.

In Crossmen's case, San Antonio is already huge, and there are several cities with populations near or over 1 million with lots of strong high school and college age music programs within 4-6 hours drive. (Austin, Houston, Dallas, Lubbock)

In Troopers' case, Casper has a population of about 55,000, Cheyenne is similar and Larimie has about 32,000. There is one major university in the entire state (UW, student enrollment of about 12,000), and the entire state's population is less than 600,000. That means a incredibly small high school and college music/movement program base to draw from. Additionally, the closest large city is Denver, which is 4.5 hours away. Salt Lake City is 6 hours away, Omaha is 9 hours away, Boise and Albuquerque are both 10 hours, etc. So, in Wyoming's case, "local" may mean within a 6-12 hour drive.

I guess my point is this: "local" is not always going to get a corps what it needs to be competitive in world class.

[mchromik]

For a variety of reasons you will find the the percentage of local talent in the World Class corps is low. Many have pointed out several reasons, but I would also add that many world class corps do their off-season practice outside of their geographic base. Some find better facilities, some better weather, and some find it easier to locate themselves near transportation hubs. Many world class corps have audition camps in Texas to tap into the substantial pool of talent down there. Some find the availability of facilities and resources in Indiana great for their winter programs and or spring training. It is not that they do not support and appreciate their 'homes' it is just them trying to be the best they can be. The corps first responsibility is to it's membership.

If you truly want to support hometown corps with hometown members then you need to look as supporting the Open Class and local DCA All Age units. Most of these units are made up of more local types due to the nature of their practice schedules and limited touring. Some may look strangely at including All Age units in the mix, but the average DCA unit nowadays has a substantial number of DCI age marchers. They find the limited rehearsals and weekend only tours allows them to go to summer school or have a summer job. Further both Open Class and All Age units generally need more financial support then the relatively better off World Class.

[Tim K]

I remember hearing a comment that Crown and Bluecoats had a higher percentage of marchers from New England than BAC. Most kids in BAC seem to hail from Florida. Most corps in World Class have members from all over the country. High school and college band directors who have connections with a corps influence recruits as does word of mouth, for example a kid from Kansas City joins corps in another city and convinces his friends to join the same corps.