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I'll lean with John on this one. I remember having invites to do neat stuff on the weekends left and right and turning them down left and right for 6 years. Most kids wouldn't do that. I remember coming to family vacations on the beach late and leaving early to get to practice. Not every family would put up with that now.

I think the way things are now, for retention purposes you need that time for everyone to get away and have family time.

Heck, even Formula 1 racing has an enforced mid-season holiday where no one's allowed to work.

Another advantage to a one week stoppage:

The staff can get together at their leisure and work out any changes and plans meticulously for the rest of the season. Yeah, they can do that during the week... but.... face-to-face time and being together still has its advantages. Also, not have to worry about rehearsals and that pressure while they can breathe in and out and think.

I hate the 'summer' F1 break, but admittedly, it comes at a good time in the season for me because I'm busy with other things ;) I end up watching the SkySports coverage on Mondays from the beginning of the season until the end of the DCA season, so I'm not really catching it in real-time anyway.

The weekend off . . . it's here to stay, and it's a good thing. It's a long season Some would say too long.

Nobody wants "more" of a product if it's not also "better".

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I hate the 'summer' F1 break, but admittedly, it comes at a good time in the season for me because I'm busy with other things ;) I end up watching the SkySports coverage on Mondays from the beginning of the season until the end of the DCA season, so I'm not really catching it in real-time anyway.

The weekend off . . . it's here to stay, and it's a good thing. It's a long season Some would say too long.

Nobody wants "more" of a product if it's not also "better".

the season BITD started before memorial day and sometimes ended after labor day. most years it was labor day. that was a long season. this is less than half the shows that were available. this is a short season. and as for my corps we never took a week off except once in 1972 and that was a screw up.

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The season's structured differently now. You're losing the weeks from Memorial Day till mid-June now, as well as July 4 for all intents and purposes. No longer 10-12 contests to work out the season. Programs have to be more in place when they hit the ground running. Shows are harder to make changes to. You can't just toss out an entire number like you could in the old days and throw in something you played last year in place. I'd bet we all did that at one point.into the mid-80's.

It was nice to know you had shows to throw away BITD if you had a bad one. Some shows were more critical and important than others. Now, only the big shows remain on the schedule. Every bullet's got to hit the target if not the bullseye.

Think about this. I worked in a steel mill as a kid on college one summer when I was marching. Dad was an Industrial Engineer there, and when I was shoveling turnings, he told me to always make sure to take a break to clear your head, rest for 5 minutes and come back- that I'd be more productive with even that little break. The old guys knew it, too. I learned that myself and still do it at my place of work today. That weekend or 2 off is good for the same reasons. Everyone ends up clearer mentally and physically and more productive in rehearsals. Again, "Practice for Results, not for Hours."

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ok. i get 1 week off. but doesn't reading have 2 weeks off. and didn't they have a week or 2 earlier?

Bucs may take weekends off from shows, doesnt mean they don't rehearse.

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Bucs may take weekends off from shows, doesnt mean they don't rehearse.

i think you are all to close to the activity to see a clear picture. if they say the sky is red you go along. all of you.

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If you were all that concerned on what the Bucs are doing on their show weekends off, all one needs to do is go to their website and check their calendar for their schedule. Clearly shows they had 1 weekend completely OFF since May...the rest have been spent rehearsing.

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i think you are all to close to the activity to see a clear picture. if they say the sky is red you go along. all of you.

Don,

too close? I haven't marched or taught since 2001. Sure getting out and doing shows is great, but never underestimate the power of a great weekend of deep cleaning the show. That can actually be more beneficial than going to a show. You get to keep the focus on without having to break, shower, get dressed, perform etc...then go rehearse the next day all tired and everything.'

Once of the best things Westshore did in 95 and 96 is at all costs, we stopped rehearsing Sundays after a show. Why go in and change on Sunday, then be off for a week and have to redo it all again Friday night or Saturday?

yeah maybe the fans don't get to see Bucs every weekend. Then again, maybe this decision helps Bucs keep costs under control too. the number of corps that went out week after week canvasing the globe in search of a number that are no longer with us are legion. Most DCA corps don't make money going to a show. I'm not privy to why they do what they do....but...it's worked well for them for several years now. Who the #### are we to question it?

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Don,

too close? I haven't marched or taught since 2001. Sure getting out and doing shows is great, but never underestimate the power of a great weekend of deep cleaning the show. That can actually be more beneficial than going to a show. You get to keep the focus on without having to break, shower, get dressed, perform etc...then go rehearse the next day all tired and everything.'

Once of the best things Westshore did in 95 and 96 is at all costs, we stopped rehearsing Sundays after a show. Why go in and change on Sunday, then be off for a week and have to redo it all again Friday night or Saturday?

yeah maybe the fans don't get to see Bucs every weekend. Then again, maybe this decision helps Bucs keep costs under control too. the number of corps that went out week after week canvasing the globe in search of a number that are no longer with us are legion. Most DCA corps don't make money going to a show. I'm not privy to why they do what they do....but...it's worked well for them for several years now. Who the #### are we to question it?

i know jeff. but they did this all the way back in the 60's. just sayin

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Heh, I'm not that close. But I keep my eye on the scholastic end of things which does indicate some trends.

There are advantages of a no show rehearsal only weekend, especially when you're changing or adding content. focus exclusively on what you want to, no time on busses, at your own practice site, it's not as negative as you might think.

Schools generally compete at 6 or less contests in their seasons, some more, a lot more if they can get away with it without parents or school boards freaking out, but some states (Oregon IIRC for one) and school boards limit contests. I'm still seeing some pretty impressive stuff coming out of those programs. Staffs have learned how to better use rehearsal time to be more efficient and effective, and write better shows to adapt to this reality. If you don't, it's usually a disaster.

Looks like a lot of the DCA corps out there are being more efficient, etc., especially the ones from the fringe regions.

Another tangential issue is this- when there were more shows, well, some of those shows were at pretty bad venues. winnowing down to make each event at a better facility with a better crowd might also be a better thing. The only wish I might have would be to get a Central PA show back on the DCA docket, but Ream, Fawber and I don't have the buxx to maybe lose our collective tuckuses on it. Nor would I ever want to steer a Band Parent organization into any undue risk unless they went in eyes wide open. :satisfied:

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i think you are all to close to the activity to see a clear picture. if they say the sky is red you go along. all of you.

I'm obviously too close, so I'll step out of the discussion now.

-Larry Harper, Jr.

Executive Director

Carolina Gold

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