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Corps Travel and Expansion


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The committee spent TONS of money paying the corps to travel to WS.

It cost the Bushwackers over $ 14,000.00 for a 3 day trip, most of which was payed for by the sponsor. From what I was told, The Renegades expenses were over the $25,000.00 range.

The audience in attendance was minimal at best. It was a fun trip, but in the grand scheme of things , it was a failure for the sponsors. The show was "test" to see if a Championship could be held out of the region. The committee did NOT bid for the next seasons championship.

Hope this helps answer your question.

Jay

Bushwacker Director 1987-2010

Happily retired!

It answers the question that a show sponsor should not spend that kind of money to get groups to their show. It also tells me that times have changed because most of the shows in South are better attended. The two that have happened in Georgia have good turnout (not amazing, but good). Maybe it is about time that we tried something again... after all, it has been almost 10 years since an effort like this was tried. Again, no one needs to go into debt, but I feel like corps can make it work if they want to. Southern corps spend $14,000 on a trip every year to championships. I realize it is the "bed the lie in" but it also proves that it can be done.

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It answers the question that a show sponsor should not spend that kind of money to get groups to their show. It also tells me that times have changed because most of the shows in South are better attended. The two that have happened in Georgia have good turnout (not amazing, but good). Maybe it is about time that we tried something again... after all, it has been almost 10 years since an effort like this was tried. Again, no one needs to go into debt, but I feel like corps can make it work if they want to. Southern corps spend $14,000 on a trip every year to championships. I realize it is the "bed the lie in" but it also proves that it can be done.

you may have a point but i'm telling you it ain't gonna happen. DCA is looking for a sure thing and the NE corps won't do it. a couple years ago empire and renegades made an agreement. when david bruni found out what it would cost to go west he broke that agreement. and i don't think renegades could afford to go east twice. so halve that cost you you see nobody will do it. a sponser would be out of their mind to try to off set the cost. they want to make money. not further the activity.

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Before a DCA show can be considered here in Cincinnati, the local DCA Class A corps needs to continue the growth it has experienced in the last three years. Geographically, Cincinnati is a good location, in the middle of three regions of DCA. There are other things to consider that are far more important than "location". Finances, logistics and an audience base, for example. There's a GOOD reason why I travelled east for many years to compete in DCA! Quite simply, that's where the action was and still is. To get yourself in the mix, you will have to get in your car and drive there. That has changed somewhat since the early 1980's, with the creation of DCA Central and South regions. Today, somebody who lives here in Cincinnati has more options available than I did, from 1980 through 1999. The best case scenario is that a prospective member residing in Cincinnati, joins the local DCA corps. It's a cost effective decision. It's here, It's affordable and it's growing. The other less enjoyable option is to spend a lot of money commuting east, south or northwest. From personal experience, the cost of doing so is considerable and that's putting it mildly.

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While I wouldn't mind seeing DCA out here on the West coast...the question of attendance is highly important.

There is no long tradition of Sr corps competition like back East -- Renegades and SoCal Dream are fairly young and still have to deal with people ignoring them when they're on the field and going to the lot to watch BD's battery do 8 on a hand -- there's no built-in audience go draw from, even if someone subsidized all the corps coming out.

I think DCI's more likely to drop synths and amps before DCA coming west is even a remotely possible idea.

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If a corps expects to have every show appearance "pay for itself" through fees then it has the wrong business model. And that's what kills expansion.

Edited by Ron H
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Everyone has been awaiting my response, so here it goes!
The Cincinnati Tradition is not interested in hosting a DCA Championship in Cincinnati.
We were interested in hosting a DCA Show in Cincinnati in 2014. We contacted DCA and several corps about a show in Cincinnati. The idea came about when Minnesota Brass and Reading Buccaneers were discussing a possible meeting somewhere before the championships. I felt like Cincinnati would be a great place to host that show. We even contacted DCA about a possible date of July 19, 2014. DCI contacted us to say if we couldn't fill the show with DCA corps that they would supply us with some DCI Open Class Corps to fill the show. Everything started to sound great! Wrong! I've put on a DCM Show before in Cincinnati and it did well. Each corps was contracted with a fee they received from the previous years score. DCA does not work this way. You are set in your region and only those corps competing in their region receive a fee. For example, we do the Southern Showndown in Atlanta evey year and get paid nothing. We know this going in to it. By the way, leave the Southern Showdown in Atlanta, GREAT CROWD! When trying to contract for our DCA Show in Cincinnati last year, some corps wanted to receive more money than the regular fee. I'm not sure if this is a regular practice or not. But to host a show and not lose your shirt, you can't pay thousands of dollars extra to bring corps in than the fees allow. With only the Kilties and Cincinnati Tradition being the only DCA corps to commit, the show was canceled. We have not given up hope for 2015 though. It cost us about $5,000 to go to Atlanta. Instead of making a second trip to Atlanta if Alliance host a show next year. We can take that $5,000 and put it towards hosting our own show. I'm done ranting for now. Let me just say that Cincinnati Tradition is growing everyday! The corps will talk more about hosting an event in 2015!

Tom Slade
Director
Cincinnati Tradition
Drum & Bugle Corps

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Everyone has been awaiting my response, so here it goes!

DCA does not work this way. You are set in your region and only those corps competing in their region receive a fee.

Tom Slade

Director

Cincinnati Tradition

Drum & Bugle Corps

Can you explain this a bit further? Because this sounds archaic.

Edited by Ron H
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Cincinnati Tradition Belongs to the DCA Central Region. The only show we get paid for are Central Region Shows. If we travel out of our Central Region, let's say to the South or East, that Region does not have to pay you. Now you can say, No Pay, No Play, but that's what happens when you leave your Region. I would love it if DCA voted on ALL Corps get paid even if they leave their Region. This may be something that needs to be addressed for the future!

Tom Slade
Director
Cincinnati Tradition
Drum & Bugle Corps

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Thanks Tom. Is that true of DCA member corps? Or just non-members competing in the DCA circuit? If so, that is something that needs to change.

In any case, I still maintain that DCA corps who expect to "profit" from every single one of their show appearances are living in a fantasy world. Yes, they need to minimize their expenses but if they rely upon appearance fees to balance their budget they are in for a world of hurt. As a result of that strategy, the activity will never grow.

Edited by Ron H
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It answers the question that a show sponsor should not spend that kind of money to get groups to their show. It also tells me that times have changed because most of the shows in South are better attended. The two that have happened in Georgia have good turnout (not amazing, but good). Maybe it is about time that we tried something again... after all, it has been almost 10 years since an effort like this was tried. Again, no one needs to go into debt, but I feel like corps can make it work if they want to. Southern corps spend $14,000 on a trip every year to championships. I realize it is the "bed the lie in" but it also proves that it can be done.

Just to make myself clear, the WS committee were WILLING and ABLE to pay all the corps expenses for that show. They raised all the money through local businesses and worked closely with the City of WS for housing and rehearsal facilities. Not one DCA corps held them hostage for huge fees. They were a pleasure to work with. As I said earlier , this show was a "test run" to see if they had a local audience to buy tickets. They understood that hosting a championship was a major risk, not only for DCA but for the Visitors borough they answered to. They did it the smart way, test the waters before diving in the pool. It was still a memorable trip for the corps.

Jay

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