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Attendance has been good at the remaining contests I go to, Fred. Not like it was in the 90's when I saw shows with under 200 folks in the crowd in really obscure venues and small HS stadiums. Financial issues, yes. Corps appear to be a lot more responsible and doing things the right way in that aspect. Westshore I think taught a vital lesson in that area when it desperately needed to be taught almost 20 years ago..

Class A has helped make smaller corps viable, smaller budgets, etc. There are some tricky dynamics in play there as well with smaller corps and money.

The outlying regions I think have been working their fingers to the bone to be viable and.. I can't think of the word I really want here... but 'significant/important' in DCA. I think the plans in place where the outliers are creating year-round organizations and finding great performance opportunities during the indoor season close to their bases is going to pay off.

Recruiting, retaining... we'll have to see. That's one area where the magic 8-ball doesn't have an answer that's floating up in the window for me. Will there be enough young people like myself when I was 16 wanting a lot more than what my HS band gave me in terms of challenge and attitude? YOU BET. That's the good thing.

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Legal Eagle - this isn't a courtroom so please - spare me your attempt to discredit the witness by making up a story in your head about me wanting DCA to fail (for what possible gain is beyond me). Read my posts with an open mind if possible - I categorically DO NOT want DCA to fail - I want it to survive and be distinct from DCI.

Understand now?

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Legal Eagle - this isn't a courtroom so please - spare me your attempt to discredit the witness by making up a story in your head about me wanting DCA to fail (for what possible gain is beyond me). Read my posts with an open mind if possible - I categorically DO NOT want DCA to fail - I want it to survive and be distinct from DCI.

Understand now?

Why would you think failure might be ahead? Also IMO DCA should be as much a part of the DCI product if it wants to attract those wanting to continue after aging out. I am not saying it can't have it's unique sense of purpose BUT needs to pay attention to whom it's members and potential members are. If DCA doesn't then failure IMO is certain.

We can preserve the past with all it's traditions without letting it hold us back and crippling the future. JMO

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Why would you think failure might be ahead? Also IMO DCA should be as much a part of the DCI product if it wants to attract those wanting to continue after aging out. I am not saying it can't have it's unique sense of purpose BUT needs to pay attention to whom it's members and potential members are. If DCA doesn't then failure IMO is certain.

We can preserve the past with all it's traditions without letting it hold us back and crippling the future. JMO

amen

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I'll ask again, and this is no slight to alumni corps because until april I was in one....but if old time drum corps is supposedly in such high demand, why doesn't the alumni show sell out? Why do almost every indoor concert draw maybe 1200 people? if it was in such demand as we see people on here #####ing about, they'd be SRO's. Huge.

None of those events are contests. I would not expect them to draw anywhere near what a competitive drum corps event can draw.

(Then again, 1200 people is essentially equal to the paid attendance at world championship finals for the DCI open class.)

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Not getting into the Amps/no amps argument but anyone have an idea how many age outs go to DCA corps?

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Not getting into the Amps/no amps argument but anyone have an idea how many age outs go to DCA corps?

Not as many as one may think. DCI corps draw members from across the nation--and the world. Many age-outs do not have a DCA corps close by to logistically make it feasible to become involved.....even if they wanted to.

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I'm thinking low too Bill. But my knowledge comes from a long time ago. And how do we count the people who di Sr to Jr back to Sr?

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yes, let's see where DCI is 5 years after electronics passed:

oh wait, 2014 was their best year probably 04, maybe longer. You saw more new corps than dying ones, you saw attendance up...

guess it killed them didn't it?

Okay, if we are going to have a discussion, we first need to get past this. I think that in most cases, when someone says their line-in-the-sand change will "kill" drum corps, they are merely stating that "drum corps", as they define it, will be gone as a result - not that the changed activity will repel every last fan and go extinct. Other marching arts have added electronics without repelling every last spectator.

Since you mention DCI, we should look at them. Yes, attendance is up a bit in 2014. What does that have to do with A&E? DCI made those changes 5 to 10 years ago, and attendance trends were not optimistic at those times. As for new corps, we did just see a growth spurt in 2014 after many years without. Again, I do not see how electronics has anything to do with that. In fact, the growth is focused in remote areas far away from the DCI home base, generated by corps with remarkably limited tour schedules.

DCi has seen an uptick in business. DCA needs to as well.

I agree. But how? It seems that the new business model for DCA is to stay five car lengths behind DCI. Is that really their best strategy?

Back in the 1990s, DCA was very smart about developing class A. Regional expansion was another brilliant concept. DCA actually WAS growing when those ideas were their focus. Looking at the new DCI corps, there is evidence of further growth potential for whichever circuit reaches out to remote regions, and to programs with schedule constraints that conflict with traditional dates for world championships. DCI is making progress there. DCA, not any more.

You make it sound as if changes like A&E are necessary to draw people to the activity. But how has that worked out so far?

I was told the other night the number of paid attendance in Rochester last August. we have to reverse that trend fast. Part of it is location ( yes, I know Rachacha gives the best deal to house. it's also nowhere near the hub of corps and fans). We have to start thinking ahead, because standing still has gotten us nowhere. For all of the doom and gloom screamed at DCI since all electronics came in in 2009......their numbers have gone up.slowly but surely, the numbers are growing.DCA's aren't. So what is sticking to "tradition"...something that's changed constantly since drum corps began....doing for us?

But DCA has not been sticking to tradition. They have been making all the same changes DCI has made, and apparently they are not impacting attendance positively.

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