No Detailed Recaps

[Michael Boo]

Of course, you would be flown first class and treated in the manner to which you are accustomed.

First class? My plane ticket requires me to leave my seat whenever someone needs to use the toilet.

[Ghost]

Can't the judges be sequestered for the season? lol

Then they'd really know how each is scoring the corps. Accusations of favoritism would kick in. Break up of very close friendships. Oh the fun of it all.

[drumcorpsfever]

Here's a thought: If the DCI voting membership believes that by keeping the recaps private, this allows for improved objectivity, scoring, and ranking, then I guess I can understand their motivation for trying.

What is disappointing, though, is the need to withhold the recaps in the first place. Doing so kind of implies that the judging results will be more imparital, fair, and accurate. If so, then what does that say for the system that has been in place? In a perfect judging system, this would not be necessary.

Edited February 2, 2016 by drumcorpsfever

[Ghost]

What is disappointing, though, is the need to withhold the recaps in the first place. Doing so kind of implies that the judging results will be more imparital, fair, and accurate. If so, then what does that say for the system that has been in place? In a perfect judging system, this would not be necessary.

Yes it is, but sometimes, maybe in this activity, it's hard to find a perfect situation with human nature(the path of least resistance?)being what it is.

Edited February 2, 2016 by Ghost

[Jeff Ream]

Yes. My guess, this decision to scrap detailed show recaps is a neutral event regarding future attendance.. ie, it will nether grow, nor diminish show attendance. Same as the loss of Fan Network, imo.

however, with decreased web views, like the fan network, it could cause revenue to drop

[Liahona]

I'm just curious...What is to prevent a corps from voluntarily posting their individual recap on their website or Facebook for the world to see?....If so, what would happen if they did?...Is that actually breaking the rules?...I could even see egos getting involved here in this scenerio...lol

[cixelsyd]

I thought that Open Class could (and sometimes has) set its own rules. Didn't they adopt either electronics or amplification a couple years after World Class, for instance?

I think it was Bb brass that they delayed. It is possible that open class could take a different course, but that is rare. Since they just had their own meetings this past weekend and there is no news to that effect, they are probably following the same path as the rest of DCI... but like I asked before, I wonder if caption awards have been part of the thought process.

Edited February 2, 2016 by cixelsyd

[cixelsyd]

I think that's a pretty big indicator that DCI is trying to curb judges from doing...IDK, something. It seems clear DCI Directors do not trust the integrity or professionalism of their own judges, but I don't know what specifically they think this will accomplish as far as the judge community is concerned.

I do not think this is necessarily an issue of integrity or professionalism. As far as I am aware, subjective judges in other situations are also vulnerable to the influences of past precedents.

[drumcorpsfever]

I do not think this is necessarily an issue of integrity or professionalism. As far as I am aware, subjective judges in other situations are also vulnerable to the influences of past precedents.

Keep in mind there are two parties at play in the sandbox here - judges and the corps officials. Safe to say (and just a hunch), there are "some" corps officials that are a bit more calculating and vociferous than others (my attempt to be nice here!). I suppose by shrouding the recaps, you reduce some of the noise, influence, and covert persuasion.

Edited February 2, 2016 by drumcorpsfever

[perc2100]

Do we really think that this change will mean fewer butts in seats?

Are you less likely to go to a show, or take a DCI vacation, because you can't get recaps? (Think carefully before you answer.)

If the answer to either or both of these questions is 'no,' then the corps don't worry about what DCP thinks. Nor should they.

Will I miss recaps? Sure. But I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

I'll bite:

Last summer was the first summer EVER that I didn't subscribe to Fan Network/whatever the live streaming was called. With the change in format that eliminated both the 'DVR' function as well as the archives (both of the current summer as well as the entire history of DCI), coupled with DCI waiting until very nearly the last moment to announce plans for the subscription service, I decided not to buy the subscription. My wife and I had a baby crawling around the house anyway, and instead of DCI making the bulk of our weekend plans from July - when school/band camp started up we found other ways to occupy our time.

And you know what? I had a GREAT summer. I didn't really miss DCI until Finals weekend, though I did get caught up in the "will Crown of BD win?!" excitement.

But DCI saw $0 from my family for 2015 for the first time in over a decade, and if I'm being honest I don't feel like I missed out on a lot.

My wife got a new job in 2016 that pays quite a bit better, so we're in a better financial situation than last year & I was considering getting the live streaming subscription in 2016. I teach HS band, and my wife is also a band director (though she now has an Admin. job) with both of us DCI alumni. I've felt disconnected from DCI the last 12ish months more than any time since the early 00's after I aged-out, moved cross-country, etc. This recap thing, silly as it is, leaves a bad taste in my mouth: I get the feeling that at best DCI is trying to prevent judge manipulation in the most basic of ways, and at worst all but one DCI Director has little/no faith, trust, or respect of the judges' professional integrity. It's one of those rare(ish) policy moves that might have good intentions but comes across very poorly. It gives me less faith that DCI has it together as a circuit/organization, especially after going through some WGI judge training recently and seeing a 100% 180 in attitude WGI Administrators seem to have about judging.

At the peak of the Fan Network service, I was paying for the full service, buying Blu-rays, and buying archive DVDs or Blu-rays during a calendar year. Last year DCI got nothing from me, and right now it's looking the same. I may change my mind if a plethora of DCI show announcements sound off-the-hook. I do know I've already starting making plans for road trips for the summer and other fun things (Sting + Peter Gabriel at the Hollywood Bowl = WOOHOO) so I'm not sweating it. I know that I'm very much in the majority who over-things recaps enough to let the seeming lack of transparency really affect if I spend money on DCI or not. They won't miss my patronage or money this year, and this little experiment may have a short trial if enough people aren't happy.