Too Many Tosses!

[GUARDLING]

Staging has a huuuge impact on scoring in the color guard caption. The performer is rarely responsible for a majority of the number that gets written down. I've taught a few groups in the bottom 15 of DCI and that's usually most of our comments. We can write appropriate work, clean it, have the kids hit their dots and perform it, but it doesn't matter if the drill is bad. I'm sure this changes as you get into higher scoring groups and they look at the differences between quality, book, etc, but in my experience over the past decade, those are the majority of the comments a judge will offer. I also think this is what can put BD ahead even though they get a sail or have hula hoops.

As far as tossing goes, as long as it's musical and the performers are trained, then go for it! At the lower levels of WGI (mostly A) it's becoming "too much tossing" because that's what the sheets ask for - achievement of skills shown clearly. You have to hit them over the head with the fact that you can throw a 5 before you can move on to nuanced movements. In IW and what I've seen so far this summer, it's mostly appropriate. It's enjoyable. There are still groups that have a dance statement, that close a song with a powerful flag feature, with interesting drill when there are 3 equipment sections on the field interacting with the corps. All is not lost! Let Crown toss multiple 7s, let Cadets flourish and do fast features better than anyone else, let BD high kick and throw a perfect sabre ripple, and let Blue Stars have the absolutely hardest book of any group on the field. If we're talking demand being on the sheets, they would be top 5 every year.

Not completely true. Most wGI judges complain that lower guards huck and chuck without technique. Most would rather see a clean lower toss with outstanding technique than a higher toss just or the sake of it. NOW bang out a higher one and do it well thats great. We have grown as an activity that we are expected to display a multitude of skills and achieve , not one

[DCI-86]

Staging has a huuuge impact on scoring in the color guard caption. The performer is rarely responsible for a majority of the number that gets written down. I've taught a few groups in the bottom 15 of DCI and that's usually most of our comments. We can write appropriate work, clean it, have the kids hit their dots and perform it, but it doesn't matter if the drill is bad. I'm sure this changes as you get into higher scoring groups and they look at the differences between quality, book, etc, but in my experience over the past decade, those are the majority of the comments a judge will offer. I also think this is what can put BD ahead even though they get a sail or have hula hoops.

As far as tossing goes, as long as it's musical and the performers are trained, then go for it! At the lower levels of WGI (mostly A) it's becoming "too much tossing" because that's what the sheets ask for - achievement of skills shown clearly. You have to hit them over the head with the fact that you can throw a 5 before you can move on to nuanced movements. In IW and what I've seen so far this summer, it's mostly appropriate. It's enjoyable. There are still groups that have a dance statement, that close a song with a powerful flag feature, with interesting drill when there are 3 equipment sections on the field interacting with the corps. All is not lost! Let Crown toss multiple 7s, let Cadets flourish and do fast features better than anyone else, let BD high kick and throw a perfect sabre ripple, and let Blue Stars have the absolutely hardest book of any group on the field. If we're talking demand being on the sheets, they would be top 5 every year.

THIS ^^^^

[DCI-86]

Yes staging matters on the current sheet. No I don't think it belongs in the caption because it has nothing to do with performers (contrast with brass,perc,vp).

No. Because Blue Stars never manage to actually march M. Shapiro's book cleanly. That said it's still one of my absolute favorite things to watch every season :-)

I think their point was that Blue Stars have the hardest equipment book and this is true. Kids go there because they want to spin Michael's insane and creative work and if you know Mr Shapiro, he couldn't give a stuff about winning or the guard's placement. He is all about creativity and challenge

[c.l.]

I think their point was that Blue Stars have the hardest equipment book and this is true. Kids go there because they want to spin Michael's insane and creative work and if you know Mr Shapiro, he couldn't give a stuff about winning or the guard's placement. He is all about creativity and challenge

Creative, if not a bit literal minded imo.

[DCI-86]

Creative, if not a bit literal minded imo.

Not sure what you mean by this? Care to explain?

[N.E. Brigand]

I was excited to see Crown has another strong guard this year. They should have won guard last year; they were robbed. The judges are owned and kowtowed to by the Blue Devils Guard mafia that has its tentacles all over the nations; since I’m in not involved in guard or judging, I’m free to speak about it. I spoke to some former DCI judges based in California who were let go due to calling it as they saw it and a certain corps that has decades old traditions of lobbying judges pitching a fit against them.

Blue Devils guards bore me; they do small ensemble work which is easier to clean and cover individual weakness. They dance way too much, and their dancing lacks variety, and often it’s not that great; they should thank the copyright gods that K-Pop was edited out of their show last year; compared to the real band’s video they were copying, it was gross. Artistic judging is only subjective as a revenue stream.

Variety of skills: OK, BD, let’s see the women on rifles and the men on sabers--oh wait, you don’t do that? Not really showing a variety there, are we?

Again trying to cover for individual’s skills, they don’t think that women can toss big bad rifles. I think they are wrong. I think they fail to teach a useful skill to the rest of the guard world.

BD guards consistently have the among the worse guard uniforms, year in and year out; they seem to favor the acid flashback colorblind gay fetish fashion. I not only feel for the kids but their parents, too. Hideous. No, I’m not a prude; I just have taste, unlike one of their designer who was recently interviewed in grey jazz shoes.

I wonder if there's enough information on fromthepressbox for someone to figure out who those judges are.

[GUARDLING]

I wonder if there's enough information on fromthepressbox for someone to figure out who those judges are.

There were many over the years who couldn't grasp the concept that " calling like it is" was to subjective without criteria in it's basis. Thank goodness that's not a phrase used much anymore and that there is ( and should be ) accountability for what a judge does. Is it perfect? no, Are there or have been those who have abused the system, sure but until a better system comes along that the corps themselves want, this is what we have but at least " calling it like it is " is a term , long gone at least by those not wanting to explain themselves and use criteria in decision making , subjective as alot of it can be. (another topic ).lol