garfield Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 (edited) This thought occurred to me after seeing the numbers in DrumCorpsRadio's GREAT thread on comparing 2015 scores to 2016. Looking at the numbers of each placement, and forgetting the corps in each spot, it's pretty clear to me that the judges are "glide-pathing" the final scores to be within a percentage point or so of the placement scores from last year. IOW, pushing the scores along throughout the season on a glide-path that will let them end up close to last year. DrumCorpsRadio's columns 'C' and 'H' show how remarkably close each position is to last year's position scores. It appears that we can say with a high degree of confidence that the 2016 winner will score 97.6 to 97.7. Is it not feasible to think that our winner should have a score of, say 71 and all the others are "slotted" below that? Do I need more tin foil wrapped around my head or is this just another version of "slotting"? Edited July 26, 2016 by garfield Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowtown Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 Is it not feasible to think that our winner should have a score of, say 71 and all the others are "slotted" below that? I think that is exactly what’s going on, that there are weekend score ceilings in place which, would make it easy for a judge to look at the recap of a 71 from last year and slot their caption score. So judges are still watching recaps but based on an overall scores. Also feel the captions have flat lined across placement except for the tight spreads which I’m not trusting either as they don’t look that tight live Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 (edited) From a press release from DCI in the preseason of 2015, judges were instructed to keep the scores close among the pecking orders for the summer. This generates more fan interest. it was expected that scores would show more separation come later in the seaaon. And that is what happened last season. It worked as intended . This season will be no exception... with the caveat... that some of the unprecedented volatilty in scores that we are witnessing this season, are legit in the sense that judges DO oftentimes legitimately disagree with what they like and don't like. Its like an art contest. One entrant brings in a painting thats from the impressionist ( or Dali ) realm, another entrant in the art competition brings in their painting from the Rockwell realm. Assuming both paintings are done equally well in the performance of the works... only God knows who the judge will determine is " better ", among these 2, as it really comes down to what works of Art the judge likes and prefers more than anything else. Edited July 26, 2016 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcorpsfever Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 I read in another thread here a quote that said something to the effect of "we're judging something that was never meant for judging". How true. Art is subjective. With subjectivity, the guidelines you place on scoring methodiology, by design, naturally limits the scoing outcome. By limiting the scoring outcome, the greater the reliance upon historical "Glide-Pathing" becomes necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flammaster Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 But our fans are louder so we deserve it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skevinp Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 This is something I've noticed for years. I used to track the scores in a spreadsheet and graph the progression throughout the season, and it becomes very clear there. I think it would strike an outsider as ridiculous that no matter where they start, the scores just magically move along until finals night, when the top corps in each caption is just magically at or near a perfect score. What would happen if we suddenly decided to add 3 weeks to the season? Would the top 10 or so corps, who end up with scores of 100, truly all be equal to each other? I don't think so. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corpsband Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 correlation is not causation 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted July 26, 2016 Author Share Posted July 26, 2016 correlation is not causation That's exactly the question: What is the cause when the annual correlation is so high? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corpsband Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 That's exactly the question: What is the cause when the annual correlation is so high? leading corps come out with the approximately the same level of preparedness and advance at an approximate rate through a fixed length season on their way to finals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted July 26, 2016 Author Share Posted July 26, 2016 leading corps come out with the approximately the same level of preparedness and advance at an approximate rate through a fixed length season on their way to finals? ...and unless 'x' happens, or until 'y' happens, they proceed along the same glidepath per slot to finals night? It appears to be not just the leading corps, it's all corps in all slots. If that's a correct assessment, judges need to be concerned for their jobs because this whole thing, therefor, can be pretty easily computerized and DCI would save tons of money not paying judges. Is there any provision for "IMO, the whole group of corps sucks this year (like the first year of widespread A&E) so I'm going to mark them all down"? Shouldn't there be? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.