Why are the Scores SO Linear Every Year?

[Fran Haring]

2 hours ago, PamahoNow said:

And they may even get better on "free days".

Heh... sounds like the Official World Golf Rankings, where you can skip a tournament or two and actually move up the ladder.  LOL.

[PamahoNow]

Just now, Fran Haring said:

Heh... sounds like the Official World Golf Rankings, where you can skip a tournament or two and actually move up the ladder.  LOL.

I only wish my golf game worked that way.

[Jeff Ream]

easy...the good corps know to be prepared from day 1. they have their design stuff in order, they get stuff taught smartly and clean as they go. They aren't continuing to throw in wholesale changes, and most changes are planned out in advance.

[geluf]

Note: I judge in a system that uses DCI and WGI scoring templates as a baseline (though they aren't exactly the same).

Basically it's the Box system.  You hear "Box 4" or "Box 5" etc....there are 5 boxes.  1 is the lowest, 5 is the highest.  Generally speaking the first thing you do is decide which box the performance you just witnessed falls into...then everything runs from there.

As the season goes on the scoring range for what constitutes each box shifts.  There's pages upon pages that can be written about what each box means and the criteria for being placed in each one that I won't go into...but basically a combination of improvement/perfecting AND shifts in what each box score range is causes the gradual increase.

[BigW]

3 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

easy...the good corps know to be prepared from day 1. they have their design stuff in order, they get stuff taught smartly and clean as they go. They aren't continuing to throw in wholesale changes, and most changes are planned out in advance.

Aren't the changes more involved nowadays with adding prop details, things that are modular and don't take a lot of time to add, and the changes aren't that drastic?

 

Total re-writes even BITD meant trouble to a fair extent, even more of one now.

[Ghost]

3 hours ago, BigW said:

Aren't the changes more involved nowadays with adding prop details, things that are modular and don't take a lot of time to add, and the changes aren't that drastic?

Some corps that have a high percentage of their show on the field, have a bunch of add ons in their back pocket.  Depending on how the mm are performing the show and the corps schedule, they start adding stuff.  Throughout the season, they may add not planned stuff based on new ideas, what the judges say, etc.

Edited July 1, 2019 by Ghost

[bluecoats88]

9 hours ago, geluf said:

Note: I judge in a system that uses DCI and WGI scoring templates as a baseline (though they aren't exactly the same).

Basically it's the Box system.  You hear "Box 4" or "Box 5" etc....there are 5 boxes.  1 is the lowest, 5 is the highest.  Generally speaking the first thing you do is decide which box the performance you just witnessed falls into...then everything runs from there.

As the season goes on the scoring range for what constitutes each box shifts.  There's pages upon pages that can be written about what each box means and the criteria for being placed in each one that I won't go into...but basically a combination of improvement/perfecting AND shifts in what each box score range is causes the gradual increase.

this is the answer.  the ranges are preset by the box range for each subcaption.  as corps improve they move up within a box or jump into the next box.  pretty simple to understand

 

[jwillis35]

19 hours ago, Quad Aces said:

Why is it that every year the top corps start the season in the mid to upper 70s, then each show adds about 1.5 - 2 points, magically ending up in the upper 90s by season’s end?  Every.  Single.  Year.  Honest question.

There are different ways to look at this, but I would start off by saying that the word Magic has nothing to do with scoring or the corps' performances. 

The absolute top groups in the activity at the moment do often begin their season in the high 60s to low 70s. If you think in the most simple way and look at this from a percentage standpoint similar to traditional school grades (Box 1 =F, Box 2 = D, Box 3 = C, Box 4 = B, Box 5 = A), then I think it makes sense. Even the best corps are beginning the season in the D+ to C- grade range. They improve all summer to an A range. Now how far they get into the A range depends on level of performance, design, and GE. It's more complicated than this due to caption and sub-captions scoring, but this is the general idea.

Even when a corps wins a show in the early stages of the season, the scores indicate two things: 1) you scored the highest for today, and 2) you have a D+ or C- grade at the moment. Plenty to improve on. I try not to think more analytically about scoring until mid-to-late season. 

Is it possible for a smaller or less experienced corps, one competing World Class (Div I), to come out with a cleaner show that they can play and march at a C+ or better grade? Sure, but in most cases they would be doing this with less demand scored in a lower box. In Open Class (Div II) this corps might fare better, but it is a competitive activity and in World Class you are judged against the best. That pushes their scores down, sometimes considerably. 

Edited July 1, 2019 by jwillis35