New World-Class Criteria

[xandandl]

30 minutes ago, Tim K said:

 

One thought I have is which WC directors will be mentoring OC directors looking to move up to WC? That criteria needs to be defined.

Very few of the current WC directors have been at the helm for very long. Would this be where former WC directors become consultants/mentors/etc.? What would the criteria be? Some WC directors left legacies needing much "surgery" for the patient to regain health. Sometimes people living in a bubble like to pat themselves on the back for the myth of the great job they think they are doing.

Edited November 20, 2019 by xandandl

[JimF-LowBari]

5 minutes ago, xandandl said:

Very few of the current WC directors have been at the helm for very long. Would this be where former WC directors become consultants/mentors/etc. What would the criteria be? Some WC directors left legacies needing much "surgery" for the patient to regain health. Sometimes people living in a bubble like to pat themselves on the back for the myth of the great job they think they are doing.

I’m thinking when do the WC folks have the spare time to mentor. Especially over long distances. Currently “mentoring” people who will take my job when I retire. Big chunk out of all of our schedules 

[garfield]

19 minutes ago, MikeD said:

I might be wrong, but I read it to mean the corps must have maintained a 50,000 surplus the past three years with that same amount contained in the upcoming 4th year budget.

Again, nomenclature is important.  "Net Worth" is, generally, what's left when liabilities are subtracted from assets.  A "budget" is cash flow.  Adding a year-four $50m budget surplus to a net worth of $50m gives the corps $100m "net worth" until the $50m budget surplus is "spent" the following year.  

Hair-splitting, surely.  But DCI does employ a highly-qualified financial executive-level staff person.  A minimum 5% budget surplus is conspicuously absent from the vast majority of the corps' finances each year (to the extent that 990 forms are available).

 

 

[Old Corps Guy]

2 hours ago, Brian Tuma said:

Thanks, Roman. Lol. This is your legacy. 

You could almost read into this that it is designed to keep Roman and Pioneer out even if they somehow figure out a way to put a competitive corps on the field.

[Jeff Ream]

3 hours ago, cixelsyd said:

DCI has updated their Policies and Procedures Manual.  It is available online at https://www.dci.org/static/about-drum-corps-international.

The highlights are found about 82-85 pages into the document, in a section called "DCI Participation Levels".  Included here are several revisions to what defines eligibility for world-class status.

1.  A more deliberate distinction is made between "World Class Participant" and "World Class Member".  Corps aspiring to WC membership must now spend two years as a WC participant, with reduced pay ($1800 per show vs. the standard $2600) and no voting rights.  Membership must now vote you in twice, at both the WCP and WCM levels, for your corps to get in.  And if you slip out of the top 25 along the way, the whole deal is off.

2.  WC now has a membership minimum.  Both WCP and WCM include among their definitions, "Number of performers 110 -154".

3.  The bar for advancing from OC to WC appears to have been raised.  See for yourself:

• Leadership/director must participate in a mentorship program in which an Open Class director will be paired with a WC Member for general guidance. May also be paired with subject matter expert(s) in specific areas of need
• Top 25 for 3 consecutive years
• Revenue in year 3 of this process should be at least $750k with positive earnings before depreciation
• A positive net worth of $50,000 or more in each of the past three fiscal years
• The budget for year 4 (first year in World Class) should include a surplus of $50,000.
• Financial Statement prepared by an Outside Accounting Firm (Financial Audit or Financial Review as required by your governing state)
• Independent Board defined by good governance best practices
• Monthly cash flow projection for year 4 (first year in World Class)
• Debt to equity ratio should be lower than 3 to 1, e.g. long-term lease, notes payable, accounts payable

After the above criteria are met, then organization can request to become a World Class Participant

• Evaluation/interview by DCI CEO
• If recommended by CEO, organization presents to the DCI Board of Directors for potential ratification

4.  And there is this - "After 3 consecutive years out of the top 25, membership status will be placed under review, to be voted on by the membership at the next membership meeting."  In other words, such a corps could be voted down from WCM to WCP, with the corresponding pay cut and loss of voting rights.

so if you are legacy World Class, and you miss the top 25...what happens to you? Also, are their books ever reviewed after they get in? Think how many issues could have been discovered and maybe resolved as opposed to going inactive

[Jeff Ream]

2 hours ago, WaxDCIFan said:

I wonder how many existing WC corps meet these criteria.  These seem like pretty high expectations for OC corps to meet, especially financially, when they lack sponsorships, show revenue, etc.  There is an inherent conflict between the all-out financial arms race to be competitive (huge props, electronics, etc) and the expectation to have positive cash flow for up & coming groups.  I’m worried that these criteria will stifle new WC membership and activity will just keep getting smaller.

With these new rules Cascades needs to step up their game somehow.

or encourage more OC to try and get into WC as fast as possible

[Jeff Ream]

1 hour ago, FTNK said:

Basically, lower-tier WC corps can #### off. Weird "WC Participant" second-class citizen status. But honestly, this is probably a good idea- a lot of corps, including one I marched at, have tried to jump from OC to WC (Div 2 to Div 1 at the time) and then died. If more corps are going to be staying in OC because of these rules, will DCI try to improve their support for OC? Don't hold your breath.

and to top it off, will the OC directors fight for themselves, or continue to vote to keep themselves at the kids table

[JimF-LowBari]

Just now, Jeff Ream said:

or encourage more OC to try and get into WC as fast as possible

So how does this work if someone wants to run a corps that has a lower budget to meet and doesn’t want to do full tailed tour mode. At least that’s my understanding of WC and OC differences

[cixelsyd]

1 hour ago, garfield said:

I won't have time to read the doc until later, but wondering if a "WC Participant" is an OC corps participating in a WC show, or if these two groups (WCP and WCM) are synonyms for "voting member corps" vs. "non-voting member corps". 

The latter is correct.

[Jeff Ream]

25 minutes ago, Old Corps Guy said:

You could almost read into this that it is designed to keep Roman and Pioneer out even if they somehow figure out a way to put a competitive corps on the field.

I think it's more than that. Remember was it 2 years ago Legends were begging for money to continue the season? Revolution ran out of cash in Indy? Other corps begging in July and August so they could get to Indy?