2020 Rules Proposals

[Poppycock]

10 minutes ago, cixelsyd said:

Yes.

We just learned they have a whole committee - sorry, a "task force" for seeking new revenue sources.  Why is there no task force for controlling costs?

Cost analysis, risk identification, planning implementation and progress monitoring committee - “task force” to mitigate risk and control cost. 

[Glenn426]

54 minutes ago, cixelsyd said:

I would not be so quick to assume just about any of those.

Key point - instructors not only are allowed, but expected to vote differently from corps directors.  The two caucuses are evaluating different aspects.  For example, the financial impact is clearly part of the corps director purview, but not that of the instructor.

But the idea that the Corps Instructor and Director would not be in line with each other is crazy to me. I understand that there are different aspects that they would have to evaluate but wouldn't the Director share their feelings or leaning with the instructor before the Vote.

I assume the Instructor vote was a secret Ballot, Where the Results where revealed but what each person voted was secret.

You would however think that the Instructors got a chance to tell their corps director how they voted?

If they did speak to each other, at least 4 times this happened on Saturday night;

 

Leon May: Yeah Chris I like what was proposed and I voted in favor of AI.

Chris Holland: Cool, cool, yeah that's what we discussed.

CH: [votes against AI]

LM: So Chris How did you vote?

CH: I voted against AI.

LM:........................................................ 

[HockeyDad]

4 minutes ago, Glenn426 said:

But the idea that the Corps Instructor and Director would not be in line with each other is crazy to me. I understand that there are different aspects that they would have to evaluate but wouldn't the Director share their feelings or leaning with the instructor before the Vote.

I assume the Instructor vote was a secret Ballot, Where the Results where revealed but what each person voted was secret.

You would however think that the Instructors got a chance to tell their corps director how they voted?

If they did speak to each other, at least 4 times this happened on Saturday night;

 

Leon May: Yeah Chris I like what was proposed and I voted in favor of AI.

Chris Holland: Cool, cool, yeah that's what we discussed.

CH: [votes against AI]

LM: So Chris How did you vote?

CH: I voted against AI.

LM:........................................................ 

Pretty sure it’s not at all unusual for proposals to be passed by the instructors caucus but not by the directors. I think this has happened many times over the years. 

[Poppycock]

3 minutes ago, Glenn426 said:

But the idea that the Corps Instructor and Director would not be in line with each other is crazy to me.

Not to me it isn’t!  Instructors don’t care about the cost or risk of their decisions. Where the money comes from is not in their wheelhouse. Whereas a director/CEO is responsible for controlling incurred cost and migrating risks, and in most organizational structures reports directly to the BOD’s. 

[garfield]

56 minutes ago, 2muchcoffeeman said:

Re All-instruments:

At the end of the day, I wasn't persuaded by the half-baked evidence for revenue. I was put off by the proposal's pretensions to justifications other than revenue. Ms. Black's revenue-forward interview only underscored the dissonance.

At the same time, I read several arguments that dinos who might have taken their money and gone home would not have moved the needle much on the cash-flow statements of any individual corps. I think that's probably correct. Every corps has a few benefactors with deep pockets. But drum-corps finances is a game of multipliers, not unicorns.

Few corps have the resources to simply stand up an entirely new type of touring ensemble that includes WWs, let alone provide such a new ensemble with a circuit of competitions against other similar ensembles. Yet I would welcome the creation of a "major leagues" for marching bands as marching bands. Let a thousand flowers bloom.

 

 . . . But now that DCI's revenue-creation task force has been sent back to the drawing board, I would recommend they consider the expense side of the sheet to improve the finances of member corps. Limits are a creative force -- ask any 6 year-old flying to the moon in a cardboard box. For a long while now, maximalism has been the only method rewarded competitively, on the field and in the audition wars. Perhaps a little minimalism would be both a welcome change on the field, among students -- and on the bottom line. Pour more of the available resources into intelligent design and arrangement. More communication and execution, less wow factor. Better transitions within the program, for example, rather than better sound effects. Better writing, and less focus on the backdrop. BK in 2019 gave us a taste of what that could be -- not in their head-spacey kind of mood necessarily, but in their minimalist approach to the stage. They put their focus on the writing and the cohesiveness of their program. It carried them a long way. DCI remains afflicted by a lot of chopped-up, bolted-together programming. That is an avenue for advance and innovation and excellence that isn't cheap, but could be pursued without having to also continue the arms-race side of DCI. Take the Cadets of 2019, lose the staircases and give that boatload of talent a well-built program on a spare canvas, and they would have been 6th place or higher.

Perhaps we can leave the Age of Cheap Theatrical Tricks behind, and enter a new age of Smart Adaptation to Limits.

 

 

"How do we create new revenue?"

"Spend less"

"What, are you MAD?  That's not New Revenue!"

"It is if it hits your bottom line and you've never had it before."

(An ACTUAL conversation I've had in the last several days with a group of corps board members.  Shocking, it was.)

[cixelsyd]

20 minutes ago, Glenn426 said:

They are happy then to remain in OC? Outside of BDB and SCVC, you would think the goal is to get into WC. Having a Full Corps should be the goal every year. Having more bodies at their audition camp would help them achieve their goals. Not that this rule would guarantee any of that but you would think that more local Kids would go to march the OC corps if this rule opened up the recruitment to everyone.

Or it could cause less kids to be interested, because they prefer the drum corps instrumentation format.

Quote

On the subject of OC, I am surprised that someone within the OC Ranks didn't stand up and propose to allow for OC to be AI as revenue increasing tool.

I am not surprised.

Quote

The majority of the fans of DCI are not and do not follow OC until the final week (if that) The emotional connection is simply not there. Why not allow OC to become its own thing?

Open-class is already its own thing.  They do make their own rules when they find it in their best interest.

Quote

Where there are less rules and there is an opportunity for the Art form to work out its kinks and provide a test bed for WC.

The "test bed" is already there.  It is called SoundSport.  If there is a lot of interest in any-instrument ensembles, we should see it in SoundSport.

[JimF-LowBari]

43 minutes ago, Glenn426 said:

 

They are happy then to remain in OC? Outside of BDB and SCVC, you would think the goal is to get into WC. Having a Full Corps should be the goal every year. Having more bodies at their audition camp would help them achieve their goals. Not that this rule would guarantee any of that but you would think that more local Kids would go to march the OC corps if this rule opened up the recruitment to everyone. (By Local, I mean within an hour Driving distance to the location of the Winter Camps) These OC Corps could become an All-star Marching Band for the area they are from. The onus would be on the corps to market and make the camps in a high BOA Density area, (Cobb County, Indianapolis, Dallas)

 

On the subject of OC, I am surprised that someone within the OC Ranks didn't stand up and propose to allow for OC to be AI as revenue increasing tool.

The majority of the fans of DCI are not and do not follow OC until the final week (if that) The emotional connection is simply not there. Why not allow OC to become its own thing? Where there are less rules and there is an opportunity for the Art form to work out its kinks and provide a test bed for WC.

As the Sound guy from BAC Said "DCI is not an all Weather Sport anymore" If it's raining most corps are not having Ensemble as the Speakers and Front ensemble cannot be in the Rain, Same would apply to the WW instruments. You'd be hard pressed to find a corps that will willingly rehearse in the Rain, so the WW would have as much concerns about getting wet as the Front Ensemble would. Same applies to High Wind, Or Lightning.

I have no idea what the OC corps long term goals are and neither do I assume. All I know is in DCA there are Class A corps (DCA goes by size) that want to grow to the higher class and some are happy where they are.  Got a big feeling that for x number of OC corps there are x number of thoughts on going to WC or not.

Edited January 13, 2020 by JimF-LowBari

[JimF-LowBari]

28 minutes ago, HockeyDad said:

Pretty sure it’s not at all unusual for proposals to be passed by the instructors caucus but not by the directors. I think this has happened many times over the years. 

Instructors and directors not agree at times? Heaven forbid. 😛 Man did I hear a lot riding with corps BoD members and just keeping my ears open (and mouth shut) in a Sr corps..

Edited January 13, 2020 by JimF-LowBari

[Glenn426]

15 minutes ago, Poppycock said:

Not to me it isn’t!  Instructors don’t care about the cost or risk of their decisions. Where the money comes from is not in their wheelhouse. Whereas a director/CEO is responsible for controlling incurred cost and migrating risks, and in most organizational structures reports directly to the BOD’s. 

Some instructors also are Band Directors or hold an overseeing position within their own Schools or groups, If you tell a designer how do you pay for it? Many times they will try to come up with a solution for that. Now I know this isn't the case for all the designers, but you'd think if a Corps Director tells their instructor, hey I don't like this proposal, I think it will skyrocket costs, I would think the instructor would argue his point with the corps director but ultimately come to an agreement going into the Caucus. 

To think that A Corps Director would vote against their Designer and cede to public pressure and vote against the BOD and the RSTF is crazy to me. They don't have to see the faces and work with and collaborate with the faceless angry mob on Reddit or FB, They do however have to work with their prized Designer who might take this disagreement into future considerations when their contract is up.

 

Perhaps this simply is not how it works in DCI but if isn't then my next question is why? 

[Year Fiver]

52 minutes ago, Glenn426 said:

 

They are happy then to remain in OC? Outside of BDB and SCVC, you would think the goal is to get into WC. Having a Full Corps should be the goal every year. Having more bodies at their audition camp would help them achieve their goals. Not that this rule would guarantee any of that but you would think that more local Kids would go to march the OC corps if this rule opened up the recruitment to everyone. (By Local, I mean within an hour Driving distance to the location of the Winter Camps) These OC Corps could become an All-star Marching Band for the area they are from. The onus would be on the corps to market and make the camps in a high BOA Density area, (Cobb County, Indianapolis, Dallas)

 

On the subject of OC, I am surprised that someone within the OC Ranks didn't stand up and propose to allow for OC to be AI as revenue increasing tool.

The majority of the fans of DCI are not and do not follow OC until the final week (if that) The emotional connection is simply not there. Why not allow OC to become its own thing? Where there are less rules and there is an opportunity for the Art form to work out its kinks and provide a test bed for WC.

As the Sound guy from BAC Said "DCI is not an all Weather Sport anymore" If it's raining most corps are not having Ensemble as the Speakers and Front ensemble cannot be in the Rain, Same would apply to the WW instruments. You'd be hard pressed to find a corps that will willingly rehearse in the Rain, so the WW would have as much concerns about getting wet as the Front Ensemble would. Same applies to High Wind, Or Lightning.

Not every open class corps wants to be world class; the move upward comes with a whole new set of fiscal responsibilities, board responsibilities, increased touring logistics, etc.

If all-instrument were passed for open class only, how would that enable open class corps to become wold class? Wouldn't the dependence on woodwind bodies hinder their ability to move into the division which doesn't allow them?

Most corps are, in fact, having ensemble in the rain. Corps are only required to have policies submitted to DCI for lightning and other hazardous weather, but rain itself is not a hazard, even to the point of downpour. Even as recently as 2019, corps have been rehearsing in the rain. The pit does what it's always done--they set up canopies and/or cover their equipment with tarps depending on how bad the rain is, but moving indoors is only an ultimate last resort ever, even for them. Brass and drumlines are expected to throw on their raincoats and continue moving and playing through heavy rain. Woodwinds do not have the pit option of staying stationary under canopies/tarps if they are integrated into the drill, and they do not have the option of continuing to play like the other mobile membership do.