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DCI WORLD CLASS EXPANDS TO 165 MEMBERS for the 2022 TOUR


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33 minutes ago, OldSnareDrummer said:

Once again, talking out my you know what without much insight into today's corps recruiting efforts... What if most (realizing it certainly wouldn't be all) recruits chose basically the same 3 corps? How does that help the little guys? 

But I do agree...much it fees-wise does seem to be a bit of a money grab. 

 

Ever consider some who attend camps of the big guys do it for the experience and knowledge? It haapens often , with no expection . Now there have been corps who found some raw talent that way OR suggested another corps for the person BUT often they just want the experience. YES many even fly to a location to have that experience with a corps they admire.

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Ok this is way out of date but 10 or so years ago I asked if someone misses the cut of a top corps why don’t they join a lesser corps.

Responses were mostly 1) so expensive not worth it to join the lesser corps 2) lot of people can only do corps for one year (saving up money, etc) so it’s top/dream corps or forget it.

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10 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

food costs probably make it break even as nothing gets cheaper these days.

There are ways to reduce food costs or at least there were at one time. My father was a regional manager for a dining services company. He was approached by several corps from what he said but he mostly spoke about Suncoast being the first to really approach him about professional companies run the dining services end. Sadly, he's gone now. But he always had that connection. 

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39 minutes ago, JimF-LowBari said:

Ok this is way out of date but 10 or so years ago I asked if someone misses the cut of a top corps why don’t they join a lesser corps.

Responses were mostly 1) so expensive not worth it to join the lesser corps 2) lot of people can only do corps for one year (saving up money, etc) so it’s top/dream corps or forget it.

1000000% correct which is really kind of sad in a way. I'm not one to pi** in anyone's Wheaties, but the first reason in my brain/heart to march corps was to be a part of something. Yes, bigger, badder and better was in there too but I can't imagine having the name of the group on the corps jacket I wear be more important than actually doing the da*m thing and putting it all out on that field. 

Judgy.....yeah probably. But as a drummer and per the posts from the previous page, I couldn't eat or drum on it. So I judged it instead lol. 

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21 minutes ago, Weaklefthand4ever said:

1000000% correct which is really kind of sad in a way. I'm not one to pi** in anyone's Wheaties, but the first reason in my brain/heart to march corps was to be a part of something. Yes, bigger, badder and better was in there too but I can't imagine having the name of the group on the corps jacket I wear be more important than actually doing the da*m thing and putting it all out on that field. 

Judgy.....yeah probably. But as a drummer and per the posts from the previous page, I couldn't eat or drum on it. So I judged it instead lol. 

That's what seems a little off to me, or maybe I'm just not getting it. If a recruit really wants "the experience", why would which corps he/she chooses or winds up with make that much of a difference? Or is the experience just translate to a medal chase? If I shoot for SCV's snare line and fail and my next offer is Pacific Crest, I take it. I still get "a" experience, maybe not "THE" experience. 

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On 10/3/2021 at 8:37 AM, keystone3ply said:

I shared the info because I thought it would be a great discussion topic.  I  personally think the pros outweigh the cons & the corps directors seem to feel that way.  The seats are already available & as someone pointed out, some groups already carry alternates.  I think the additional members will result in the credit being greater than the debit on the accounting sheet?  

I had no idea that you could rate topics with "stars", etc & you receive points (or something to that effect) as a contributing DCP member.  I could really careless about that stuff... :spitting:

It could be a great discussion but it zeroed in on the negative in my humble opinion. 

Same here on the rating. I have not used it and did not know about it until it was mentioned on another thread. I was not complaining about your thread topic just the reactions. 

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57 minutes ago, OldSnareDrummer said:

That's what seems a little off to me, or maybe I'm just not getting it. If a recruit really wants "the experience", why would which corps he/she chooses or winds up with make that much of a difference? Or is the experience just translate to a medal chase? If I shoot for SCV's snare line and fail and my next offer is Pacific Crest, I take it. I still get "a" experience, maybe not "THE" experience. 

Some responses were they like/love what a certain corps does so they want to be part of that corps. Wanting the experience of doing corps wasn’t mentioned.

 

Edited by JimF-LowBari
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On 10/1/2021 at 6:22 PM, cixelsyd said:

You are entitled to your opinions, but you do not get to make up your own facts.

By 1980, we had already lost 1/3 of those 400 corps.

Even if your impressions come from earlier in the 1970s... there were many more corps in that era larger than you contend.  Only 50 corps of over 40 members?  Maybe by 1990... even the mid-1980s had bigger numbers.

As for the "zero business acumen" insult... sure, it is easy to take potshots at 400 targets.  For every Hopkins, Blenski or (fill in name of Oregon Crusaders scapegoat here), there should be ten times as many instances of "bad management" BITD.  But painting the whole activity with that broad a brush is criminally inaccurate. 

Many corps had local business leaders involved, properly organized BODs and governance/support structure, and a responsible track record of operation.  But they also had missions that were local/community oriented.  As an already large and expensive activity grew even larger/pricier under leadership of the elites, orgs serving smaller constituencies could not justify the expense and decided that their resources (including local donations) would be better spent on something more scalable.  Examples:

Winter guard - dozens of former corps populated the winter guard activity.  I think several are still prominent in WGI now.

Scholarships - several corps were well enough run that they ceased operations with a surplus of funds sufficient to maintain a scholarship program.

Events - just hosting a drum corps event instead of operating a corps.

Many others just opted to pay their bills and shut down responsibly.  The ones who shut down irresponsibly, however, stick better in our memory.

Many of those corps did not really "travel".  Massachusetts had a thriving drum corps activity for decades, where corps could experience a full and busy season within a 15 mile radius of home.  Food trucks and medical staff are great ideas for touring corps, but some of these corps were not even doing overnight trips.

Society has changed, but not all local organizations have dwindled.  Certain recreational sports have exploded in participation in the same time frame.  Of course, most of the success stories are activities who kept costs from mushrooming.  Otherwise, there has been a tendency for such sports/activities to grow better as scholastic extracurricular programs where facilities and funding are more easily obtained.

I do not post here for the sake of pining for the past.  I post out of concern for the future.

Your "criminally inaccurate" is so over the top that it virtually negates every other thing you said.   As for the numbers in the 70's and 80's and the financial prowess of many of those smaller drum corps, I need no lectures from you about the activity then.  I spent my teen years immersed in the Massachusetts drum corps scene specifically, and very few, if any had working BODs and financial plans.  And, I am not just referring to the Braintree Braves, who had a total membership of 8 and travelled to shows in a station wagon.  Even the 27th Lancers, who were a fierce competitor at the highest levels of DCI ended up having to throw the towel in because, as George Bonfiglio told the audience at a show one  summer, the busses were simply unsafe to travel on. Lastly, I wasn't insulting ANY corps, simply pointing out the fact the the activity is completely different now than it was 45 years ago, and the DCI Rules Congress has had little, if any impact on the groups without money. DCI had nothing whatever with the old Mayflower Circuit, CYO Circuit, or the Eastern Mass Circuit folding their tents.  Any suggestion to the contrary is pure fabrication and revisionist history.

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13 hours ago, Tenoris4Jazz said:

I'm with you on this Jeff, but the increase in costs should be incremental for the most part.  Getting uniforms in bulk, the cost for an additional 11 should be less than 100% extra per unit.  Insurance premiums should be negotiated by total members, so it's possible they already have a coverage ceiling higher than the new number.  It should still work out to a net credit on the corps P&L, but you are correct... it's not just a straight increase of 11 times the tuition figure.

Correct.  Transportation is the biggest cost.  Adding 11 paying members without adding transportation expenses equals a considerable net positive.  Corps I know of use BSA for insurance (hence the reason they are BSA Explorer Posts).  That insurance was super cheap (~$2 a person).  It’s gone up considerably with all of the lawsuits against BSA but still <$50 a person.  Uniforms are pretty cheap.  After transportation, food is the next biggest incremental cost and it’s not more than $1500 per person.  At $4500 for tuition, I think these 11 would bring in a net positive of $2000-$2500 per member.

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2 hours ago, OldSnareDrummer said:

That's what seems a little off to me, or maybe I'm just not getting it. If a recruit really wants "the experience", why would which corps he/she chooses or winds up with make that much of a difference? Or is the experience just translate to a medal chase? If I shoot for SCV's snare line and fail and my next offer is Pacific Crest, I take it. I still get "a" experience, maybe not "THE" experience. 

 Marching a Top 6 DCI World Class Division Drum Corps is also considered resume building too among some in today's generation, we might add to some of the reasons.. it is what is as to why auditioneers who don't make the spot in ( for example ) a  DCI TOP 6 Drum Corps, just decide to wait and try out next year, or next few years, or just simply say forget it.

Edited by Boss Anova
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