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6 hours ago, SaturdayNightLights said:

From everything I'm hearing, OC is hurting hard. Only a couple corps north of 75 to 80 expected members as of a few weeks ago. Hopefully that changes but..

Even the blue label OC corps like BDB, Vanguard Cadets, Legends, Spartans?

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7 hours ago, SaturdayNightLights said:

From everything I'm hearing, OC is hurting hard. Only a couple corps north of 75 to 80 expected members as of a few weeks ago. Hopefully that changes but..

I get that idea from people I know with two different OC corps, and while they are not too worried about their own corps, it doesn’t sound great for others. What is surprising me is the specifics for the openings. I see corps looking for trumpets and I’ve always been led to believe there are usually more trumpeters auditioning than other brass players. There seem to be plenty of percussion openings as well as pit and guard. You may hear of corps looking for specific talents at this point in past years, but it sounds as if they are looking for generalists.

I don’t think the blame is totally on the WC corps having 165 members because quite a few corps are looking for members too. Overall for corps that participated last year, they have an advantage but it is still a rebuilding year for many. For corps that did not, and I understand and respect the reasons for not participating, it’s far more of a challenge.

This is not just a drum corps problem. A young man I know is the assistant athletic director at a local college and runs the different summer sports clinics for middle school and high school students. Most years there are no spots open at this time of the year with the overnight spots filling first. That’s not the case this year. I also saw that a well established overnight camp will not be opening this summer. 

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No, there are a few reasons why OC is struggling. 2020 was non-existent and 2021 was exhibition, The supply line of new members was choked off, and now the high school potential members don’t have the recent history of drum corps competition. That is the lifeline of OC corps.

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12 hours ago, SaturdayNightLights said:

From everything I'm hearing, OC is hurting hard. Only a couple corps north of 75 to 80 expected members as of a few weeks ago. Hopefully that changes but..

increasing membership couldn't have helped in addition to everything else in the world right now

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10 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said:

Doesn’t DCI have a minimum number of marchers to be able to compete in a DCI show?

30 is the minimum i believe

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I think it is disingenuous to blame DCI's rule making for some corps' membership challenges this year.  There is no doubt that any corps who did not essentially exist for the past two years is at a disadvantage.   They are basically having to start from scratch.   Interestingly, the high school band which I have taught for the past 20 years was HALF its size last fall compared to 2019.  It was also the case with the other dozen or so bands in our circuit last fall, prompting 4 bands to merge into 2 just to field a show. Bottom line: the Marching arts need a couple seasons to rebuild.

Edited by craiga
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9 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

30 is the minimum i believe

  1. I thought that the number was raised to 60 just before covid hit. May have just been conversations about that but no official vote.
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45 minutes ago, craiga said:

I think it is disingenuous to blame DCI's rule making for some corps' membership challenges this year.  There is no doubt that any corps who did not essentially exist for the past two years is at a disadvantage.   They are basically having to start from scratch.   Interestingly, the high school band which I have taught for the past 20 years was HALF its size last fall compared to 2019.  It was also the case with the other dozen or so bands in our circuit last fall, prompting 4 bands to merge into 2 just to field a show. Bottom line: the Marching arts need a couple seasons to rebuild.

It is like people forgot the majority of open class corps and a few world class members have never been able to field a full ensemble...

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1 hour ago, craiga said:

I think it is disingenuous to blame DCI's rule making for some corps' membership challenges this year.  There is no doubt that any corps who did not essentially exist for the past two years is at a disadvantage.   They are basically having to start from scratch.   Interestingly, the high school band which I have taught for the past 20 years was HALF its size last fall compared to 2019.  It was also the case with the other dozen or so bands in our circuit last fall, prompting 4 bands to merge into 2 just to field a show. Bottom line: the Marching arts need a couple seasons to rebuild.

How is it disingenuous to point out all of the above as contributing factors, as both you and previous posters have done?

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