What is the most pressing issue in DCI for 2023

[jjeffeory]

2 hours ago, scheherazadesghost said:

That midwest pull has been strong though historically. Hasn't there been enough of that? Trained in TX, marched in CA corps and even (or especially) I could feel it. Maybe this has changed?

Also, biased as I am, finals in the Rockies was fun. We're in drought so rainouts are less likely. 😭 And the added challenge of altitude would, hopefully, prompt corps to work smarter not harder heading the last shows.

Honestly, Texas Marching band is driving DCI designs currently. Why not have it in a Texas location again?

The financial incentives given by Indy are too great to mess with though.

[Hook'emCavies]

3 hours ago, scheherazadesghost said:

Same! Wait, no I mean with SC, of course. I'd love to march the place my mentor did. 😭

I do understand the mentor aspect. One of my instructors marched with Cavies from 1999-2001

[Hook'emCavies]

Normalizing regular marching uniforms again (nothing against the WGI style uniforms, but you can't beat that classic Cavies uniform in motion.) 

[IllianaLancerContra]

2 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

also...the corps have stressed the need for a consistent flow of schedule, which Indy provides.

Which keeps the tour in a rut

[IllianaLancerContra]

2 hours ago, CrownBariDad said:

When DCI can guarantee 70-100K attendees at hundreds/thousands of $$$ per ticket for Finals, get back to me on this. 

Number of fans won’t grow unless new fans can see a live show relatively close to home.   But we can’t mess with the tour having same regional locations in same order and all roads ending in Indy.  Classic Catch-22

[IllianaLancerContra]

4 hours ago, CrownBariDad said:

Based on what? Indy is an 8 hour drive from my home. West Coast is totally out of the question. 

Yet we expect west-coast fans to drive 33 hours each way every year, or to fly which trades off money for time.   Every. Single. Year. 

Edited July 28, 2022 by IllianaLancerContra

[Cadevilina Crown]

They’re all important, but here’s how I’d rank them:

1. Safety & Inclusion - This is a no-brainer at this point. If the activity remains unsafe for a variety of reasons that have reared their ugly head over the last 5 years, then it won’t be sustainable. If anything, whatever changes DCI makes within this area must be even stronger than before. Thorough background checks for everyone (especially staff/leadership), providing more opportunities to minority groups, stricter prop/tarp safety as needed, even greater emphasis on health and injury awareness, etc.

2. Financial Stability - We need to keep DCI affordable for everyone - keeping membership fees to a minimum, awarding more scholarships and discounts whenever possible, continuing to make sure we don’t have mid-season disasters like Teal Sound in 2012 (RIP), or even Surf just recently. In particular, Spirit and possibly Cascades will return to the tour in 2023 - they need all the help they can get to ensure this doesn’t happen again. Making tickets less expensive for fans would be nice too.

3. Touring Model - This is adjacent to my last point; we need a touring model that is sustainable based on travel distance, fuel cost, weather/climate. I liked a lot of what the corps did this season where they stuck mostly to their own regions of origin - if anything, DCI should stick to that model in the future. Consider more indoor shows whenever possible. If you’re not going to abandon Texas tour for the foreseeable future, consider putting start times for outdoor shows much later from now on.

4. Leadership - Dan Acheson has gone through a lot, but I can’t wait for him to retire. I think the BOD should place term limits on the ED position from now on.

5. Competition - Understandably the least important, but it’s what keeps many longtime fans like us coming back. However, I personally would love to see this aspect downscaled. Smaller panels at weekday shows, maybe even judged exhibitions for those shows with no scores released to the public. More importantly, like a previous comment said, I want to see more variation in terms of what gets rewarded outside of the top. I loved the 2021 Indy shows for this reason - the competition aspect was gone, so everyone was focused on their own goals instead of the judges’, and it ended up being very enjoyable. And I’ve liked a lot of BD shows over the years, but it gets very frustrating watching everyone else play catch-up to them every year in order to appease the judges with very limited results. Maybe something like the old Spirit of Disney award to remedy this? Again, it’s comparatively the least important item here, but it would be nice to address in the future.

Edited July 29, 2022 by Cadevilina Crown

[scheherazadesghost]

36 minutes ago, jjeffeory said:

Honestly, Texas Marching band is driving DCI designs currently. Why not have it in a Texas location again?

Because not everyone's a masochist like me who looooooved marching in extreme heat! That' said, I'd be a beneficiary of a finals in Texas so I wouldn't be upset.

37 minutes ago, jjeffeory said:

The financial incentives given by Indy are too great to mess with though.

That's the real reason.

[scheherazadesghost]

37 minutes ago, Hook'emCavies said:

Normalizing regular marching uniforms again (nothing against the WGI style uniforms, but you can't beat that classic Cavies uniform in motion.) 

As long as they're breathable and don't overheat the MMs, I'm all for is.

[jjeffeory]

14 minutes ago, scheherazadesghost said:

Because not everyone's a masochist like me who looooooved marching in extreme heat! That' said, I'd be a beneficiary of a finals in Texas so I wouldn't be upset.

That's the real reason.

True.

Y'all have domes though, so it'd have to be there.