MikeZ Posted March 18, 2023 Share Posted March 18, 2023 16 minutes ago, GUARDLING said: I think you can be a fan of a corps but not of the process or message. Haven't we seen this of many corps. Yes, I agree with the above statement. And granted it is hard to discern tone from text on a screen, but my initial reaction was that the quoted person was not a fan of Jersey Surf. I am a huge fan of Surf and feel they provide an experience that is missing in world class drumcorps at the moment. On the surface, it appears Surf is taking the necessary steps to ensure the long term heath of the organization is strong. Maybe there is stuff going on behind the scenes I am not aware of, or maybe the original poster has some inside info that makes them aware of why the press release is a bunch of hogwash. Regardless, I just want Surf to survive and keep providing a scaled down version of a world class experience for those in the north east that cannot deal with the time commitment of a Boston or Cadets. Go Surf! Z 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted March 18, 2023 Share Posted March 18, 2023 (edited) 5 hours ago, MikeZ said: Yes, I agree with the above statement. And granted it is hard to discern tone from text on a screen, but my initial reaction was that the quoted person was not a fan of Jersey Surf. I am a huge fan of Surf and feel they provide an experience that is missing in world class drumcorps at the moment. On the surface, it appears Surf is taking the necessary steps to ensure the long term heath of the organization is strong. Maybe there is stuff going on behind the scenes I am not aware of, or maybe the original poster has some inside info that makes them aware of why the press release is a bunch of hogwash. Regardless, I just want Surf to survive and keep providing a scaled down version of a world class experience for those in the north east that cannot deal with the time commitment of a Boston or Cadets. Go Surf! Z I would totally agree that I would like Surf survive also. with that said I also know being friendly with many staff that the very thing that makes Surf unique could also be their Achilles heel. As far as I know all staff respect the format and heart of the organization but are also the 1st to admit (especially behind the scene) it is the very thing that holds them back, whatever that means. If one accomplishes a goal, then I believe that's not holding back at all, It's a choice to be who you are and set their own goals. Surf needs to be respected for their choice to be who they are and their contributions to the activity. Now should they be a WC corps? would they shine more in OC? Would they retain more members maybe with OC success? or many other considerations, people can and do I'm sure debate this BUT that is and should be totally up to them only. All we, IMO should do is wish them luck. Edited March 18, 2023 by GUARDLING 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 7 hours ago, GUARDLING said: I would totally agree that I would like Surf survive also. with that said I also know being friendly with many staff that the very thing that makes Surf unique could also be their Achilles heel. As far as I know all staff respect the format and heart of the organization but are also the 1st to admit (especially behind the scene) it is the very thing that holds them back, whatever that means. If one accomplishes a goal, then I believe that's not holding back at all, It's a choice to be who you are and set their own goals. Surf needs to be respected for their choice to be who they are and their contributions to the activity. Now should they be a WC corps? would they shine more in OC? Would they retain more members maybe with OC success? or many other considerations, people can and do I'm sure debate this BUT that is and should be totally up to them only. All we, IMO should do is wish them luck. the thing is, going OC kills them financially. the money is in WC, even a reduced schedule. i know taking that time off in July last week saved them a fortune in bus fees, fuel, housing and food. yeah it hurt them competitively. to score well, you need the early start and the commitment to going all out to place well...and that's probably what people feel is holding Surf bak....that commitment to being a top dog isn't evident. the key is finding a balance. Look at Colts...15 years out of finals, but yet always kinda near the top 12, with a good sized corps doing the full tour. Troop too. while going OC could help Surf with scoring, financially it would be a huge issue. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 8 hours ago, Jeff Ream said: the thing is, going OC kills them financially. the money is in WC, even a reduced schedule. i know taking that time off in July last week saved them a fortune in bus fees, fuel, housing and food. yeah it hurt them competitively. to score well, you need the early start and the commitment to going all out to place well...and that's probably what people feel is holding Surf bak....that commitment to being a top dog isn't evident. the key is finding a balance. Look at Colts...15 years out of finals, but yet always kinda near the top 12, with a good sized corps doing the full tour. Troop too. while going OC could help Surf with scoring, financially it would be a huge issue. A tough position to be in...On one hand as you say the money, on the other hand members and retention. The culture an mindset could be great for some an not enough for many, as they have continuously have experienced. As I said, it has to only be their choice and with every choice there is always a consequence no matter who you are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 15 hours ago, GUARDLING said: A tough position to be in...On one hand as you say the money, on the other hand members and retention. The culture an mindset could be great for some an not enough for many, as they have continuously have experienced. As I said, it has to only be their choice and with every choice there is always a consequence no matter who you are. i think the staff is key.....to retention. I'm not talking big names, i am talking people who are good yes, but have deep ties in the region. Surf used to have kids that stayed a while. Why not now? Well....placement. with Cadets moving to Erie, Surf has a huge upside in the I-95 corridor, even out to Harrisburg/DC. But you need the staff people that can draw the kids from their band programs....then keep them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OpenClassAlum Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 Seems like a smart move, but just another sign that some of these world class corps should really be open class (and open class competition would benefit from it!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllianaLancerContra Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 On 3/19/2023 at 12:16 AM, Jeff Ream said: the thing is, going OC kills them financially. the money is in WC… BITD when DCI had ‘Class A’ & ‘A-60’ were those Corps paid for performances? Or was ‘Open Class doesn’t get paid’ a result of a more recent decision? Ironically, I recall in ‘Brass Roots’ video Don Warren & George Bonfiglio stating that the Corps weren’t getting paid by AL, VFW, etc and this was why they started DCI. And now DCI doesn’t pay roughly half its Corps. Hmmm. DCI seems to have become what they were created to put an end to. Just like the end of Animal Farm - you cannot tell the difference between the pigs and the humans. Some Corps are indeed more equal than others. In DCM in the early 80s I know we didn’t get paid much, like $250 for a field show, which our manager said more or less paid for the busses. But it was something. Phantom, Madison, Cavies I’m sure got paid more. But DCM paid every participant something (based on previous year’s placement). Most shows had a parade, that paid about $150 more (I don’t think that money was laundered through DCM). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 (edited) On 3/18/2023 at 1:50 PM, GUARDLING said: I think you can be a fan of a corps but not of the process or message. Haven't we seen this of many corps. Like the old Mills Brothers tune: "You always hurt... the one you love..." Edited March 20, 2023 by Fran Haring 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Holland Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 9 hours ago, IllianaLancerContra said: BITD when DCI had ‘Class A’ & ‘A-60’ were those Corps paid for performances? Or was ‘Open Class doesn’t get paid’ a result of a more recent decision? Ironically, I recall in ‘Brass Roots’ video Don Warren & George Bonfiglio stating that the Corps weren’t getting paid by AL, VFW, etc and this was why they started DCI. And now DCI doesn’t pay roughly half its Corps. Hmmm. DCI seems to have become what they were created to put an end to. Just like the end of Animal Farm - you cannot tell the difference between the pigs and the humans. Some Corps are indeed more equal than others. In DCM in the early 80s I know we didn’t get paid much, like $250 for a field show, which our manager said more or less paid for the busses. But it was something. Phantom, Madison, Cavies I’m sure got paid more. But DCM paid every participant something (based on previous year’s placement). Most shows had a parade, that paid about $150 more (I don’t think that money was laundered through DCM). A and A-60 (eventually div 2/3) got paid a small sum for performances. Many up the food chain thought that was a drain on the rest of the collective organization (DCI) and now open class only shows pay $0. Mixed bill shows they do get a small sum. Technically even BD gets a "small sum" based on what it costs to get a bus down the road these days or the several 1000s a night it costs to use a school. here's the thing. as a nonprofit it really doesnt matter if you collect an small appearance fee or not. (in regional theatre we don't count tickets sales into operational revenue for the season... that's spare money we MIGHT get to use next season) you still need to have a development team that's good at grant writing, finding major donors, running funding campaigns, and in general funding the machine. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverCityAndTroopersFan Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 On 3/17/2023 at 12:41 PM, ykw said: https://jerseysurf.org/news/jersey-surf-announces-revised-plan-for-2023-dci-summer-tour/ WEST BERLIN, NJ – March 14, 2023 – The Board of Directors of Jersey Surf, Inc., the not-for-profit parent organization of The Jersey Surf World Class Drum Corps, announced today that the scope of the program’s operations for the 2023 Summer Tour will shift from a 10-week competitive drum corps program to a slimmed-down, regionally-focused 7-week tour. “Our goal is to provide young adults with an outstanding opportunity to grow as performers, as leaders and as people,” says Dr. Julie Hill, chair of the Jersey Surf Board of Directors. “By adjusting our tour for the coming season – with the assistance of Drum Corps International and its tour event partners – to achieve a more regional focus, we will be positioning our organization to fully deliver against its mission while also lowering some of the barriers to participation which have been encountered by our would-be participants in the past few seasons. These include our pre-tour move-in date, the overall length of their time commitment and total cost of participation.” The reimagined 2023 summer tour plan will, among other benefits, better accommodate later school dismissal dates for many of the students participating in the Jersey Surf program, enabling the corps to begin pre-tour rehearsals with everyone present – which has been an increasing challenge as the corps membership has expanded well beyond its traditional Southern New Jersey / suburban Philadelphia home base area in recent years. “Like many extracurricular activities in the post-COVID period, the Jersey Surf has been faced with significant challenges reengaging high school and college students, aged 16-21, in our organization,” added Rich Klimowicz, Jersey Surf director of operations. “By starting a little later and keeping our travel focused primarily on the I-95 corridor for a portion of the tour prior to heading to Indianapolis for the 2023 DCI World Championships, we will compress the tour itinerary while continuing to provide exciting educational opportunities for aspiring world class performers. Klimowicz added that this more focused scheduling format “will help the organization realize financial savings in key areas such as transportation, food service and the rental of rehearsal and housing locations that will in turn facilitate manageable costs of participation for our members.” In this updated arrangement, the Jersey Surf will start its performance season with a mid-July exhibition performance on the all-age Drum Corps Associates event calendar, prior to performing at DCI tour stops throughout the eastern seaboard from mid-July through mid-August. The tour will include some ten July events including NightBEAT in Winston-Salem NC (July 30) and additional perennial favorites such as Annapolis, MD (Aug. 1), a Surf-hosted event at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ (Aug 2), Allentown, PA (Aug 5) and Edinboro, PA (Aug 7) prior to heading to Indianapolis for the 2023 Drum Corps International World Championships. “We are still actively and methodically recruiting brass musicians and color guard performers for the 2023 tour,” said Assistant Corps Director and Tour Manager Stephanie Dutcher. ”We have been enjoying a strong winter rehearsal season with an excellent team of new and returning members and educators, and are looking forward to continuing the momentum into the spring and summer seasons with an even larger group of passionate people. “With just a few more brass players and color guard performers, the Jersey Surf will again achieve its goal of providing an excellent experience for our performers, staff and volunteers as we continue to share our love of performance with the world.” Revised Jersey Surf 2023 Tour: Jul 4, 2023 – 4th of July Parades, Philadelphia/Southern NJ Area Jul 15, 2023– Reading Buccaneer Classic, Landisville, PA (DCA Exhibition) Jul 19, 2023– DCI Richmond VA area Jul 21, 2023– White Rose Classic, Dover, PA Jul 22, 2023– Summer Thunder, Sewell, NJ Jul 23, 2023– DCI Connecticut, Fairfield, CT area Jul 25, 2023– DCI New Hampshire, Manchester, NH Jul 26, 2023– DCI Syracuse, Syracuse, NY area Jul 28, 2023– Music on the Mountain, Sheffield, PA Jul 30, 2023– NightBEAT, Winston-Salem, NC Aug 1, 2023– Drum Corps: An American Tradition, Annapolis, MD Aug 2, 2023– DCI Glassboro, Glassboro, NJ Aug 5, 2023– DCI Eastern Classic, Allentown, PA Aug 7, 2023– Lake Erie Fanfare, Edinboro, PA Aug 8, 2023– DCI World Championships Prelims Aug 9, 2023– DCI World Championships Semi Finals I don’t know if that’s good or bad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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