contraguard05 Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 How difficult would it be to set up a marching arts endowment? Could member organizations pay into it for a period of time? Could the 3 main governing bodies (DCI, WGI, BOA) all benefit from it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 8 hours ago, C.Holland said: College housing where you can use the cafeteria. Versus the internal costs of touring a cook truck. High schools are costing more each season. so are colleges. plus you have to factor in athletics department issues when you need multiple fields. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Harrison Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 Sustainability.... DCI needs to take action to help regulate the arms race. In the end, the lack of regulation has hurt alot. My idea. Limit the number of wheels on the ground. Gas is a HUGE expense. The upper end groups are traveling with 2-3 semis and several smaller trucks as well. If DCI were to put a limit on the number of wheels on the ground, that instantly saves a significant amount of cash. Do whatever you want regarding props, electronics, etc.... I don't care. But it has to fit in say 2 semis and 2 box trucks, for example. The corps can vote on what is most appropriate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Holland Posted November 10, 2023 Share Posted November 10, 2023 On 11/8/2023 at 9:54 AM, Jeff Ream said: so are colleges. plus you have to factor in athletics department issues when you need multiple fields. Not during ST. Colleges are dead at that point. Right after graduations until almost end of June campuses are ghost towns. A double edged sword, many college staff (my wife included) take their vacations because it’s the earliest they can. They do however have competition for field rental from sports camps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabMaster Posted November 10, 2023 Author Share Posted November 10, 2023 I see the arguments regarding ST and costs and it made me wonder if corps have any admins who shop around for services, facilities, transportation, etc., etc. I think of how many colleges nationwide, may have sufficient facilities available, for a far fewer number of corps that have yearly ST’s? Do corps put together spec’s. for bids from bus companies? If a corps needs grant writers, corps need bid spec. writers equally as much. Once your templated, it would be easy to go out to bid yearly, for the same items or services needed. OR if there was a centralized process where several corps could buy from the same vendors. Take advantage of a created bulk buying process. We do a similar thing in my neighborhood with our annual propane purchasing. As a single home purchaser I have no buying power. But as 1 of 78 homes, I do have some power. Same thing when I was doing retail development and construction. As a small retailer just getting underway, I had no leverage with vendors. But as an affiliate retailer from a strong parent retailer my few stores became many and I got the same deals as the parent company. Buying in larger numbers, when you all need the same things, enables leveraged purchasing and service. Going out to bid on goods and services will also provide best pricing. Corps should have a procurement admin person. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slingerland Posted November 10, 2023 Share Posted November 10, 2023 53 minutes ago, LabMaster said: I see the arguments regarding ST and costs and it made me wonder if corps have any admins who shop around for services, facilities, transportation, etc., etc. No, none of them do any sort of researching at all. They just call a place at random and accept whatever the fee is. 😎 Good. Grief. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted November 10, 2023 Share Posted November 10, 2023 10 hours ago, C.Holland said: Not during ST. Colleges are dead at that point. Right after graduations until almost end of June campuses are ghost towns. A double edged sword, many college staff (my wife included) take their vacations because it’s the earliest they can. They do however have competition for field rental from sports camps. Colleges need to cover the costs of opening up and operating staff and expenses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcifanforlife Posted November 10, 2023 Share Posted November 10, 2023 Holding Spring Training at a college or university is the best option for a corps. Out of the top sixteen placing corps at semi;s Twelve corps ( I am including Cadets since they had beds for staff and members in Erie) held spring training at a college or university. Only Mandarins, Troopers, (Troopers had an excellent site at Tipton HS but only downside was members and staff jammed into several rooms for sleeping), Blue Knights and Pacific Crest did not. Staying in dorms solves a ton of problems. Two to a room in beds keeps the members and staff rested, safe and healthy. Most dorms have coin laundry rooms so everyone can do their laundry during free time plus they have lounge areas for everyone to use. Some corps even stay in dorms that have an individual bathroom in each room or a bathroom for a group of four rooms. Cost to stay at these colleges and universities varies greatly. Some corps pay next to nothing for their spring training stay and others that have to use college food services pay significantly more. If the CEO's and Corps Directors didn't think they had the best deal for their corps would they keep going back to these sites? Everyone is aware of the benefits of having the corps parked in one location for spring training. Costs are budgeted for so stop crying about what a corps spends on spring training. Spring Training is up until the buses and trucks arrive to pick up everyone. From that point on the corps is on tour and has a different cost structure. You can't count the time a corps leaves their Spring Training site until their first show as Spring Training. In 2023 I visited four Spring Training site three in Midwest and one in Arizona. Those claiming that corps are spending six weeks in Spring Training are incorrect. In 2023 here are the Spring Training days for some of the corps. Cavaliers 37 - Cavies first show close to their Spring Training site. Boston 37 Phantom 33 Troopers 30 Colts 29 Academy 28 Blue Stars 26 Madison 26 Blue Devils 24 in Laramie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craiga Posted November 10, 2023 Share Posted November 10, 2023 15 minutes ago, dcifanforlife said: Holding Spring Training at a college or university is the best option for a corps. Out of the top sixteen placing corps at semi;s Twelve corps ( I am including Cadets since they had beds for staff and members in Erie) held spring training at a college or university. Only Mandarins, Troopers, (Troopers had an excellent site at Tipton HS but only downside was members and staff jammed into several rooms for sleeping), Blue Knights and Pacific Crest did not. Staying in dorms solves a ton of problems. Two to a room in beds keeps the members and staff rested, safe and healthy. Most dorms have coin laundry rooms so everyone can do their laundry during free time plus they have lounge areas for everyone to use. Some corps even stay in dorms that have an individual bathroom in each room or a bathroom for a group of four rooms. Cost to stay at these colleges and universities varies greatly. Some corps pay next to nothing for their spring training stay and others that have to use college food services pay significantly more. If the CEO's and Corps Directors didn't think they had the best deal for their corps would they keep going back to these sites? Everyone is aware of the benefits of having the corps parked in one location for spring training. Costs are budgeted for so stop crying about what a corps spends on spring training. Spring Training is up until the buses and trucks arrive to pick up everyone. From that point on the corps is on tour and has a different cost structure. You can't count the time a corps leaves their Spring Training site until their first show as Spring Training. In 2023 I visited four Spring Training site three in Midwest and one in Arizona. Those claiming that corps are spending six weeks in Spring Training are incorrect. In 2023 here are the Spring Training days for some of the corps. Cavaliers 37 - Cavies first show close to their Spring Training site. Boston 37 Phantom 33 Troopers 30 Colts 29 Academy 28 Blue Stars 26 Madison 26 Blue Devils 24 in Laramie This. And, lately some know-it-alls on dcp HAVE been repeating the fiction that some corps actually have SEVEN weeks of spring training and 5 weeks of tour. Just because some bitter, out of touch drum corps fan says something, that does NOT make it true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllianaLancerContra Posted November 10, 2023 Share Posted November 10, 2023 40 minutes ago, dcifanforlife said: Holding Spring Training at a college or university is the best option for a corps. Out of the top sixteen placing corps at semi;s Twelve corps ( I am including Cadets since they had beds for staff and members in Erie) held spring training at a college or university. Only Mandarins, Troopers, (Troopers had an excellent site at Tipton HS but only downside was members and staff jammed into several rooms for sleeping), Blue Knights and Pacific Crest did not. Staying in dorms solves a ton of problems. Two to a room in beds keeps the members and staff rested, safe and healthy. Most dorms have coin laundry rooms so everyone can do their laundry during free time plus they have lounge areas for everyone to use. Some corps even stay in dorms that have an individual bathroom in each room or a bathroom for a group of four rooms. Cost to stay at these colleges and universities varies greatly. Some corps pay next to nothing for their spring training stay and others that have to use college food services pay significantly more. If the CEO's and Corps Directors didn't think they had the best deal for their corps would they keep going back to these sites? Everyone is aware of the benefits of having the corps parked in one location for spring training. Costs are budgeted for so stop crying about what a corps spends on spring training. Spring Training is up until the buses and trucks arrive to pick up everyone. From that point on the corps is on tour and has a different cost structure. You can't count the time a corps leaves their Spring Training site until their first show as Spring Training. In 2023 I visited four Spring Training site three in Midwest and one in Arizona. Those claiming that corps are spending six weeks in Spring Training are incorrect. In 2023 here are the Spring Training days for some of the corps. Cavaliers 37 - Cavies first show close to their Spring Training site. Boston 37 Phantom 33 Troopers 30 Colts 29 Academy 28 Blue Stars 26 Madison 26 Blue Devils 24 in Laramie So BD can score highest with only 24 days ST. Hmmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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