One rule change that could modify the game

[OldCorpsGuy]

1 hour ago, Slingerland said:

Or at least it buys volume. 

Weird. It’s almost like if you used an instrument that was designed to be played outdoors and produce lots of volume you wouldn’t need to buy audio equipment to make a group sound louder….

[2muchcoffeeman]

13 hours ago, cixelsyd said:

no one gets to audition for a spot in the design of a previous season.

No, of course not. I didn't make an argument for time travel. My argument is that the show you put on the field in August is the strongest recruiting tool you have for audition interest in November.

Quote

 

Audition time is actually the least design-centric time of year. 

 

Yes, correct — and again not related to my argument. My argument is not connected to the actual time of year that designers get busy. My point is that, based on what they saw in August, prospective members have an idea of what they may be able to participate in next June. August is the most recent, most available point of evaluation. "I want to be part of a corps that does shows like ________." That's what motivates 19-year olds, not the work schedule of designers. (And, just to be overly clear, I'm not hung up on August per se. August is just shorthand for "the kind of shows that a corps does," which is most fully expressed in August).

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The audition numbers . . .go in competitive order of finish.  

. . . and what correlates with competitive order of finish? Say it with me: Design budget. As long as GE is 40% of the sheets, I expect this to be true.

Edited November 8, 2025 by 2muchcoffeeman

[IllianaLancerContra]

12 hours ago, Slingerland said:

Or at least it buys volume. 

We used to use more air for volume.  It didn’t cost anything. 

[RiverCityAndTroopersFan]

On 11/7/2025 at 5:18 PM, Sideways said:

Cap membership to 145 including alts, prop handlers, and sound team.

I’d agree, but I’d go one step further and say a corps can only have 145 contracts, and they all must march.

[contraguard05]

10 hours ago, RiverCityAndTroopersFan said:

I’d agree, but I’d go one step further and say a corps can only have 145 contracts, and they all must march.

I'm not bothered by a few alternates. I'm bothered by stringing along a ton of kids you have no intention of accepting as callbacks when they could be earning a spot somewhere else. By the time they get cut they've spent so much money and been burned by the experience, so they don't march anywhere.

[jwillis35]

One rule that would change everything: 

Corps are only allowed to recruit members from within a 4 hour radius

- I personally would not like this but it would change A LOT!

[contraguard05]

9 minutes ago, jwillis35 said:

One rule that would change everything: 

Corps are only allowed to recruit members from within a 4 hour radius

- I personally would not like this but it would change A LOT!

Troopers would fold.

[LabMaster]

1 hour ago, jwillis35 said:

One rule that would change everything: 

Corps are only allowed to recruit members from within a 4 hour radius

- I personally would not like this but it would change A LOT!

Does this mean a corps can only accept members from within that radius?  That would mean several corps would be blocked out of Texas.  And no kids from any country other than the US could participate.  

Edited November 10, 2025 by LabMaster

[cixelsyd]

11 hours ago, jwillis35 said:

One rule that would change everything: 

Corps are only allowed to recruit members from within a 4 hour radius

- I personally would not like this but it would change A LOT!

It would change a lot of corps hometowns.  Suddenly, 12 of them would swear they are from Waco, TX.  Meanwhile, large swaths of America would be banned from marching because there are not enough corps to cover the map.

Would video auditions still be fine, as long as the underlying data center is within 4 hours of Waco?

[craiga]

12 hours ago, contraguard05 said:

Troopers would fold.

True. And, it would kill nearly every corps in DCI (including Boston) plus denying over a thousand prospective members from Texas (our most band rich state) from ever marching.