AzEuph Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 So just to get in you need 110 the previous year? But after that it can be less...although thats not a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelloHorn13 Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 If I understood it right, the 110 rule will be applied next season. I'm not sure if it applies for just DIV 2 corps moving up or both div 2 and div 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 Offending posts deleted. Be aware that continuing such behavior will result in suspensions or banning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzEuph Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whystarwhy Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 There were more Open class corps 30-40 years ago because there were simply more active CORPS. Now I have a few things to say as far as the pros and cons of switching divisions are concerned. What is the purpose of a Div II corps? As stated on the DCI's website, they can be the same size as Div 1 but typically tour less. Does this say anything about ability level? No, but let's face it, the Divisions USUALLY follow a trend where lower placing DIV III corps have younger, less experienced members, while the upper placing Div I corps have older, more experienced members. *(That being said, I don't want to see posts about the Div III on the "cusp" that out-perform Div II's, nor do I want to see posts about Div II's that rival Div I's. Yes, these things happen, but the majority of corps follow the "ability" trend) What happens when more and more corps become Division I and there are fewer and fewer Div II/III's to do the TEACHING of younger members? Yes, every now and then you will hear of talented performers from a decent High School program who can make (even "walk into") a top Div I corps. However, most of the Div II/III's serve as an introduction to drum corps for those who haven't had any exposure. You will see a completely different group of members in most corps every few years. The Top Div I corps can afford to age-out almost 1/3 of their members each year, and then get a new "batch" of equally (or better) qualified performers. Div II corps, however, lose the same amount (mostly to other corps, only small percentage age-out), and are replenished with the same less experienced members from before. There is no denying this happens, it is just the way it is. With all this in mind...my question is why should the successful Div II corps (like Blue Stars, ECJ, Spartans, etc.) forgo their place as educators of younger members? Why exclude the multitude of kids who can't take out 3 months of their spring/summer for move-in and tour? Div II corps are in place for a reason and I think its a bad idea to mess with that. Another thing, I understand that "winning" isn't always the important part, but I do believe in giving your members a fighting chance for success. If you consistently end up at the bottom of your competition...maybe you should evaluate means of instruction and/or show design. You must change a lot to succeed in Div I and many corps might have to change how they operate (which made them successful in Div II in the first place). If they aren't ready for that, or don't know what's coming, it will be a worse place for the corps to be in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueStarsWebmaster Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 With all this in mind...my question is why should the successful Div II corps (like Blue Stars, ECJ, Spartans, etc.) forgo their place as educators of younger members? Why exclude the multitude of kids who can't take out 3 months of their spring/summer for move-in and tour? Div II corps are in place for a reason and I think its a bad idea to mess with that. I can only speak for the Blue Stars here but in our case, we never took the part-time corps approach. Even as a division 3 corps, the Blue Stars were full time during the summer. The members did not hold jobs and were expected to be at rehearsal every day of the summer. Also, last season the Blue Stars had more show appearances than many Div 1 corps and traveled nearly as many miles as the Div 1 corps. Prior to 2004, the Blue Stars housed members with local families in La Crosse during the summer and rehearsed 9am-9pm whenever not on tour. In 2004 the corps grew to a size where we were no longer able to support this model and thus, the members remained on tour all summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tplaya1 Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 I can only speak for the Blue Stars here but in our case, we never took the part-time corps approach. Even as a division 3 corps, the Blue Stars were full time during the summer. The members did not hold jobs and were expected to be at rehearsal every day of the summer. Also, last season the Blue Stars had more show appearances than many Div 1 corps and traveled nearly as many miles as the Div 1 corps. Prior to 2004, the Blue Stars housed members with local families in La Crosse during the summer and rehearsed 9am-9pm whenever not on tour. In 2004 the corps grew to a size where we were no longer able to support this model and thus, the members remained on tour all summer. Memphis Sound has taken a very similar approach and I do believe Memphis and Blue Stars were the only div. 2's to tour all season long....... Memphis did get a 3 day break in July but other than that, once they hit move-in, it was full steam all summer...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whystarwhy Posted April 25, 2006 Share Posted April 25, 2006 Thank you for disclosing that info, but now you're just proving that there's not a fine line (technically) between Div I and Div II...those two corps you mentioned have been planning to eventually become Div I (Blue Stars having succeeded), and have employed a model for that transition. This means that Blue Stars, for all its worth, has been a Div I corps for awhile in both thought and operation, and the only thing that will change is an "official" acceptance to the DCI team. For the other corps that seem to do just fine while taking the "part-time approach" that Div II's should be taking, my original question remains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerFan04 Posted April 25, 2006 Share Posted April 25, 2006 Thank you for disclosing that info, but now you're just proving that there's not a fine line (technically) between Div I and Div II...those two corps you mentioned have been planning to eventually become Div I (Blue Stars having succeeded), and have employed a model for that transition. This means that Blue Stars, for all its worth, has been a Div I corps for awhile in both thought and operation, and the only thing that will change is an "official" acceptance to the DCI team.For the other corps that seem to do just fine while taking the "part-time approach" that Div II's should be taking, my original question remains. Should be taking? If a Div. II corps can handle to go on a full tour with 20-25 shows from the end of June all the way to finals week in August, what's wrong with that? Most of the corps that take that part-time approach have a completely different membership make up compared to those that do tour full time. I'm not knocking those corps at all, I have a huge amount of respect for them and their success (the numbers certainly don't lie for them), but it is pretty obvious that their membership is quite different. Memphis, for example, is unable to take that "part-time" approach because it would lose quite a few members if it tried. This year alone, we have members from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Indiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, Kentucky and Ohio - atleast those are the states I can think of right now. We can't take the same approach that some Div. II/III corps take where they have weekend rehearsals to allow for jobs and such for part of the summer, it just wouldn't work when you have people driving or flying from 10-12 hours away. Monthly camps are hard enough, so once they move-in for "everydays" the first week of June, it's easier for the corps just to remain together the entire summer instead of going back and forth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whystarwhy Posted April 26, 2006 Share Posted April 26, 2006 From DCI.org = "Division II corps have memberships of no less than 80 and no more than 135 members." You know what, I stand corrected. Before the new member number rule was implemented, there was a sentence that said "these corps typically tour the last few weeks of the season" or something close to that. Even then, it said "typically." The only thing WRONG with taking a full tour, is that most Division II's DO NOT. I consider this to be somewhat of a disadvantage (although scores reflect otherwise) to the other corps who don't rehearse/tour as intensly. BUT at this point there is nothing wrong with it, technically, so I will rest that case. I have a new question: What is a corps with 135 members, move-in, and full tour doing in Div II? It seems a bit strange to compete with a competitor having 80 members, 2 night a week rehearsals, and a 2.5 week tour, doesn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.