Finals Week Improvement

[GlassmenFan]

This is breakdown of the lowest and highest scores from finals week of the top 5 div II corps since 2001. Kind of interesting to see who improves the most each season. And this also reinforces my opinion that 2003 was black hole for DCI.

2001

1. Mandarins- 95.600 and 97.800= 2.2

2. Cascades- 94.550 and 96.700= 2.15

3. Spartans- 92.150 and 93.950= 1.8

4. Capital Regiment- 90.950 and 92.900= 1.95

5. Patriots- 90.800 and 92.500= 1.7

2002

1. Magic- 97.350 and 99.050= 1.7

2. Cap Reg- 94.800 and 96.500= 1.7

3. Mandarins- 94.300 and 95.800= 1.5

4. SCVC- 92.750 and 94.350= 1.6

5. Spartans- 92.100 and 93.900= 1.8

2003

1. Esperanza- 94.700 and 95.600= .9

2. Patriots- 94.400 and 95.450= 1.05

3. Spartans- 94. 100 and 94.450= .35

4. ECJ- 91.100 and 91.800= .7

5. Jersey Surf- 89.500 and 89.900= .4

2004

1. Spartans- 94.150 and 96.550= 2.400

2. ECJ- 93.350 and 96.525= 3.175

3. SCVC- 91.850 and 94.725= 2.875

4. Fever- 88.650 and 92.475= 3.175

5. Blue Stars- 87.300 and 91.500= 4.2

2005

1. ECJ- 94.450 and 97.475= 3.025

2. Spartans- 94.100 and 97.150= 3.050

3. Blue Stars- 92.600 and 93.925= 1.325

5. Fever- 90.750 and 92.425= 1.675

4. Teal Sound- 89.675 and 93.125= 3.45

Sorry, wanted to add that I did all of this in my head, so it may not 100% accurate.

Edited November 2, 2005 by GlassmenFan

[Eddie]

Not so sure 2003 was a black hole per say. You have to understand that this was the first year they did the Saturday Morning show, as well as you should take into affect the amount of rain in Orlando during the time, causing not so good playing field for the corps. And a third thing to think of is the fact that prelims were in a high school stadium while finals were at the Citris Bowl, creating a completely different judging environment.

not saying these are excuses for the lack of improvement in a judges opinion, but they are things to think about when looking at such data.

[GlassmenFan]

Not so sure 2003 was a black hole per say. You have to understand that this was the first year they did the Saturday Morning show, as well as you should take into affect the amount of rain in Orlando during the time, causing not so good playing field for the corps. And a third thing to think of is the fact that prelims were in a high school stadium while finals were at the Citris Bowl, creating a completely different judging environment.

not saying these are excuses for the lack of improvement in a judges opinion, but they are things to think about when looking at such data.

But remember that finals week was from monday-saturday instead of monday-wednesday like in previous year. I marched that year, and I'll say it wasn't the same as others.

Edited November 2, 2005 by GlassmenFan

[melloguy05]

Semi's were also cancelled that year...

[Phirefenix]

Yeah, right after Marion I think. I know at Teal we were ticked cuz' the scores that went to the corps who performed were on average a little lower than Prelims. So the corps that did their show got stuck with that one. While corps who didn't stuck with a prelims score that potentially could have been lower. Good season though.

[GlassmenFan]

Yeah, right after Marion I think. I know at Teal we were ticked cuz' the scores that went to the corps who performed were on average a little lower than Prelims. So the corps that did their show got stuck with that one. While corps who didn't stuck with a prelims score that potentially could have been lower. Good season though.

Thats true, memphis sound could've made finals that year if it wasn't for the rain.

[vaguardguy]

Thats true, memphis sound could've made finals that year if it wasn't for the rain.

More like, "Memphis Sound would've made Finals if the rain came half an hour earlier." Had it never rained that day, they still would've been bested by LVK, CNYC, and Raiders. All the DivIII corps seeded into Semifinals up through LVK: Allegiance Elite, Teal Sound, Raiders, CNYC, and LVK competed, followed by DivII Memphis Sound. Scores were being posted on a fence outside the exit gate as they became available, and by the time Memphis Sound finished their show and the DivIII Marion Glory Cadets were lining up to take the field, the wind began to pick up as a prelude to another typical Orlando storm. While Marion was performing, our score was posted to the top of the fence and we hurried back to the bus to store the equipment before the rain began to fall. Marion finished their show, but the competition was cancelled due to rain before DivII Impulse could take the field. The remaining scores were tabulated with MGC winning the show and Memphis Sound falling between Raiders and Teal Sound. Despite raining every single day of Finals week, this was probably the fiercest storm of the week making the DivII/III Preliminaries deluge look like a light sprinkling. The field was unusable, and a consensus of II/III directors chose to cancel the remainder of the competition seeding the corps who had not competed into Finals competition. The Semifinals scores, since they were earned fair and square, were held up allowing MGC and LVK to advance to Finals. It was unlikely that Impulse and other higher-scoring corps were going to fall below CNYC and out of Finals, and MGC's Thursday night score did not surpass Impulse's Tuesday night score, so the seeding into Finals was based on Prelims placement. Either way, the East Coast DivIII corps put on an amazing shows that Thursday night, and despite Memphis' great performance, they still fell 0.35pts and three corps away from Finals.

I'll agree that 2003 was not a benchmark year for DivII, especially at the top, but it was definitely a cutthroat race in the 11th-15th place II/III ranks. In fact, only 0.1pts separated LVK, CNYC, and Raiders from that 12th spot into Finals with LVK scoring an 81.30, CNYC scoring an 81.25, and Radiers scoring an 81.20. Considering all three corps were within an hour and a half's drive from each other, this made for quite the rivalry. I remember joking with some DivIII aficionados that year that if there were only a way to combine LVK's colorguard, CNYC's drumline, and Raider's brassline, we would've soundly brought the DivIII trophy East that summer. I have no doubt Memphis would've made Finals that year, maybe even passing MGC, had they not took the week off prior to Finals so that their members could attend their HSs' band camps. They never did that again.

As for 2003 being a "black hole" year for DivII, I'll agree only because it had to follow 2002 which was such a fantastic year for the division. Every year since 2000 has paled in comparison to what that summer offered, and 2003 made it very clear. 2002 had three corps who would go on to compete in DivI later that week, one making DivI Finals and another making DivI Semifinals. The top eight in DivII (Magic, CapReg, Mandies, SCVC, Spartans, Espy, Pats, and ECJ) could've held their own in DivI, and the ninth-place Jersey Surf took quite a risk with their first costumed "fun" show. 2003 saw the top four from the previous year not returning, and the gap was not filled. Esperanza and Patriots upped the ante a little, but neither would've even medalled the year before. In fact, DivII still has yet to return to that calibre of performance where the winner could easily be assured a DivI Semifinalist spot if Quarterfinals-advancement were still allowed. It's going in the right direction, but it's still not quite there.

Either way, scores are hardly comparable from year to year. Theoretically, points are awarded by meeting the criteria specified in the boxes on the back of the sheets, but we know subjectively that as the activity continues to evolve, so too do our performance expectations. Each division has had their up and down years, but since following DivII/III since 2000, I can honestly say that not one single year has disappointed me. If I had to rank the years for DivII, and mind you these are little more than spectator opinions, I'd probably place them: '02, '00, '04, '01, '05, '03. Doing the same for DivIII, they'd probably go: '00, '02, '04, '03, '01, '05. I don't know how many people on this board remember those years, but I do think that would make for a fun discussion; maybe for another thread.

[Penguin]

I just remember as we're about to go on. *rumble rumble rumble* FLASH.

We sat under the back bleachers for what seemed like several hours (I think it was only like an hour and a half) and went on and did a show almost cold.

Ahhh memories!

[vaguardguy]

I just remember as we're about to go on. *rumble rumble rumble* FLASH.

We sat under the back bleachers for what seemed like several hours (I think it was only like an hour and a half) and went on and did a show almost cold.

Ahhh memories!

Yeah, good ol' memory lane. That was prelims you're thinking of with the really long rain delay. I know, it rained so much that week that they all just blur together.

Remember how that school was some kind of crazy "outdoor" school where all the hallways were covered walkways outside? Oh, and that roller coaster across the street that always timed itself perfectly with the prettiest moment of a corps' ballad? The flooded pit area with the cardboard landing was my favourite. What an awful show. I swear to this day that our score that Tuesday evening had to be a gift. We had our corps photo after our performance, and we were all covered in mud (white pants) and looking like someone had kicked our puppy.

Good times! Wow, talking to a Raider. The world must be coming to an end ! Admit it, we definitely had the fiercest rivalry in DCI between '02-'04. We just got no credit for it since we were DivIII. We might've just barely come out on top those three summers, but you guys definitely came out on top in the end. Congratulations on your winning DivIII this past summer, I only wish we could've been there to make things interesting for y'all .

Edit: P.S. Do you really come from a town pronounced "Wack-off", or is the correct pronounciation something a little more polite?

Edited November 5, 2005 by vaguardguy

[baristeve]

wow... this brings back some... weird memories... I remember having a "not-so-good" performance in prelims, and sitting in 12th place, then in semis having like the best show ever, and since we felt like our "worst" show ever got us into 12th we were surely to make finals... and then our score ended up going DOWN!! AND added on the fact that if it had only rained 30 minutes earlier we would have been there... man... what a let down!