JimF-LowBari Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 (edited) If the graph maker is stating there is a net decline (from 72 to 02) in the number of groups calling themselves drumcorps, I can buy that. If the graph maker is insinuating there is a general decline in the state of the drumcorps activity, that is a whole can of worms. We all know the presentation and interpretation of statistics is subject to personal bias, intentional or not. Speaking as one who discovered Drum Corps in 1974 I would say there has been a decline since then in more than just the number of corps. Less shows, smaller crowds at shows that still exist, entire DCI Champs used to be televised (was THE fund raising night in my area) and in general a lot less time DC spends in front of the public eye (parades, public appearances, etc, etc). Also used to be a time when a local corps was something the community knew about and some places took pride about. Ahhhh, what's a local corps anymore? OK, found these last month and appropiate here. Have two comic strips from the 70s that mention "Drum & Bugle Corps" as part of the punch line. These strips were from nationally syndicated comics (not from DCW). Anyone think these comics could get run today and have the general population get the D&BC reference? Edited March 28, 2006 by JimF-xWSMBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 WRONG!!!! See my last post! As well as this one. There are MORE corps now! They just are not all at championships! This is a GOOD thing!My gosh, California has over 14 competitive drum corps now ! DON'T BE FOOLED JUST BECAUSE DCI AND DCA ONLY LIST THE CHAMPIONSHIP ATTENDERS FOLKS!!!! THERE ARE MORE CORPS IN THIS COUNTRY THAN YOU THINK!!!! Can't see the chart because I'm at work and the chart is blocked. *sigh* In the 70s and 80s there were other Jr and Sr circuits besides DCI and DCA. If what you said about the chart listing DCA/DCI Champ attendees only is true, then the chart is way low in the number of 70s/80s Sr corps. Were a lot of smaller Sr corps who never bothered to go to DCA, their big show was the small circuit Championships. All Age corps appear to be on the rise in the last few years, but nothing like from my time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiodb Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 As I have eluded to in the past. We live in a day and age where many corps do not go to DCI or DCA championships due to cost - where in the past it was easier and less expensive. Au contraire. A much higher percentage of active competitors attend championships now. Looking at the DCI lineups for 2006, I see less than a handful of corps that won't be in Madison. And on the DCA side, only one corps is not planning a trip to Rochester. However, DCI and DCA only list those corps that DO go to their championships. Therefore, this type of graph does not do fair justice to the INCREASE in corps in the last 5 years and is in fact very innacurate. Again, I believe you are mistaken. It appears that this graph shows the total number of active junior corps each year, not just the ones that went to championships. After all, only 39 went to the first DCI.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 Nice pretty graph. Would look better in red.How about numbers on what type of corps (touring, parade etc), number of participants involved etc. I agree that it sucks that we have lost so many corps, but what if those kids found other stuff to do for the summer? Summer jobs are still big, and many kids participate in many activities. Are some of those corps 15 member local corps that didn't compete? Heck, the Crossmen came about in the mid seventies because of a merger between to small corps, I guess we "lost" two corps that year. Is the graph just juniors or is it all-age? We could go on and on. If the graph maker is stating there is a net decline (from 72 to 02) in the number of groups calling themselves drumcorps, I can buy that. If the graph maker is insinuating there is a general decline in the state of the drumcorps activity, that is a whole can of worms. We all know the presentation and interpretation of statistics is subject to personal bias, intentional or not. actually, according to the Drum Corps World history books, I do believe the actual peak to be about 5 years before DCI, but the drop off didnt really become so drastic til the 70's. no, it isn't all DCI's fault. Granted, like it or not, they did play a part in it, but it can't all be blamed on them. whats sad is in the early 90s, you see some growth again, only to see it die down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 WRONG!!!! See my last post! As well as this one. There are MORE corps now! They just are not all at championships! This is a GOOD thing!My gosh, California has over 14 competitive drum corps now ! DON'T BE FOOLED JUST BECAUSE DCI AND DCA ONLY LIST THE CHAMPIONSHIP ATTENDERS FOLKS!!!! THERE ARE MORE CORPS IN THIS COUNTRY THAN YOU THINK!!!! well the goods news is the DCA graph is going up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 Don't know why I never think of this when I'm posting about number of corps and shows "back in the day". One of my usual DC reference sites. www.srcorps.com This site has all the Senior corps scores that one of our fellow RAMD/DCPers has found. Check out the decades to see a partial listing of what was going on during those years. I check it from time to time and just shake my head at what used to be. And this doesn't even list the parade and non-competative corps. (Not so shameless plug from a not so shameless lug) If anyone has scores that are not listed please contact Ron so he can add them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 btw, i believe this chart refers to junior corps alone...i dont remember seeing a chart with both combined, or based on the numbers, 2003 is wrong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 As I have eluded to in the past. We live in a day and age where many corps do not go to DCI or DCA championships due to cost - where in the past it was easier and less expensive. However, DCI and DCA only list those corps that DO go to their championships. Just a comment onj the graph... The graph doesn't show only those corps at champs....the first year alone shows 442, for example...less than a tenth of that went to DCI champs. I'd love to see a graph of the total number of competitive marching units nationwide, including MB...it would paint a very different picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torn8o Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 If you take the time to match that graph up with the number of corps that attended DCI in each of those years, you would see that it does indeed cover local corps that did not tour. Then it's not accurate because currently there are over 100 competitive drum corps in the U.S. Not "74" or whatever the ending figure in 2003 is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torn8o Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 (edited) Au contraire. A much higher percentage of active competitors attend championships now. I know THAT! That's not my point. Looking at the DCI lineups for 2006, I see less than a handful of corps that won't be in Madison. And on the DCA side, only one corps is not planning a trip to Rochester. But here is what you are not seeing. There are A WHOLE MESS of corps NOT LISTED on the DCI and DCA list that are also planning a competitive season for 2006. Trust me. That graph is not accurate. Either that or just NOT FAIR and biased! Again, I believe you are mistaken. It appears that this graph shows the total number of active junior corps each year, not just the ones that went to championships. After all, only 39 went to the first DCI.... I AM NOT mistaken. The graph says "74" and there are more than 100. This is fact. The graph is "mistaken". Not me. Edited March 28, 2006 by torn8o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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