saxxykittn Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 First of all! If a corps only has only 15 members or even 30 they should not be allowed to compete at the DCI level! This has nothing to do with numbers. It has to do with Managment most of the time these corps including Jester have made no real effort to recruit! You don't see any visible sign of Jester or alot of these others corps at BOA shows or even local marching band circuit shows! So you all have to stop making excuses for these corps. No reason why Jester along with many other Division 3 corps can not go out with more then 30 members. How sad and narrow-minded of you. Why shouldn't a group of 15 or 30 kids be allowed to compete at the DCI level? Where do they go? I don't think you get it, do you. I was able to see Jester for the first time at the Walnut show. I was impressed. Jester, for being the small group that they are, put out more sound and entertainment then a number of other div III's that I have seen in the past. They knew their music, they knew their drill, and the kids played their hearts out. Even if they didn't recruit well (which I don't know so I refuse to actually comment on), they did well enough to have about 30 members. Sometimes that is where it starts. JJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdisney Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 Seems like the 30 member limit is a farce anyway because nothing says those 30 people have to do anything. You could have one trumpet soloist and 29 other people standing there doing nothing and still meet the DCI requirement. Well, no, the 30 people do have to do something, at least initially. DCI doesn't accept corps ONLY based on numbers of people hanging around. You still have to go through the evaluation process (which Jester has done and passed, I assume, or else they wouldn't be performing at these shows) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCIHasBeen Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 First of all! If a corps only has only 15 members or even 30 they should not be allowed to compete at the DCI level! This has nothing to do with numbers. It has to do with Managment most of the time these corps including Jester have made no real effort to recruit! You don't see any visible sign of Jester or alot of these others corps at BOA shows or even local marching band circuit shows! So you all have to stop making excuses for these corps. No reason why Jester along with many other Division 3 corps can not go out with more then 30 members. Totally inane comment. Jester has some very capable kids, and their show has merit. The bottom line is if any group, given their numbers, can perform and sell their show. I've seen 128 member corps that couldn't ... Jester can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicdesign Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 Obviously you don't know much about DCI and the evaluation process. The evaluation process is a joke. Any corps can pass it! Instructors and people involved in the DCI activity and its inner workings know that! So I suggest you get the facts straight before you comment! I hate to tell you that yes this is a youth activity but it is also a business even at the Division 2/3 level. and DCI is a competitive circuit. If your not going to be competitive and on and off the field then you should not be competing and touring. Yes there should be a place for these corps to perform and DCI should create such a place but they should not be competing and touring and being represented at Championships! As far as competing with only 15 or 30. Yes these corps do have kids who have talent which makes it even more of a shame that these corps do not try to be competitive. These corps also have alot of what I will call bodies! kids just to fill holes. Nothing against any member. I think it is great that someone wants to march but they should be getting quality instructors and instruction and a quality experience which alot of these corps don't offer. I can understand a corps which is going out for the first time only having 15-30 members as they are building but a corps that has been around for few years that shows no growth yes numbers wise and score wise is not an organization doing it's job. No excuse for that! It is about time that people bring this issue out and I'm sorry if you think this is mean, it is not. I would like nothing more then for these corps to be successful. I love this activity having marched for many years and worked as an instructor with many drum corps over the years. This is an issue that has been hidden for a few years now but talked about behind the scenes by many instructors and high school and college band directors all over the country. Results don't lie! Look at what is happening with all the corps that have folded or have left the activity. Too many corps to mention. Well, no, the 30 people do have to do something, at least initially. DCI doesn't accept corps ONLY based on numbers of people hanging around. You still have to go through the evaluation process (which Jester has done and passed, I assume, or else they wouldn't be performing at these shows) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kusankusho Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 Totally inane comment.Jester has some very capable kids, and their show has merit. The bottom line is if any group, given their numbers, can perform and sell their show. I've seen 128 member corps that couldn't ... Jester can. If a handful of kids is learning to work as a team, dedicate themselves to becoming better at a chosen art form, making new friends and finding out what they are truly capable of, then it has merit. Telling them they can't do that because they don't meet somebody's minimum standards of acceptablilty is mean spiritied and flat out dumb. "Let the children play." - Carlos Santana........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 Just to clear up one point: Shenadoah Sound (the 12-15 member corps I mentioned earlier) is a DCA corps. Sounds like Jester is the smallest DCI corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kusankusho Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 It is about time that people bring this issue out and I'm sorry if you think this is mean, it is not. I would like nothing more then for these corps to be successful. I love this activity having marched for many years and worked as an instructor with many drum corps over the years. Having read this and your previous posts I can only say I'm glad you didn't teach any corps my daughters were in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slow Adam Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 When I marched in St. Johns in 1998 we had exactly 30 members including the drum major. We were VERY tight musically and visually. This was before the 30 member rule, but can you imagine if the rule was in place and we had only 29?? Heck, we could have cut the ticker from the snare line, gone down to 3 snares instead of 4, and been even tighter!! The top 5 Division III that year, in order were: Mandarins Phantom Legion Yamato St. Johns Blue Stars There is absolutely no merit to the idea that a small corps can't be competitive and has no business at the "DCI" level, whatever that means. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 DCI Level doesn't mean Division one! It is not mean just reality of our activity. Money has very little to do with recruiting people. I recruited for many corps Division One down to Division 3 corps and it doesn't take money to get a table and chairs and a banner with the corps name and logo on it and bodies to sit there. Keep those excuses up people! As long as these excuses are being spread around and no solutions are offered and these corps managements don't get there act together and DCI getting it's act together too and comes down harder on these corps not just to be hard but to help these corps build in the proper way then Division 3 in particular will always be down and not very good. Are you kidding me? Money makes the world go 'round, especially in drum corps. I find it hard to believe that you don't know that with all that experience you claim you have in drum corps. It's difficult for small new corps to get off the ground for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is recruiting members who think that it's not worth it to march a corps that's not in the Top 5 with 135 members and a big bankroll to get them down the road. If corps thought like you, no one would start a new corps or try to keep small corps going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarimbasaurusRex Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 (edited) Well, no, the 30 people do have to do something, at least initially. DCI doesn't accept corps ONLY based on numbers of people hanging around. You still have to go through the evaluation process (which Jester has done and passed, I assume, or else they wouldn't be performing at these shows) OK, I exaggerated to make a point based on seeing corps with members standing on the sideline to make the 30 member limit. Seems most here can agree that it's about quality, not quantity. There was probably a time when Blue Stars were close to the 30 member limit (correct me if wrong). I have to wonder... if they had not been allowed to participate, would they still be around today making a climb toward div 1 finals? Edited June 30, 2006 by MarimbasaurusRex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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