Current DCA Standings

[CallipygianKing]

A very interesting post by CallipygianKing. Gives thought to the mental process of competitors not generally seen(or adjudicated) back east........then comes Championships. That 'unknown' is a two edged sword. As a performer, does it give a particular advantage to the unknown? A disadvantage?

It's a mixed bag. As you said, corps need to come in and give it their all. But there's always the question of if all we have is enough. The problem with the blank slate is that everyone in the NE knew what was on the slate before it was wiped clean.

Last year, it was fun to come in as the dark horse and take it all. We never expected to win Class A, we just came in and blindly took our best shot. We knew that we at least wanted to make it into finals, since playing a second time would have given us more reason to travel so far. So, I guess the advantage of the unknown is that with no stick with which to guage yourself, you just stop worrying and give the crowd everything. The disadvantage is that, without having gone head-to-head all summer, you don't know if everything is enough.

Actually, that's the first time that Chops had ever outright won a show. (There was that one in 2000 that was rained out after we went on...) There was only one show previous to last year in which we'd even beaten one DCA corps. We were expecting the Govenaires to cream us at DCA like they'd always done at every other show in the past. It may be a long haul to go march a championship where we're so uncertain of how we stand up to others, but at least we've got a championship where we know we can be successful with the type of shows that we as a corps like to put on the field.

[Vagabond Skyliner]

It's a mixed bag. As you said, corps need to come in and give it their all. But there's always the question of if all we have is enough. The problem with the blank slate is that everyone in the NE knew what was on the slate before it was wiped clean.

Last year, it was fun to come in as the dark horse and take it all. We never expected to win Class A, we just came in and blindly took our best shot. We knew that we at least wanted to make it into finals, since playing a second time would have given us more reason to travel so far. So, I guess the advantage of the unknown is that with no stick with which to guage yourself, you just stop worrying and give the crowd everything. The disadvantage is that, without having gone head-to-head all summer, you don't know if everything is enough.

Actually, that's the first time that Chops had ever outright won a show. (There was that one in 2000 that was rained out after we went on...) There was only one show previous to last year in which we'd even beaten one DCA corps. We were expecting the Govenaires to cream us at DCA like they'd always done at every other show in the past. It may be a long haul to go march a championship where we're so uncertain of how we stand up to others, but at least we've got a championship where we know we can be successful with the type of shows that we as a corps like to put on the field.

You have something else. FANS in another area of the country. I know it was the first time I had seen you guys. I was VERY pleased to see some new blood. A Corps with the Quality of Chops in DCA Championships is Great for ALL.. New means Growth. Keep those DCA Central Corps Growing!

I just hope that one day we can ALSO hear.... On the Field from "CHICAGO, Illinois"..........

Keep up the great job you are doing out there and I will see you at the championships!!!!!

[Morphy00]

I just wanted to clarify my comment. I didn't mean to imply I don't think we're judged fairly when we come out East. Sure, I don't always agree with scores and rankings, but really who does? What I meant was we, as a corps, never have a sense of where we fit into the large scheme until essential it's too late. Thankfully with the advent of DCA Central that's starting to change, but East corps compete head to head every weekend and that definitely has it's advantages. Corps get constant checkpoints on where they stand and constant feedback on what they need to improve on. Judges see a corps improvement from one week to the next and reward them for it. We may spend half the summer fine-tuning parts of our show we think the fans may love and the judges may appreciate, but in fact may only achieve one of those two goals. (typically the fan one B) )

But if I had the choice of moving up a few spots or having a show that people love and talk about for years then I'd definitely side with the fans. Besides, it's fun to read the posts after finals most years when people say we should have scored higher :)

[CallipygianKing]

You have something else. FANS in another area of the country. I know it was the first time I had seen you guys. I was VERY pleased to see some new blood. A Corps with the Quality of Chops in DCA Championships is Great for ALL.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Fan appeasement is our ultimate goal.

Edited August 17, 2006 by CallipygianKing

[Smoothy]

It's reasons such as these that scoring cannot be the cornerstone of a drum corps in DCA. Competition is fun and it makes drum corps what it is, but there are too many variables (such as the ones you have been griping about) in DCA that make scores a bit tenuous. Fortunately, we "age-outs" can revel in the thrill of just being able to be able to keep participating in this awesome activity. DCA corps must achieve the best show that they can possibly produce and feel satisfaction in that. When DCAers get mired in scores and placings, their taste for the activity will wane and drumcorps will eventually fold. It's best to go out and try to "peak out " your show at the championship and accept the scores and placings as a matter of opinion. The thrill of doing drum corps needs to be sufficient in DCA.

[Fran Haring]

You have something else. FANS in another area of the country. I know it was the first time I had seen you guys. I was VERY pleased to see some new blood. A Corps with the Quality of Chops in DCA Championships is Great for ALL.. New means Growth. Keep those DCA Central Corps Growing!

I hear ya. Any corps that plays "Freebird" gets my vote!

I wonder how many people in the stands last year at Finals were holding up cigarette lighters during that tune? :P

Fran

[CVQuesty]

Word, Smoothy. I love it every time you undertake to post. Please never stop.

On the previous subject and from a scoring perspective:

In the now infamous "must be bashing Carolina Gold" thread from March/April/whenever it was, that was my absolute point.

It is imperative to get seen early and get seen often just to know where you stand in regards to the other corps. I know we crave getting some sort of feedback from the judges, knowing where we stand and what to improve on, and then a subsequent week's review by judges as to the success of what we've done to correct it.

My point then (and now) is that the more corps we have, and the more regions we can foster gives everyone many more chances to be seen and then many more opportunities to get better. Most importantly, you get to compete regularly and do this thing we all love: Drum Corps.

The joy is much more in the journey than the destination, in my book, but since you don't really know where you're going when you set out, it's nice to have roadmaps along the way, guiding you closer and closer to your mark. Unfortunately, we're in a caravan, and if only a few people show up for the trip, it turns from a caravan into a carpool and loses it's usefulness (to a small degree, IMHO).

In years past, it was very hard to get seen for us (I can't speak for anyone else) more than a few times a year. As DCA South started to grow, it was nice to have our three local shows (Carolinas, Orlando, and Rockmart) as well as the two to three NE shows we might be able to get to. I'm a bit disappointed in that we've shrunk a bit as a region in terms of total competing corps for this season, as there was a very real possibility at one point to have a good multiplicity of shows in the region.

As I suggested before:

Imagine a region where you had a CV, CG, HW, SS, show and then a combo between MCL and Jackson and maybe Frontier and GCS. That would've been 6 right there. As these shows grew, there was a very real possibility to have 8 or more as new corps began to pop up across the South. The jury is still out on the Shreveport, Little Rock contingent, but if Chris Green (AEA, Bro) keeps going like he is, there won't be a major metro in the south without a Drum Corps.

Much to my surprise, even with the loss of a show or two, it looks really good next year for our region in that we might have several all over the region as well as a championship in a town it's never been before; Close enough to our friends in the north that we might see a couple of travelers, yet only time will tell.

Once again, the joy in this is definitely in the journey. I love marching, as I never had the chance so many years ago. I get to live the dream.

Ain't life grand?

Edited August 18, 2006 by CVQuesty

[MarkT-GCS]

Yeah....next year is definitely going to be interesting in terms of number of shows in the south. GCS will surely be at Rockmart again and of course in Nashville for DCAS Championships....couple that along with our own home show and possibly a Frontier hosted sanctioned show and that gives us 4 judged shows. I know the Dallas show wont be an official DCAS show since they are Central members but regardless it will still be a great opportunity to entertain the fans and get some feedback from the judges. Its only getting better every year in the southern region.....I cant wait to see what the future holds. I know I definitely am looking forward to seeing the CorpsVets at our show next year if the scheduling works out.

Edited August 18, 2006 by MarkT-GCS

[CVQuesty]

Hopefully we won't have the DCI Southeastern Regional exhibition on the day of you guys' show next year. Perhaps we can make it out there (crosses fingers)

[Vagabond Skyliner]

Yeah....next year is definitely going to be interesting in terms of number of shows in the south. GCS will surely be at Rockmart again and of course in Nashville for DCAS Championships....couple that along with our own home show and possibly a Frontier hosted sanctioned show and that gives us 4 judged shows. I know the Dallas show wont be an official DCAS show since they are Central members but regardless it will still be a great opportunity to entertain the fans and get some feedback from the judges. Its only getting better every year in the southern region.....I cant wait to see what the future holds. I know I definitely am looking forward to seeing the CorpsVets at our show next year if the scheduling works out.

Right you are. Then with the Corps starting in Oklahoma, Denver, and Kansas City. That will hopefuly be added to the Texas Corps of Frontier and GCS. That area is on the move. Don't know how Louisiana is coming along. That Hurricane sure put that in the back of priorities. It is Important to get Heat Wave back on the field. With CorpsvVets, MCL, Aliance, Generals, and maybe Derbytown coming out next year. If C. Gold will compete with the DCA S it would be a pretty nice little circuit.