Awwwwww JEEZ...Yamato Goes Inactive

[tubawarrior]

umm.... Yamato was a California corps

but to Yamato's credit, you were a California corps AND a Japan corps, a very tough model and probably impossible to duplicate, with quite a succesful history...here's to a quick return to the DCI ranks.

[erictuba16]

with all these 2/3 corps going inactive or folding,.. the idea of having corps do regional touring instead of a full out national tour is starting to sound alot better. keeps costs down, more corps can spring up and thrive and more shows.

i think it would be a reall great idea to try for the next couple year. then possibly travling and going to finals for maybe 1-1.5 weeks would be be sufficient.

this should really be looked into.

[Tiziks321]

Thats really very sad. Our corps saw what hopefully will NOT be there last show.

Speedy return Yamato!!!!

[B0Boman]

Yamato... I remember when they were our big competitors back in '04. Good times... Good times. It always shocked me how a corps that came from two different places accross an ocean could still put on a really good show year after year.

[tubawarrior]

with all these 2/3 corps going inactive or folding,.. the idea of having corps do regional touring instead of a full out national tour is starting to sound alot better. keeps costs down, more corps can spring up and thrive and more shows.

i think it would be a reall great idea to try for the next couple year. then possibly travling and going to finals for maybe 1-1.5 weeks would be be sufficient.

i'm still pretty new to the II/III scene, but isnt' this the touring schedule that most (II/III) corps use? i know that's what the CA corps do...the shows in SoCal, and NorCal, and then (if they're going) they take a small tour to finals...that's what i thought a II/III tour was, local (regional) shows, then a week or two tour to finals?

[morganhill]

umm.... Yamato was a California corps

note: sarcasm noted, but too pissy on this topic to care

Not technically. They were billed as being based out of California and Japan with a percentage of their membership coming from each area. I know they actively recruited in California, probably in Japan as well. What a shame.

[morganhill]

I really don't share in the potential doom some posters are predicting for the D2 corps. While the D3 corps are prone to losing member units with each passing year, the D2 corps are stronger than ever. Their numbers are strong and most, if not all, the D2 corps are very active, very healthy and very competitive. IMO, I see a very bright future for most of the units competing in D2. Best of luck to all of them!

[KeithHall]

As I have mentioned in the past...why can't these smaller corps go back to the weekend type corps, local based. Save money, still compete and maybe take an end of year tour for DCI?

Sad as it is to think it, I do believe Div. II/IIIs days are numbered. The financial support has not been there from DCI and it continues to cost more and more each year for a II/III corps to continue competing nationally. Big tryout numbers at the Div. I level aren't necessarily translating into more tryouts in Div. II/III.

I see the main problems are as follows.

1. Costs for national touring continue to escalate.

2. Fundraising for non-profits are seldom managed successfully by amateurs or voluteers.

3. Many young people either want to make the Div. I corps (perhaps a choice of a couple at most) or they would rather work for the summer or take classes if they don't make it.

4. Many potential members never consider marching for a Div. II/III corps as a stepping stone to Div. I.

5. Member costs for Div. II/III corps are almost identical to member fees for Div. I corps.

The ways to break this current cycle would involve radical rethinking from the current model. Are the existing corps uncomfortable enough with the current model to make drastic changes?

I would be proposing...

1. Severing formal ties with DCI.

2. The use of regional circuits instead of national tours. Perhaps develop one national event for all corps to attend.

3. More professionally managed fundraising efforts. Not just setting up bingo and hoping people volunteer to work and hoping a crowd will show up.

4. More local community involvement and exposure. Don't spend the entire summer away from home.

5. Introducing a more realistic set of successful parameters to members, staff, parents, volunteers and fans.

6. More local parades, concerts, exhibitions.

7. More emphasis on teaching, development, less on competition.

[BobFieldsDCW]

These proposals have been made in the past, and here is some backround

on why they did or didn't fly then:

1. Severing formal ties with DCI.

>>> Back in the late 80's/early 90's there was a vote of Div 2/3 corps on a Friday night in Chicago to have them go their own way. It was a scary thing for those of us who voted but it made sense back then since other than DCM there was little for those corps to compete in. But on Saturday that was all changed and they fell back in line. Garden State Circuit was reborn because the II/III corps were not getting any shows. At one point we had 14 corps in competition with GSC most of whom did not tour at all. Many of those GSC corps only died because their leadership was not able to find anyone to pass the torch to. Money always had a little to do it - but more often than not we could not find people crazy enough to

wraps their whole lives around drum corps.

2. The use of regional circuits instead of national tours. Perhaps develop one national event for all corps to attend.

>>> DCI came to the West Coast back in the 80's with a plan called Regionalization. That meant that through a series of championships in an area, the best of those corps would be allowed to go to DCI Finals and compete nationally. At that time most of the smaller corps like San Jose Raiders, California Dons, Valley Fever, Conquistadors plus those in the Northwest and SoCal did not want to be LEFT home while everyone else left on tour to the East. It also meant that the drum corps season would be cut very short due to the big guns heading east. It was more a case that noone wanted to be left out. And it was hard to recruit kids when the big corps were offering the chance to tour nationally.

3. More professionally managed fundraising efforts. Not just setting up bingo and hoping people volunteer to work and hoping a crowd will show up.

>>>Anything is possible. It just takes the funds to pay for the professionals or find the volunteers to do the work in association with the professionals. It was hard enough to keep the kid in the corps who was doing seven "other" things - let alone keep the parents involved. Those were tough days when drum corps was more like a babysitting service for the single parents who were looking for mates. There were times we did not even see the parents come down to see their kids off on tour!

4. More local community involvement and exposure. Don't spend the entire summer away from home.

>>>The way Division 2/3 is doing it now is much more logical than the old days in that you have to give the kids something special to draw them in. I remember there was a corps called Pacific Blue from Vancouver, BC that had a BIG corps because they promised to take the kids to Disneyland on their trip to

California each year. There has to be a hook to keep them interested enough to do it all summer. Parades get really old really quick - especially when there are 300 fire trucks pumping out their exhaust and the parade is 3 hours long in the boiling sun. Fastest way to lose the kids! Hopefully the trips to Indy will be much more affordable being more in the center of the country.

5. Introducing a more realistic set of successful parameters to members, staff, parents, volunteers and fans.

>>> I think we are all looking forward to those. Anyone want to offer them up?

6. More local parades, concerts, exhibitions.

>>> One of the ideas that they had from seperating from DCI was so that they could build more shows around State Fairs, Festivals, Concerts, special events. Having them at the state fair (there is one in Indy hint hint) you could bring in people to watch one evening along with other acts - including rock bands and destruction derbys that they already present. DCM had lots of connections with these events and that was the basis of what was going to happen if they did split. It is still a good idea but we just did not have the guts back then to make such a radical change. And the only reason it was proposed is so that 2/3 would be paid attention to I think.

7. More emphasis on teaching, development, less on competition.

>>>Actually Gail Royer was a pioneer in that philosophy. He often spoke of no competitions

and doing music for the sake of music. It never happened with Vanguard but it looks like that

was the thought behind Star taking their seperate direction.

I am sure for anything old, new, borrowed or blue that we can do to revitalize the activity. Keep

those great ideas coming in and perhaps some will stick!

Happy Holidays to all!!!

Pre-PS: My daughter Leighann just got home from camp in San Antonio. This is her fourth year

in Crossmen's guard. She said things went very well and the vets are really trying to let those

who dont know what BONES is really all about.

[Tom Brace]

I believe it used to be that way back in the VFW/AL era. Of course they were EVIL and DCI was GOD back in the seventies. Sarcasm intended.

But, VFW and AL are evil....no sarcasm intended at all.

VFW became an elitist organization during the late 60s and 70s because of the antiwar bent of many returning Viet Nam era vets who were NEVER welcomed into the fold by the WWII vets. That's when VFW began its demise. Now VFWs are closing all around the country because they lack veterans as members (death will do that to you).

VFW had a choice as an organization in the 60s to welcome back their brothers and THEY chose not to. VFW was strong and had loyal membership and now it's pretty much defunct. The same would be true of drum corps had not DCI or a similar arrangement come about after the Combine days.