Idea to boost Div II/III

[tubawarrior]

They don't nessicarily have to go through all the trouble of creating seperate pages for every corps (like those already up), but they could atleast link to each corps' website.

if you click on "corps" on the top left from the list, they already have all this right there for ya...broken down by division and everything

[WWonka]

Might be because they aren't member corps.

And that should be changed. Everyone who is approved and makes it too DCI finals and performs on any day, any time should get a vote. I have no problem at all with weighting the votes though. Hell make it you have to show up for 2 years straight. Whatever. But if you have busted it and gotten that far you deserve a vote.

Top 12 = 3 votes per corps.

13-17 = 2 votes per corps.

Everyone else = 1 vote.

Then you get representation of the entire Jr activity that participates in DCI.

But he who has the power does not want to give up that power.

I know where you march man. I was even at one of your camps last season. Do you think your corps is any less of a corps than say Boston or PR or BD , etc. NO

Then why are you not represented in the governing body as a real citizen instead of some 2nd class add on?

(Yeah I know it's in his sig. But I was trying to make a point.) :P

[SoonerFan04]

if you click on "corps" on the top left from the list, they already have all this right there for ya...broken down by division and everything

I know, but someone who is relatively new to drum corps and may just glance at DCI.org looking for a corps to join would probably notice a drop-down menu on the main page before they clicked corps, then Div. II or Div. III on a subpage somewhere else. Not everyone looks around DCI.org and I'm sure it can be a little confusing to a first time visitor.

[EKBari]

And that should be changed. Everyone who is approved and makes it too DCI finals and performs on any day, any time should get a vote. I have no problem at all with weighting the votes though. Hell make it you have to show up for 2 years straight. Whatever. But if you have busted it and gotten that far you deserve a vote.

Top 12 = 3 votes per corps.

13-17 = 2 votes per corps.

Everyone else = 1 vote.

Then you get representation of the entire Jr activity that participates in DCI.

But he who has the power does not want to give up that power.

I know where you march man. I was even at one of your camps last season. Do you think your corps is any less of a corps than say Boston or PR or BD , etc. NO

Then why are you not represented in the governing body as a real citizen instead of some 2nd class add on?

(Yeah I know it's in his sig. But I was trying to make a point.) :P

Part of the trade off for being a D2/3 corps is that you don't get all the perks that the big boys get. You want your own championships and a lack of obligation to the DCI tour, then you have to give something up as well. The D2/3 directors know this very well. There are no appearance fees, a shortage of performance opportunities, etc.

The members of DCI are those corps that agree to the rules laid out by the BOD and reap the benefits.

[Kansan]

Div II / III should for their own competition Circuit like Drum Corps Midwest. They could pay themselves more and put thier finals on PBS.

I'm sure some corps do it but they should also not forget their communities and do some local performances so the Communitiy does not forget them. I think when a corps does not have the local community link they usually have a hard time getting members and then fold.

This year would have been a good time to have a II/III finals in a Central location.

[saraqsfan]

Div II / III should for their own competition Circuit like Drum Corps Midwest. They could pay themselves more and put thier finals on PBS.

I'm sure some corps do it but they should also not forget their communities and do some local performances so the Communitiy does not forget them. I think when a corps does not have the local community link they usually have a hard time getting members and then fold.

This year would have been a good time to have a II/III finals in a Central location.

"Seperate but equal" was outlawed by the Supreme Court in 1954.. Putting the smaller corps in their own show, in a seperate city, on a seperate date is akin to genocide. The II/III corps get precious little "press" as it is; sending them off into the wild blue yonder to fend for themselves is not gonna work.

Pay themselves more? Where do you think the money will come from? Certainly not from the large share of ticket buying America, who has been taught to believe that smaller is less entertaining. If you want to see the II/III corps flourish, get out there and support them. Go to their competitions. Purchase their merchandise. Advocate for them to be televised.

Drum Corps Midwest championships were successful back in the day because everyone involved realized (at that time) that when we all cooperate, we all advance. It was a great thrill and an honor for the Division II/III champions to be able to compete on the same field as their Division I brethren. We weren't considered as "lesser" there- we were part of the Best of the Midwest.

Trust me, there is a lot more to the drum and bugle corps experience than Saturday night finals during championship week.

As for keeping the community ties alive, I fully support this and would also offer that ALL corps, regardless of size, should pay attention here. Back in the day, almost the entire membership of a drum corps came from the home city. Nowadays, you're considered local if you live in the same state. Once you lose touch with your community roots, it's all downhill from there.

[xanhae]

"Seperate but equal" was outlawed by the Supreme Court in 1954.. Putting the smaller corps in their own show, in a seperate city, on a seperate date is akin to genocide.

I agree with what your saying about what you say about the unequalness of the whole thing..

But going as far as "genocide"?! Evidentally, you do not know what that word means...

But FYI (according to merriam-webster's definition)

geno·cide ( 'je-n&-"sId ) - : the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group.

I believe that regardless what division a corps might be, they are inevitably the same. Div 1 just has more hype, more members, more spotlight. A drum and bugle corps is a drum and bugle corps regardless of division or any other title one might slap on it.

However I agree with you. Not enough light or media on Div2, Div3. But not even close to genocide for god's sake.

[saraqsfan]

I agree with what your saying about what you say about the unequalness of the whole thing..

But going as far as "genocide"?! Evidentally, you do not know what that word means...

But FYI (according to merriam-webster's definition)

geno·cide ( 'je-n&-"sId ) - : the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group.

I believe that regardless what division a corps might be, they are inevitably the same. Div 1 just has more hype, more members, more spotlight. A drum and bugle corps is a drum and bugle corps regardless of division or any other title one might slap on it.

However I agree with you. Not enough light or media on Div2, Div3. But not even close to genocide for god's sake.

Okay.. so what would YOU call it? Every year it's one more thing that makes it harder and harder to operate at the II/III level.. Let's see here.. we used to be able to continue on through the championship week and elevate some of our corps into the Top 25... then that got taken away. Next off.. let's see.. the elimination of our corps from the televised broadcast. For pete's sake, what would it hurt to at least mention the freaking champions? We won't even go into all of the "reasons" for putting the II/III championships in a seperate stadium, pitted against either Friday night semi finals, or worse yet on a Saturday morning.

I would like to see just ONE of the Division I corps deal with the staff that II/III has to deal with on a regular basis. How about PAYING to be in shows? How about doing an entire tour for far less than $1000.00 per performance? When was the last time the Cavaliers or the Blue Devils did a championship prelim show at 8:30 [/b]? Where have all the division II and III corps gone? What happened to the Patriots, the Railmen, Delta Brigade, Court of Honor, the Americanos, Academy Musical, and East Coast Jazz , to name a few? For awhile there, the smaller corps were dropping like flies. And now the latest insult is the new plan that was voted in, dealing with kids moving from one corps to another.. there used to be a cut off date in early March. Not any more. Kids can move (or be recruited) right up to the day before their first official DCI contest. The reasoning behind this? I can only imagine. If we had any level of respect for the smaller corps and what they acheive, this ruling would have never come to pass. This IS a threat to anything with less than 130 kids, and it WILL cause more corps to fall by the wayside. The saddest part of all is that nobody seems to mind. Before everyone climbs on their soapbox and says that if the II/III corps were run properly they wouldn't have to worry about losing members, let me remind you that it won't stop with us.. Corps 13 and beyond will also feel the effects of this.

Stuff like this makes it too hard to function in an already difficult landscape. One by one, the smaller corps get wiped out. Systematic? Perhaps.. Intentional??? New world order? ... Is it necessary to get rid of everything that marches fewer than 100 students? Not on your life.

[EKBari]

"Seperate but equal" was outlawed by the Supreme Court in 1954.. Putting the smaller corps in their own show, in a seperate city, on a seperate date is akin to genocide. The II/III corps get precious little "press" as it is; sending them off into the wild blue yonder to fend for themselves is not gonna work.

This analogy doesn't work for the simple fact that D2/3 corps CHOOSE to compete in their respective divisions. Is there a trade off? Yes there is, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. You take the good with the bad.

And once again, playing the blame game with DCI is not going to solve the problem. Take it up with the directors of the D2/3 corps and they will tell you what they do is for the long term survival of their corps.

[EKBari]

I would like to see just ONE of the Division I corps deal with the staff that II/III has to deal with on a regular basis. How about PAYING to be in shows?

You're ignoring the fact that the Blue Stars, Mandarins, Pioneer, Esperanza and now Academy have gone through this within the past few years and decided to go D1. Plus, add to the list, the Cascades and Crown to the list of corps that came up through D 2/3.