John Anderson posted:

The other thing no one has mentioned is that the Blue Devils B corps won open class at DCI for the second year in a row. I suspect they might have been undefeated this year as well. Don't compete as much as the world class corps but when I saw them last year they had as many members as the World Class corps and seemed better than corps like the Troopers, Mandarins and even the Blue Knights from Denver. Their scores were also higher.
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Wow! That Blue Devils organization is a real POWERHOUSE!
They also have a Class C corps and some other units locally.

Sounds like their B corps is like the Open Class we marched in during the 1960s .. much less travel and time commitment. But, the corps is BIG and GOOD.

The B Corps is managed by alumni. Seem to recollect their director is the son of one of the founding parents of original "Bell Corps." The Blue Devils didn't start out as a drum and bugle corps.

More importantly it's all about money and even in these difficult times they seem to be flush with cash--they have a monopoly on bingo in the Concord and Walnut Creek area.

Ha! MONEY is always important!

John also posted this:

Despite the fact the scoring is different it is pretty impressive what the organization has done.

My understanding is that the Blue Devils B corps has mostly high school aged kids from northern California (Bay Area and Sacramento). Santa Clara also has an impressive open class corps. Don't know why they didn't go on to Indianapolis but assumed it had to do with money.
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YES! BOTH corps field Open Class corps of high school aged kids, with less focus on travel and time commitments. MAYBE there is a clue here for long term corps success?

Sounds to me like the Blue Devils organization is
going to be dominant for many years to come,plus
many more World Championships to add to there
already impressive record.

What did you do in the Corps? French horn

What years were you a Corps member? 1957 thru 1963

I may have asked this before, but how many of the B corps/Open Class/Whatever go on to march with the Blue Devils A corps/World Class/G7/Whatever group? Is it truly a feeder corps in the old sense, or is it mostly for those kids who don't want that costly and time-consuming activity?

What did you do in the Corps? Snare; Drum Major; Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

Bob, I think we DID talk about this before .. and I recollect that the answer was that the B corps is for local kids .... that very FEW of them go on to the traveling corps.

Maybe someone remembers more about this?

Last year my wife and I talked to several of the parents of Blue Devils B corps and Santa Clara Cadets corps. More kids that we think end up in one of the two corps.

I saw a roster last year that indicated about 35 percent of the A corps was from the Blue Devils B corps. I suspect most of the kids in either BD or SC feeder corps are there because they don't have the experience (age) to make the A corps.

John, you could be correct about the age/ experience factor. But, look at the B corps schedule for the year. Very much like what we did in the 1960s. Local shows until a trip to Nationals.

In their case, California contests through June and July. Then, at the end of July they took a train to Chicago! Went to shows in Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois (DeKalb) and Indiana (Michigan City). On August 15, they FLEW home to California.

I'm surprised - and pleased - that the percentage is that high. If so, they've reversed the trend that THEY started! The California corps were the first to really use "imports", because they were winning all the time.

What did you do in the Corps? Snare; Drum Major; Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

I remember being in the "B Corps"and my main objective
was to step up into the "A Corps"and I'm sure everyone
that was in it with me felt pretty much the same.Every
time someone went ahead of me,I felt somewhat discouraged,but I kept hanging in there until it
happened and when that time came it felt like I stepped off a bus and into a limousine,that's what a
a difference it was to me.

I can see how some of the kids in the BD B Corps want to take that leap up,those who can afford the expense
and the commitment involved,and I say good for them.

Is there any other Drum Corps besides BD an SCV that
have B Corps?

What did you do in the Corps? French horn

What years were you a Corps member? 1957 thru 1963

Santa Clara Vanguard, Blue Devils, and Colts are the only corps that have B corps. Blue Devils B is better than about half of the A corps in World Class. I saw them perform live the last two seasons in Indy. I also have recordings of their shows. They would make the finals night in World Class, the top 12, IMHO. As for age, their faces look no younger at all, to me, than the faces of their A corps. And, yes, they have as many MM as the World Class corps do. I don't know why they aren't in World Class instead of being in Open Class. Wish they were.

Better than the Troopers? Perhaps. The Blue Knights are better than BD B, IMHO. The Blue Knights are good! They are no slouches.

Most likely the Blue Devils B will not compete in World Class. Main reason is the money it costs to tour. If one looks at their scheduled they weren't on the road like Blue Devils A

Santa Clara Cadets ended their season in San Antonio in July. Assume money was also an issue as my recollection is that the Open Class the last few years has been Santa Clara Cadets or Blue Devils B.