Regarding joining DCI, Steve Kas pointed out: "He (his dad) only wanted it to be for the kids and not be a business. I don't see how we could have joined unless we had merged with some other corp. We didn't have the size, the money or the connections that a corp like the Cavies had.
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1. I am sure that the current DCI leaders say they are doing it "for the kids". But, "the kids" are way different now. No longer local, community kids (often needing positive activities), they are, at least at the World Class level, college music students. Even the Open Class members have to be well off to spend much of their summers touring.

2. Size, money and connections ... those are the really important things now. The Imperials never had those things.
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What did you do in the Corps? drummer; quartermaster 1964-66; asst. drum instr. 1964-70

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

And that was Dad's initial projection (which certainly came true): that DCI would eventually kill the small corps. I think it took longer than he originally thought, but it did happen.

One thing I miss is the occasional "surprise" corps that would jump into finals for a year or two, giving some freshness to the mix. When is the last time a truly "new" corps made finals? And forget the top 6 - there hasn't been a change there in decades! The top 3 has basically been stagnant that long as well. I think the early 90's was the last time anything was even close to unpredictable in a season. But this was bound to happen as the number of corps dropped. it improved the quality of the remaining corps (more talent for less organizations = better performances for everyone), but each year has become just a "rearranging" of the year before.

I miss the days when an almost unheard of corps would make finals - Bleu Raeders, Purple Lancers, Commodores, Black Knights, Royal Crusaders, etc.

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

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

Hey Greg, Would it be possible to get a copy of that 1970 recording? Will you be up here for this year's picnic, I could get if from you then.

What did you do in the Corps? Color Guard & Soprano

What years were you a Corps member? 1970 - 1973

Bob, I am not sure of the scoring, but some of the early DCI shows are using reduced judging panels (fewer judges, not smaller judges). :)

Take a look at the recaps to see how they allocate points when this happens.
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What did you do in the Corps? drummer; quartermaster 1964-66; asst. drum instr. 1964-70

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

The only problem with reading modern recap sheets is that I don't even know what the captions are talking about! I can't find the word "drums" anywhere!

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

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

Ha! Bab said: The only problem with reading modern recap sheets is that I don't even know what the captions are talking about! I can't find the word "drums" anywhere!
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That's because this isn't drum and bugle corps anymore! :)
'marching' is 'visual', brass and drums are 'music' and 'evaluation' and 'analysis' are used instead of 'performance'. Going to a critique must be a real blast now.

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What did you do in the Corps? drummer; quartermaster 1964-66; asst. drum instr. 1964-70

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63