as someone whose show was canceled that day, and had also had to rehearse in similar weather, 100 degrees with the sun out is SO mush worse than 100 degrees with the sun down. if it started around 5, that would leave the open class to perform in scorching heat and blazing sunlight, while world class was had to deal with decreasing heat, and not any sunlight.

Hey EMC! Vessel's mellophone soloist here. To start off, Open class has been treated nothing better than expendable this season. Another competition was cancelled yesterday after a grueling tour to get there. We spend crazy hours in heat over 100 often as of recent and yes, the only problem is for the audience. We didn't doo too well due to some crazy conditions at Stanford and we were ready to really show off! But that of course did not happen. We signed up for 7 shows, got 5. One of those 5 was changed to an unscored expedition. TLDR : Open class is getting crapped on and it sucks!

No. You're not overreacting. Especially since the Shows that were cancelled still are comprised of Individuals who have spent, "x", amount of money to be apart of the DCI Experience.

Ah yes, drumline lore

Having been on the ground and behind the scenes at the show in question, while its sad the soundsport and open class corps didnt get to perform, doing so actually saved a good number of them on a bunch of transportation costs in the order of thousands. I believe they still got gate cuts as well, but cant confirm. So even though it was a bit bad from an optics perspective, there were actually a few more open class folks who were thankful for not having to perform in the extreme heat and saving crucial funds for what are usually more limited budgets. I still think dci should do more to support the oc and ss scene, but i feel sthwre were at least a few good results of an otherwise shitty situation.

I was there in attendance and was drenched in sweat by the time we got to our seats. Would still do it all over again,lol

-Safesport has a much stronger hold the past two years than any time before. Corps are required to meet regulations regarding temperature and amount/lengths of breaks between rehearsing. All corps might not be meeting those requirements but if they cared about the health and wellness of their membership than they would. -Member safety should be a priority no matter what. Just because some corps are willing to take the risk doesn’t mean it’s right. -Turf temps can vary heavily. 108 is the air temp, Wet bulb and actual field temperatures can go into the 150s and even higher. -From my understanding many corps were ok with the decision I remember doing the show at ASU in 22 and it being 101 degrees when we performed. I 100% would rather the show get canceled all together. I’m sure DCI realized the obligation to put on a show for ticket holders that night and made the half way decision to cut the open corps from the schedule.

I had a lot of friends in Bdb who went to Clovis High which is where this was taking place and they were all sad and disappointed to not be able to preform in their HOME field/School

Speaking as a band director in this area… this has been a brutal heat wave that I would define as potentially unsafe for the membership and the audience. It’s consistently been over 110+ for the last several days in the greater area that everyone is rehearsing in. I have been in the position where my band 3A, moderately sized group, had to perform in 95+ weather in uniform. I’ve asked that the circuit we compete in has awards later so that more bands can perform under the lights and not experience the heat. Another potential solution as opposed to the half measure that I agree was taken. Additionally, this show was initially supposed to take place at Fresno State which provides significantly more coverage for the event (Bulldog Stadium). Unfortunately Clovis was not a great venue for that show for a number of reasons. That being said, I think most of the groups got cut do have their own show in Bakersfield without the world class groups which is exciting too. Hopefully they will have a great turnout and help those groups feel a bit more appreciated.

The bigger problem- WHY the fuck even schedule an OUTDOOR show in Clovis in July!??? Bakersfield/Clovis/Fresno are always going to be 100+ in July!!

I have to compose a better comment later. Yesterday, the DCI Capital Classic was also delayed by 1 hour. But realize that Mushu Crew cooked all day in that 53-foot trailer. Yes, we melted! But the kids got a few great meals!!!!

I have seen too many students pass out from the heat to have the view of “proceed at your own risk.” I agree that if they canceled any performance, they should cancel all of them and that the lot was still unsafe even with the later start time. This is all around crappy situation and I know the show runner wanted to do what was right and we really can’t second guess them, even though I just did. We have limited information and there could have been pressure from several different people including DCI, the corps, spectators, and county and city health officials. I can see how this was a compromised decision that no one liked and really did not address the health issue with groups in the lot at the hottest part of the day. As someone who has put on marching band shows, canceling is a big call. I only had to do it once and it about killed my program for a year.

Good morning! This is video 339 of me asking for a drumline gym made out of various marching percussion instruments, such as the tenor barbell, and bass drumbbells.

I remember when prelims for div 2/3 were held in the citrus bowl. They had mist tents set up outside the stadium for the corps to march through exiting to help with the heat.

I actually talked to a dci safety and weather manager who was making sure the field was safe to march on before dci central Indiana. He used this tool to measure the temperature, humidity, wind speed, and more, but what he was mostly testing was the temperature of the turf, which got up to around 110 degrees on the green part, and 126 on the black parts of the turf. They always have guys on the field before a dci event testing the field to make sure it's okay for performers to go on as well. He told this story of the color guard members not wearing adequate footwear on a hot field and they got blisters, and they didn't go on to perform in finals. He also said that they often push back the time but they rarely cancel shows. They probably thought for this event that if they pushed it so far back with all these different corps playing including soundsport and world class that because the start time is later, they didn't want the whole event to go until like midnight.

I marched a Texas open class Corps for 2 years. One of our shows in Arkansas was around 112°, they just had all the corps perform without full uniforms on. It’s sad to see how open class corps still are looked down on.

Went to a show in Tempe, AZ in July 2022. Temperature was around 105 at 5 pm. It was miserable but not dangerous even for a 60 year old guy like me. As the saying goes "There is no such thing a bad weather, only poor preparation."

I mean the world class corps would be performing later I'm the day when the heat isn't as dangerous as it would be for the first five

The heat really only gets bad when the sun is directly on you for a while. When you're in the shade (which you are most of the time when you're at a stadium) its not a big deal tbh.

Welcome to the future of the marching arts. The reason *indoor* drumline was created was to get marchers out of the snow on the East coast. The future's gonna be all indoor winds/percussion/guard.

The Sac show on 7 July went on 50 minutes later than originally scheduled. We (Freelancers Alumni) went on first. Almost all of us were in the sun and at show time the temperature was (according to Weather Underground) about 102F. Did I mention that most of us are in our 50s, 60s, some into their 70s? It was hot as balls but we hydrated and played our best show yet and we all survived.

Wasn't a show moved into indoors for standstill music performance and got cancelled in the midwest due to storm & lighting coming in

i was supposed to march that show and instead of getting to we just rehearsed AND THEN our show got cancelled yesterday too, i spent some good money just for cancelled shows.

Six minutes ago is wild

All they needed to do was provide misters in the stands and make a mist tunnel entering and exiting the field. Then have a crew provide ice water at the field exit. Any kid can march in 110 for 12 minutes as long as they go in strong and have the support afterward.

So dci has new rules about temperature. There are lines drawn in the sand when the heat/UV Index/humidity reach a certain level. So when the su. Starts to go down, that rating drops drastically even if the temperature isn't that much lower.

Under these rules all of the 1993 finals week in Jackson Mississippi would have been canceled 😂

BACK IN THE DAY, Corps were always from cooler states and shows were never scheduled in "hot" states. Watching my first drum corps show in Dallas in 1978, the sun was still searing and temperatures were well above 100 when the first corps took the field. The Bayonne Bridgemen, wearing their long coats & black pants, did their trademark hyper-breathing last note and several members passed out on the field afterwards. Paramedics were treating the affected members as the corps exited. The crowd roared when the announcer exclaimed "The Bayonne Bridgemen gives their ALL for your entertainment!

As someone else in a corps who was canceled for that show, I would like to elaborate that the choice to cancel the open class part of the performance was reached by the corps directors of the open class corps themselves due to the extreme heat that we would all face while unloading trucks and getting ready for lots. To further elaborate, the bakersfield show was canceled because of a power outage in the stadium, and the venue staff could not gaurentee that the power would remain on once recovered and this was deemed a hazard. As members, we were for the most part pretty happy that we wouldnt be unloading trucks that would reach temps of 160+ on the inside.

I was at supposed to perform at crownbeat this past Saturday and they told us it was going to be a standstill performance and then canceled the whole thing because of rain

i was supposed to perform in clovis that day but because it got cancelled we were able to take the entire bus ride from LA to vallejo and chill out. i love the crank as much as the drummer next to me but we all needed the travel day to reinvigorate our friendships with each other! we ended up having dinner near the beach in vallejo and it was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. even though i’m sad half of our tour basically got cancelled (bakersfield resound) it still turned out positively for us as a whole

Did you ever March in the deep south? We are used to the heat and humidity here in the south.

FWIW I remember the bottoms of our Dinkles being melted from lots temps. *shrugs*

This is where I live and I was actually the band director at Clovis HS as my first head director gig. I know it was a tough decision for sure. My heart went out to the Sound Sport and Open class members but also to the spectators who brought their families to Clovis and spent hundreds on tickets. DCI did the right thing by offering refunds which I was very happy about. The stadium is pretty much shaded around 7:00 so it was bearable as a spectator when SCV performed. Interesting fact: Two days later on July 7, 2024, a new high record of 116 was reached...just edging out the July 8, 1905 of 115. So.... 119 years later. But just remember "It's a dry heat!" LOL. 12% humidity.

I’m in colorado and saturday the 13th drums along the Rockies is supposed to be 110-115 I won’t be surprised if they cancel the show, or just delay it like several hours

As a performer who was supposed to be at the clovis show for open class, it sucked to find out it got canceled for us and our group still ended up going to the show as spectators since our busses were already scheduled to drive there. Then yesterday the “Resound” open class show in Bakersfield CA was 110 degrees but then got canceled due to a power outage on campus. How does this make sense…

Got to be honest. We did it in old style uniforms - football games and all in the heat. I don't understand the heat cancelling but I'm also thinking from a scholastic mindset where as DCI has a profit element in mind for their shows so for the sake of audience members it does make sense to ensure they aren't dying in the stands. I don't know. Maybe I'm just an old fart. Who am I kidding I am an old fart.

Unrelated, but do you recommend laminates for slim pads?

Its weird because usually this Fresno show is in June, not July. As someone that lives in Fresno, no one should be here during July. They should switch back to June

Video 8 of asking you for a marching snare drum

Wait, you were in Surf '09-'10? That means at Allentown I was within 25 feet of a future celebrity!

I live in the hottest place in the US here in California and I can tell you, 100 degrees without sunlight is not that bad, I'd be fine marching. So because World Class Performers perform when the sun is down, I agree with their decision. Let's say if the show started as normal, gates open at 5 and shows start at 6, sun isn't down until around 7-730. SO the first Open Class group would probably be warming up around 4-430 when humidity is high and heat is high which is unsafe. SCV would still experience this during their lots but not as bad and I can see how it would be safe for them to perform and not Open Class groups.

My thinking is that the sun adds a lot to this that you aren't considering. Marching in the Sun sucks a lot more than marching in the dark. Obviously, when SCV is arriving at 6:30, the sun is still up, but also during warmups, the corps aren't being worked to the max and while they're definitely working, they're not doing the hardest part of their job. On July 5th, the sun set in Clovis at 8:20pm. The thing I notice is that the schedule begins on the nearest half-hour after the sun set. I would be willing to bet that the previous schedule had them start at like 7:30 or something. My guess is they pushed the show back that far so that the corps would be performing in the dark, thus reducing their heat exposure. I think they probably should've canceled the entire show, but also, DCI needs funding, and a large part of their funding comes from ticket sales. Not that their Clovis California show was the big money-maker show that they put on, but they probably need to host as many shows as they can. They reduced risk for the corps that would be performing as best they could while still managing their own needs.

Love Dci shows, hate dci. This here is a great example of bias, not to mention the entire thing is inaccessible no matter WHAT corps you go to. Utter scam in all ways, a lot of the expense of the shows and corps isn't even necessary

Is that a new slimpad I see

Yes

These people are trained professionals, i’m sure they’ll be fine for 1 run

It’s been a consistent 96 degrees with a feels like on the turf of 110 at surf for the past three days,corp is still out and getting clean 👑

it was my friends birthday and he was looking forward to this all year ☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️

Hey Eric, I was wondering if you were attending DCI in San Antonio this month

Different topic, but want to share. I am a former member of The Cavaliers and like most of us I LOVE drum corps. I live in TN and look so forward to the Murfreesboro show. However, this will be my 3rd year to not go because of how extremely poorly it is run. That’s sad.

As a person that went to this event. They explained to us that the city of Clovis had an agreement if it reached over 105 nobody could perform.It sucked because we travelled 2 hours and we waited 4 hours just standing around in the heat. Then even the world class had a lot of flaws.This wasn’t a great day for any of the corps

My guess is the cancellation and rescheduling is more more the working production crew of the stadium and less for the corps and audience. The corps abd audience are there voluntarily while the production staff are hired. They may have even needed to staff double the crew to give some crew breaks while the rest worked to keep everything running on schedule. The event is probably on a shoestring budget and cant afford to hire extra staff. I could be wrong on all that, but ad a production worker that's what this sounds like.

I remember the hottest day in my 2010 world class tour was in Wichita, KS - I remember a tech was able to clock the temp on the terf field at like 120F with the heat radiating off the field. It was unbearable. Water breaks every 10 min but we still rehearsed a full 4 hour block - Unrelated to the content here because this move feels very G7 of DCI.

I once had a competition in September in Iowa that was 100 dergrese

it doesnt help that scv's uniforms seem like insulated heat blankets, id sweat in those thangs especially those gloves

On July 5th the DCI Crown Beat got cancelled because of rain and the heat

There is something to be said for not having a show in extreme heat... by that I mean they should have cancelled the entire show. I am a dinosaur when it comes to DCI having marched 79-82. We had a brutal time in Atlanta for Prelims in 79 and 80 with the heat (as in your feet being on fire from the sun beating on the astroturf) and did a swing through Texas where you could not even go outside in the daytime for very long due to the heat. That said we marched a 4th of July Parade down there, and it sucked as well as the Competition (it was 100 plus without a doubt).

Definately not overreacting. If it’s too hot for some it’s too hot for all

whats the wiki website page for 0:29?

wheres the fantasy drum corps app

If I had to guess, the decision came down to open class corps trending younger while world class corps trend older. They really should have cancelled the whole event though, it's shitty for some corps get judged while others don't despite them showing up specifically to get judged. I feel like this is a bad message for you to be sending though, the "proceed at your own risk" mindset leads to people getting harmed because their directors insisted they still go on. This is why the world class corps didn't pull out despite the heat. I really think this is an extremely bad take, and while we agree it should be all or nothing, I definitely don't think a "proceed at your own risk" mindset is going to help since the ENTIRE corps could decide it's too dangerous, but some guy with a Hopkins-sized ego could give the final say and they have to go on anyway. You'd think someone like yourself who's actually marched would be a lot more on the side of the members here, and think about how truly miserable and dangerous marching in 100+ degree heat would be. How DANGEROUS it would be.

Which pad did you get from Vic, the stockpad or slimpad, the new one with the laminate and rim, is it a stockpad or slimpad, the reaction is justified

yea to not half-assing it 'in favor' of world classers nay no throwing hand up and letting chaos reign in the corps/spectator arena. health & safety > everything else. very easily could become 'multiple performers/audience suffer heat exhaustion/stroke', which is the worst possible outcome and completely avoidable hope this debacle results in better planning going forward for this and other events

$10k per kid for a season that is only six weeks long.....and then canceling some shows. I remember when DCI started having competitions right after memorial day, and I remember being at Whitewater WI and it being over a hundred degrees not to mention the heat index. The Midwest Championship was a multi-day and all day event.

what kind of jerks gerrymander a contest

Personally I agree!! I feel like they should’ve taken an all or nothing approach and canceled everyone. Especially if it’s for performer/spectator safety

i would be a little pissed if i couldn't play because of this

hi, northern california local here. sun up heat is a lot worse than sun down heat. went to stanford show recently and the sun up heat was bad but it was actually pretty nice by the time world class came around. obv much worse in clovis than up here, and i still agree with some points you have such as the half cancellation. but like i said, weather can say it’s still 100 degrees but if the sun is down it’s much nicer. just adding a bit more perspective, but it’s a bit nice to have world class instead of no show.

Most importantly, would the sound system overheat? Because without a huge sound system, todays corps would be lost.

That’s F’ed up especially for the BDB kids, since I’ve heard that there were some Clovis HS students who march BDB. And as someone who has seen their show this year, this is sooo f’ed up. For an OPEN class corps, BDB genuinely has a Top 12 World Class show this year.

Why don't they use indoor arena?

What about galactic class?

I just wanna pit this out there i play tuba for golden empire and i need you guys to understand first of all that kind of weather is what GE regularly rehearses in so we are very well conditioned for it the other problem is that GE has a large portion of our corps that comes that part of the Central Valley so it was very disappointing for a-lot of my corps the main thing thats frustrating though is just the host organization handled things there were so many other options but they decided that open class was completely expendable because they didn’t want to lose money and that’s not okay. Lastly on resound which was also cancelled i just want to make it clear we as a corps were very saddened about that we focus on preparing for that show all year and to be the best hosts we can be.

I think if we are really worried about safety here just reschedule and offer refunds as necessary. Everyone should be able to perform and do it in a somewhat same manner.

We got EMC swearing before gta vi

666 views in 23 minutes, satan taxed bro's views

Gotta be honest, this feels very much like you’re expecting dci to do everything while at the same time complaining that it isn’t exactly what everyone wants… kind of a bogus take on this. The reality is that not every drum corps is equally equipped to handle things like that. And scheduling makes a big difference in the day. The sound sport and open class groups are most definitely not as well equipped for conditions like this compared to the bigger groups. I agree 100% with them canceling the show for open class, and I’m on staff at b corps so I mean, ya it’s a bummer but being on staff I gotta say it makes complete sense. And No one was thinking it was some kind of way to just gloss over the open class groups… My reasoning: 1. To me the biggest reason is timing..like he even mentions, corps get there a good 2 or so hours before their gate time, so yes while scv got there at the “peak” of the temperature, it’s also when it starts to cool off and the sun begins to go down so they aren’t really in the sun all day especially when comparing to The open class corps that get there in the hottest and sunniest parts of the day and then are there waaay longer than the world class corps that show up as the weather begins to actually cool down.. 2. The worst part about heat like this isn’t just the temperature but the sun exposure. It makes it way worse, especially in Fresno where there is little to no breeze during the summer heat (I should know, i lived there for 21 years). So again, the open class and sound sport kids are actually in the sun way longer throughout the day than the world class groups who have longer EPL’s, downtime, and travel time. If you’re at a show site from 4-10 where are you going to go? Are you going to expect the corps to run their busses and waste gas idling all night?? Sorry but that’s most likely Not going to happen… 3. The average age of open class corps is different than the average age of world class corps. For example, You’re telling me that the BD C kids should go out there because the big boys and girls in world class go out? Even in the b corps we have kids that are far younger than that of most world class groups. Older and more experienced teens/adults can for sure handle the heat and self monitor better than the less experienced kids who aren’t used to doing this activity. Same with the staff.. 4. Most World class corps also have more access to a health and wellness team of professionals to take care of the performers and in general are far better equipped to be in conditions like that. Some corps don’t even have busses to take to shows, they use vans or carpool. Some don’t have the more advanced food trucks that are equipped with ice machines or water purifiers to help keep the kids cooler and provide them with better comfort. I totally get it… it’s inconvenient to acknowledge the fact that most world class corps are just better equipped for these situations because of better equipment, a better time slot in the day, better busses, more experienced staff, older members, etc…but it’s just the truth behind it. And spinning it in a way that makes it sound like dci just doesn’t care about the open class or sound sport groups and just wants ticket sales really does nothing except cause the members of those groups to think that they don’t matter. And lastly, ya okay sure bud we get it, you have experience being in the heat and are cool with sitting in the audience during the hottest part of the day, great. But it’s ridiculous to expect that most audience members want to show up and watch these groups in the sun for 5-6 hours, at least 3 of those being incredibly and dangerously hot. If you want to make it about ticket sales then sure, You’re more likely to have people show up and stay when it’s cooler in the evening. Again, you’re just using your experience in the activity to fuel unrealistic expectations. Just my take on it…

When I was a kid, it was not summer until it was 100 out. Now when it hits 90, everyone starts freaking out. I don't blame global warming. I blame people becoming weak. 90 is the end of the world, and 1 inch of snow is now a blizzard, and closes everything.

Get a dome stadium lol.

I marched at Surf in 2019 and we had a day where then-CEO Dan Acheson came to spring training and we were able to ask him questions. A member asked something like "How come DCI seems to only focus on the top 6 corps when there are so many other corps?" His answer was "The top 6 corps help show sites sell tickets. We care about all corps, but at the end of the day we are a business that needs to sell tickets, DVDs, merchandise, etc". Member safety should always be the most important, but I guarantee that they didn't want to cancel all corps so they didn't have to refund tickets. I hope DCI takes a look at some of their safety measures, and I hope nobody was injured at the show.

Drum no boom😡

No one tell him about Bakersfield...

Honestly, I feel like DCI has been really negligent of the member experience of anyone outside of the Top 12 for a while now. Outside of Open class, just as an example, how they're handling all age in Indy for example seems like much less of an experience than DCA even was. For a few years now, I've felt like shows should be in a random order, but with Top groups performance order weighted to go earlier rather than later. Open Class and lower ranked world groups already have the rehearsal time disadvantage at every show, the risk their show is going to get canceled due to weather but BD or whoever still goes on last is wild. It feels like it's actively hindering growth for these groups. Have Open Class and local groups always go on as close to last so they get to perform for the most butts in seats and show the viability of Open Class drum corps to prospective members. 🤷‍♂️

Drum corps has turned into a joke anyway

The hottest i experienced on tour was 107 in Oklahoma City in 2011

Completely disagree here. Revenue keeps the activity alive. World class corps bring in the viewership. Open class is essential for talent development, but there’s a reason why shows without world class or with few world class have far less ticket sales and far less revenue that keeps everyone on the road. The world class corps probably warmed up in the shade when it was hot, and managed when it was field time. This was 100% the right call, maybe with an additional delay which is not unheard of especially in Texas. You’re grasping.

Nope not overreacting. They should have cancelled it for everyone or everyone gets to play. And I would totally go for don't cancel because of the heat, do push it back in the evening as much as possible, but do give audience members rembursements. I haven't done drum corp but I know what you guys do, and I am sure you are more or less accostomed to 100+ dry heat. Also yes there is inconsistencies, our town last night had a show and it was like 103 that day and the days before, and show ran as normal everything was fine soundsport, open and world classes. But also it is the Columbians Home Show so they probably couldn't get away with cancelling the open class anyways, or we would all protest the heck out of it. But also that was my first DCI show ever and wow it was amazing especially hearing the Blue Knights and Troopers in person. Just Wow.

Tacos?

There thinking was "We don't want to let the Open Class corps go on when its too hot, so it's unfair to let the Open Class groups have to go through that. What actually happens : "We are not letting them perform, therefore making it unfair for the Open Class groups because their families can't see them perform, they can't useful critique, and they have to alter their plans" Absolutely stupid from Drum Corps International. This was an impulsive decision made with no thought.

L heat

You are not over reacting. Canceling half the show is also screwing the audience on half a show. Will the tickets now be half the cost?

Play your ten favorite cadences from Cassidy Byars drumline website

LORE

Great video Eric. Given the amount of influence you now have, I'd love to know your thoughts on the overall state of DCI and the drum corps activity and what you think the activity needs to do from top to bottom to survive.

I'm First See the Drum And Lyre Corps

I don't take my seat until the sun goes down. There's so much filler to see only 4 or 5 big shows. Often only 3. Div 2/3, DCA, these guys are supposed to havr their own events. Now they ket literal marching bands go on! No thanks, show starts when the lights come on.

Rules Thee, but not me. 🤣

React to scv

First 😎