It’s that time again folks… if you’re wanting to be in this years competition you need to start assembling your corps from last years rankings…

Rules and information on formulating your corps can be found HERE, and all corps submissions must be entered by sending me a Private Message in the message board with your captions and cost totals no later than 6/2/08.

Good luck and I hope to see a bunch of you back and some new faces for this year!

I love the entrepreneurial spirit of Americans… and for that I have to salute Tom Day, founder of Bugles Across America.

Back in 2000 the US Congress passed legislation that stated Veterans had a right to at least 2 uniformed military personnel to fold their flag, and Taps played on a CD player at their funeral. to Tom and many like you and me, this was a disgraceful slap in the face to anyone who had put their life on the line in service to their country. It doesn’t matter if you died of natural causes or fell on the front lines, you put yourself out there at one time in your life in service for your country and are entitled to a respectful and honored burial.

Enter Bugles Across America, NFP. Through this organization those of us who wish to volunteer our services as trumpet players and buglers, can sign up our abilities to provide anyone who asks of us, a live performance of Taps at the funeral of a Veteran.

All you need to do is be able to play taps on a traditional Bugle, Trumpet, Flugelhorn, or a 1,2,or 3 valved bugle. There is no age requirement either.

Sign up is available on their website here and costs you nothing. So please, show your respect for our men and women in uniform and sign up.

On Monday 12/10, Bianca Vocke and Erin Reichle members of the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps out of Iowa were in a serious car accident. Sadly Bianca Vocke lost her life. Erin Reichle is recovering from her injuries.

My best wishes go out to both families and the friends in their extended Drum Corps family as they mourn the loss of their loved one.

The Colts have established a fund if you would like to contribute to the families. Go here for more information.

Ever wondered how the pro’s teach a specific skill, or have that nagging issue no one can seem to solve on the field?

Enter the Marching TV Channel.

For you directors and field techs out there… this website is spectacular. Some recently asked and answered questions include things like:

• How can I make my band look “Taller”?
• How do you approach Dynamics in the Battery ?
• How Do you spin a flag in Windy Conditions?
• Handling Guard Equipment in the Rain

So if you’re just curious, or have a truly nagging question… go check it out!

Folks, I’ve decided due to overwhelming pleas from our user base to change forum software. Being that we were using a rather obscure application I have yet to find ANY way to pull over the user accounts so if you could please re-register with your username from the old forums that would be GREAT (it takes less than 5 minutes).

If you were a moderator on the old board, please send me a private message and I’ll bestow your title on you again.

If you’re observant you’ll also catch a bit of what’s to come with the redesign of the blog portion of this site.

I have moved over some important posts so the needed info about FDC is there for your reference.

If you notice anything out of place or missing please do not hesitate to email me or drop me a PM!

Well it was both trying and a testing season for our first ever DCI Fantasy Drum Corps competition.

If you take a look at the entire seasons results as we went along, one thing comes to light… ANYTHING can and will happen. Those riding high out of the gate, fell victim to mid season slumps and those with late starts quickly found themselves with 1st place finishes at times.

I want to send out a big thanks to those of you that participated this year and I hope to see all of you back for more FDC in 2008 but please don’t hesitate to stick around during the off season and visit the forums.

I would also like to announce the winners of this seasons FDC competition.

In third place with a score of 94.850 - Dynamo
In second place with a score of 95.330 - Stealth
In first place with a score of 95.530 - Empire

Congrats guys and don’t forget, your winnings for this season apply to your overall budget for 2008!

Regiment has apparently redone the end of their 2007 show to include one of their trademark moves.

I think it’s a much needed improvement.

SUTA

Well guys… it was a bumpy road at first but I have managed to locate the developer for our ranking application and we’re up and running again!

Div1, 2 and 3 along with Fantasy Drum Corps are up and running. (previous seasons for Div 1/2/3 will be added post ‘07 season)

You can view all scores by specified date range as well as mouse over corps icons to see rank and score for previous dates.

Have fun!

Good news folks… I am, as of writing this, working with a developer to reinstate our beloved live rankings chart from years past.

I am debugging a few things but it should be 100% operational by no later than tomorrow!

Until then I won’t be updating the scores sections we currently have up as I’m sure you will be much happier with the original charts up and running.

So expect a small amount of downtime today and don’t worry if something isn’t working as it should, as we are moving some things around.

Another note… as requested in our message board by you, we will be upgrading to phpBB 3.0 as soon as a final version is available.

Thank you for your understanding!

Well folks, we’re off to a good start this season!

There has been a bit of a server crash on the old rankings pages so until that is up and running the current tabs will take you to an interim chart for all divisions, including the new Fantasy Corps competition.

Good Luck to all those out there sweating and pushing for your absolute best. I know what it feels like and I wish you all the best.