Design & Execution...

So here we are just a few short weeks away from the real “meat and potato’s” portion of the season. Looking back to our first show to where we are now is like a night and day difference between the two corps. No longer are we really a “Jeckyl & Hyde” corps out on the field. Yes we have moments that are a bit under par from where we want them, but those are getting to be fewer and farther in between. This bodes very well for us. It shows that we are starting to not only learn, but also beginning to retain some of the show. If that trend continues we will undoubtedly outperform our competition in September.

There is still cause for concern though. The programming of the show is being changed and tweaked for the better, but can we tweak it enough and get enough people to give us credit for all of the subtleties we add into our program. I guess only time will tell, however history does not appear to be on our side. With no disrespect to the past two champions, we had the better performance just not the best show design. Design is clearly what is rewarded more then performance these days. You can have a great concept, and we have had that the past two years, but without design you are most certainly dead. You can get away with a mediocre performance and still come out on top. This concerns me because I know that we will be at the top of our game performance wise in a few short weeks. I worry that the design numbers won’t come.

Also incorporated in the judging criteria is difficulty. This however becomes one person’s interpretation of difficulty. I can tell you when we do something very difficult we often make it look very easy. That is a credit to the training that each member receives along with the execution of said members. 180 beats per minute does not look 180. The flip side of the coin is that when someone does something difficult that they make look difficult they often get more credit. The execution is clearly taken out of the performance numbers and the intent is rewarded regardless of execution.

When it comes to the Brigs, execution is our specialty. We excel at execution. That is what got this corps to the top for so many years. That is why we are always in contention every year. Unfortunately for us the excellence is lost somewhere in design. I don’t mind losing to a corps that clearly outperforms mine.

So that is the challenge…find a way to outperform me and I will admit defeat.