Division II/III Now "Open Class"
Drum Corps International has approved a request of the formerly named Division II/III AdvisoryBoard to rename the Division to "Open Class".
"We are confident that the net result of this will be far more than just a name change. This is a first major step toward a renewal of the largest collection of corps in DCI" said Charlie Groh of Impulse.
Under the new structure there will be no artificial limits on corps memberships requiring each corps to fit into a specific divsion. It will be up to each corps' management to determine the goals of their corps and how they want to achieve them.
According to Vicki Schaffe, Chairperson of Advisory Committe and Director of The Colt Cadets, "This takes away any preconceptions that Division III corps are somehow less than Division III corps. A student does not need to feel more apt to want to join a Division II corps over a Division III corps because they can now join an Open Class corps without feeling they are members of a lesser division".
The creation of a single Open Class was welcome news to Tom Chopelas, Director of The East Coast Jazz. "I long supported this concept whenever it was bought up at division meetings and while I was a member of the Advisory Board", he said, "It will strengthen the activity of the organization".
|