well i dont have much experience with it because like Sax--my goal was always to move up to Division 1--so i didn't hold any money back ever or really work that much on fundraising period other than show hosting...but I know I have heard it mentioned. not that its THE ONLY THING (why do people always jump to extreme reactions) but I believe it to be a factor--but what do I know having been here ALL seasons? LOL

kids these days LOL

Aww....gcurrier. I'm a 52 year old kid lol. My goal is DI, though I like to be competitive. Then I realise I just need to build on what I have acheived. I know I can't start at the top, so I will put in the time and effort to work my way up now. My B group thing was just a test. I have since spent the money on shows and staff, and been hard out on my rehearsals. I just put myself behind where I could have been in DII with my B groups.

the thing is I'll be honest--in many ways the excitement is the climb! I started my B groups to prove a point (Leviathan in particular) but honestly sometimes working hard and yes being on top in Div 2 or 3 is the most exciting and then seeing your corps climb to Div 1 is pretty awesome---dare I say at time Nemesis can be boring now LOL With Leviathan quickly catching up I am honestly a bit shocked! I do however use to small changes in the plan with each and might go drastically different with Leviathan this season.

I noticed that the Div. 2 groups that advanced to Div. 1 all had a Director Level of 43 or greater ... While the groups that remained in Div. 2 had a Director level of 42 or less ... Money may play a part but so does a groups Director level as well as Influence ... Oh does Influence play a role ... I have some groups with only a Director level of "4" but they are in Div. 2 ... Theses groups have never raised nor spent any FMA cash on Staff (I.E. Thay have no staff what so ever) by either hosting a show let alone campainging to raise funds ... This shows that extensive rehearsing will get a group promoted at a very fast rate as will raising influence by campainging ... Just saying !!!

absolutely agree--all these things together help determine who moves up--not one thing alone. It seems at times the level has played a heavier influence. I was surprised Onachus remained in and won Division II for 3 seasons in marching band, seems very rare. Money wouldnt have had anything to do with that as i spent what I had always and only raised by show hosting. couldnt be just directeor level because gcurrier2 had existed for many seasons at that point with Leviathan. Influence probably helped hold and then promote them when it did.

Sure, who doesn't aspire to be in the "majors," be competitive, and win back to back titles? Obviously the reason that "newer" groups don't want to be in division 1 right away is that they want to be competitive when they first start out, win some medals for a bit in d2 and 3 before they are constantly at the bottom of the pack for several seasons in d1!!! It's easy for the elites on here to say "minors to majors" but the leap is much greater than minors to majors. it's tee-ball to majors!

My group wasn't always an elite. I would have preferred to place at the bottom of d1 than the top of d2 when I was getting started.

Liebling82,

I hear what you are saying about being competitive & winning Medals when starting out. However, I just won my first Medals ever in FMA after 20 seasons due to my decision to work toward being the best ensemble I could be & build up over the long term rather than seek short term gratification. Winning Medals in Div. 3 & Div. 2 is for the most part just an excersize in rehearsing 101. However, to win in FMA Div. 1 now requires extensive structural development of not only the Director level but also the Staff Rankings, & Influemce as well as fine tuning an actual rehearsal stategy.

Lasting success is only achieved by truely building from the ground up & being patient.

Best of Luck to all groups in season 39 & beyond.

FastForward, Inc.

hey my b groups are in the majors now...i had one season out of the top 12 once there...top 12 is the first step and really is an accomplishment in itself in Div 1 so I dont know if it was THAT drastic with lots of practice time still in there liebling82

Liebling82, DII is not that bad as long as you maintain your rehearsals. I really am looking forward to the experience and growth in DI. It could be worse, a few seasons ago, Dark Knights won DIII, with an 85 something if I remember correctly, in a much closer finals than this past, and they were bumped up to DI! Talk about having to put in the hard yards.

Gcurrier, you mean Onachus was actually given the opportunity to properly defend their title? Not once, but twice? Too cool. Hard to see that happening now.

I just wanted to stay in d2 so I could try for a medal again haha. The past multiple seasons I've been in the top for a long time then dropped near the end because of band competitions and stuff like that

Yes, I hear ya ASCoasters. I have a feeling I will have trouble rehearsing consistantly this season due to work and internet access. I may end up campaigning on days I know I won't have access. Not theway I want to go, though I will make the most of what I can in the situation.

yeah Onachus did have 3 seasons in Div 2 which was honestly even a shock then LOL I dont profess to completely understand the division placements--ive also seen a Div 1 take a season (maybe it was 2) off---come back in Div 2 and obviously DESTROYED

I've stopped racking my brain trying to figure it out. I just play the cards dealt and hope for the best.

Oh I think you were talking about me when my DC won its Div. 2 gold medal. Season 33 I placed 15th in Div 1 and the next season I was in Div. 2 and never lost a single show.

right--so you didn't even have a season off? so bizarre!

I think with my case though I didn't start the season until after divisions were determined so I had missed about half of preseason or so.

ah could be


best of luck with everyone tonight

and they're off! nice kick off and tight scores right out of the gate!

Well I'm not too terribly far down for being in d1, I'm pretty sure this is the highest score I've started with