People, please read the criteria for being accepted into the Masters of FMA, in the previous post here. Just had two applicants, one drum corps, one marching band, who do not qualify. I am going to reject those now, out of courtesy, so they may apply for another show.

thank you Jim for jumping on!!

No worries Garry. It's been 20 seasons since I last hosted the Masters. I saw we were in a jam and I hadn't scheduled my shows yet. I sure hope the overall number of FMA groups picks up. Looks like it may be a slow season.

I think the late start knocked a lot of people out

They'll slowly get back into it over the first week I think

Does anyone have an issue with me going ahead and accepting FMA Finalists now ahead of the Friday acceptance? Entries are low enough that no medalists will be left out. Hurry! Get your entries in!

Done! All Finalists accpted. Still need qualified entries

I'm still reeling over how I clicked the MDL-LC Semis button instead of Masters... I'll be back.

Rip lol

There are still openings in all 4 Masters of FMA events. I feel bad for declining applicants, though I feel the integrity of this event must be maintained. Please read the rules for qualification. Your group must have made an FMA Finals in any season to qualify. No exceptions.

Well it has occurred in the passed that if not enough people can attend as finalists, other groups were accepted lol.

Hosting rules:

* director must be in good standing and be able to host a minimum 20 group event
* FMA Masters will take place Monday of Finals week
* Until Thursday of pre-season week, only medalists (Gold, Silver, Bronze) from previous finals (including all 3 divisions) will be accepted.
* After Thursday, the host may start accepting previous seasons finalists- non-finalists will not be accepted, even to fill spots.

Yes, it has happened in the past, due to extreme circumstances. Those circumstances were not to accommodate the groups that wanted to enter when they did not qualify. There were to help out the host, who was a newer director trying to make a decent profit from the shows. I'm not in that position. My costs are covered.

Out of respect, I did not name-drop on this. How would it look, if I accepted your groups, after turning down others who did not qualify? I try my best to be as fair as possible. Ya know, treat everyone evenly and with respect. TBH, it is really beyond me that you even tried, though it is not the first time. Show some maturity that should go along with being an FMA HoF member.

I may lose friends because of this post, I may not. I do feel this had to be said though. I believe in upholding the integrity of this prestigious event. Rant over.

I am slightly (as in incredibly) confused? I was just stating that if you don't have enough groups apply as medalists/finalists I'm sure nobody would complain if you filled your show. Simmer down now I was not being *ahem* "immature" by simply stating the obvious of what had happened in the past.

I would also appreciate an explanation as to why you decided to ream into me rather unexpectedly. What have I ever done in the past to, uh, soil the integrity of the event? I guess? I am genuinely confused as to what you are talking about. I've done nothing as far as I know, that would suggest that to anyone (other than yourself of course).

EDIT: also don't know why you are so peeved that people applied to the show despite not being eligible. Thought that was odd that you got so annoyed so quickly... You do realize not everyone on this site takes it very seriously... They just apply to whatever show suits their fancy at the time. You are not required to open the event page to apply, so I am going to assume that they never did, and just clicked the shiny blue button.

It is hard because many don't read the forums or review any rules and just apply anyway. I know when I bust Masters I have a slew of corps I turn down who have never been finalists.

I do appreciate you are sticking to the rules on this as I do as well but yes we have granted approval in the past to open it up for extreme circumstances, which considering you grabbed this so late to help us out, I would think would qualify, IF you needed or requested it. Not sure why that suddenly became a strike against Strad for suggesting it, but I do appreciate if your costs are covered that you are good.

Just a heads up, I can host Masters for all groups EXCEPT Marching Band next season, because I dont have a marching band. Just to clarify, Tier 5 is 25 groups right?

Yup that's tier 5!

Thats fine Alexander--you can take all but Marching Band and if we don't have another taker for that, we can host MB.

Come on now, let's not get all hostile. I personally have made tons of mistakes while hosting Masters of FMA. (And I have only done two). The rules are the rules, but with all due respect, at the end of the day, the event is ran by that person. I don't think that accommodating to a small director's needs in order to get better funds affects the integrity of the director or the event. Of course, this is a prestigious event with a lot of history, but things around here aren't the same anyway.

in other news, I can take MB next season if nobody else wants it. I'm taking a couple fundraising seasons anyway.

sounds good Tyler--you take MB

I think this discussion got forgotten, so I'm using a B group to host