We got up at 4 am, showered and headed to the ‘performance’; that link to drumcorps was easy to make. Yes, Twan, Gerard and Elmar really did get up that early to be on time for their flight from Düsseldorf to London. The roads were covered in snow and the navigation system thought that it might be quicker to take the countryside roads instead of the highway, all while the clock was ticking away. Let’s call it a slow-start, because when we got to the airport the check-in and security checks went very quickly. The flight was comfortable and the rental car in the UK looked very good.
Thank goodness the TomTom navigator regularly reminded our driver that cars are supposed to drive on the left side of the road on this marvelous island called Great Britain. Driving ‘English style’ proved to be quite a challenge, especially when it came to navigating through narrow country roads with traffic coming in the opposite direction as well. Nevertheless, we reached our location in one piece.
The symposium was held in the church that is the home base of The Pacemakers Drum and Bugle Corps and we were among the first to arrive. After some informal chat with the organizers the representatives from Jubal arrived. They had rented a mini-van, left home at 7:30 am and took the train; sounds like a good idea for next year! We exchanged some ideas and appeared to be on the same wavelength.
The symposium was officially opened in the large hall of the church. We found some seats in the middle and the well-known DCE host and presenter sat down next to us. He wasn’t the chairman but was there to make sure that the day progressed in an orderly fashion. DCI Director Dan Acheson was welcomed and everyone had a chance to introduce themselves. Some general announcements concerning changes in the DCE competition were made and then the group split up.
Twan and I joined Bob Thomas’s group and had a chance to participate in a debate about the DCE judging system. Bob is an excellent speaker and he explained in detail what happened in past seasons, how this was evaluated and what the organization’s goals are for the upcoming year. Many points were discussed with corps’ staff members while Bob eagerly jotted everything down on his notepad. There were also some announcements about changes that will be made to the system. The most significant change, in my opinion, is that the sheets will from now on be split into two clear sections: one for design and one for execution of the program. This should make the scores a lot more transparent and I must say that I am very excited about the new manual. Let’s hope the judges exercise it well!
In the mean time, Gerard stayed in the main hall and listened to a speech by Dan Acheson. After that there was a presentation about public relations by DIN and AP (to throw in some well-known drumcorps abbreviations). The Beatrix Association’s website was named often as an example, and it became clear that our site is something we can be proud of!
To conclude the day some general words were spoken by several parties and a group photograph was made of all attendees. Straight after that, we got into our rental car and headed back to London. We had hoped to be able to catch a performance of the musical “Wicked” but unfortunately the traffic made that we didn’t get there in time. Nevertheless, I recommend anyone to go see this masterpiece! The story is surprising but fits exactly into the familiar “Wizard of Oz” tale and the music, wow, the music…
We had diner and headed to our hotel. After this long day it was a relief to see a bed, and we soon went to sleep to get up on time for our early flight the next morning. Once we landed on the mainland everything went very quickly. The navigation system once again sent us onto a country road but this time it was free of snow. I am now in the back of the car writing this piece and look back on a very productive and successful weekend. We gained a lot of knowledge, spoke to many people, were able to give our opinions and had many laughs along the way.
Gerard, Twan (the driver) and Elmar
More information about the Symposium can be found on the DCE website
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