By Allison Owen Continuing last week's insights to Division II & III, I thought I would take some time to mention the few things I know about Division II & III compared to all the things I know about Division I. I'll be the first to admit that I don't know much about Division II or III yet, but I think there are a lot of people out there who don't know much about Division II & III either.

Allison Owen
Many fans know the general knowledge that Division II & III corps are typically smaller in size and don't compete as many times or go on tour as long during the summer as the Division I corps do. But it goes much deeper than the average fan knows. I remember reading Andy Dittrich's article back in July entitled "I am a Division II & III marching member." Now I'm not quite sure why I remember reading it, but I do remember that it was the first time I really understood some basic things about Division II & III of which I was previously unaware. Maybe the average drum corps fan already knew these details, but to me, having never seen a live show, these things were less than common knowledge. My first reaction to reading this article was "Why would anyone want to do that?" Isn't it funny that now -- about five months later – that I can imagine no better way to spend my summer?

I found out so many things about Division I from vets and alumni in the past months since I had every intention of marching Division I and only Division I. Now that this is not the case, I'm sure I'll learn tons of things about Division II & III that I would never have known if I had marched only Division I until I aged out.

This might not be where I would have chosen to march originally, but now I feel fortunate to have this opportunity to march. I have several years ahead of me in this wonderful activity and I'm glad to be able to share the first year with you, the reader, and allow you to be able to watch as it all unfolds. By the way, I love getting e-mails from people with stories, advice, and such. It makes me smile to hear of other's experiences in drum corps; keep them coming.

Well, that's it for me this week. Good luck to all those drum corps hopefuls out there. Always remember that there are plenty of places to march. Keep checking back each week to learn a little bit more about marching Division II & III. I'll let you in on it as I find out for myself; this is a new journey for me.
 
Allison Owen is a sophomore at Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tenn., who plans to audition for a corps in November. "I'm in the SHHS guard and I like writing, dancing, performing, traveling, photography and having fun. As for after high school/college, I don't know what I want to do ... I just know I would like to do something dealing with color guard, computers or writing," Owen said.