Re: Paper Airplanes!
 

I completely agree that this should not have been going on when people were speaking.
I also don't think that it was done to make a mess for someone else to clean up.
If the only reason for not throwing a paper airplane is to not leave a mess for someone to pick up then so be it.
I find it hard to believe that any team was doing this just to make a mess or to be disruptive.
Who cleaned up all the confetti on the stage after Einstein. It is good that no one slipped on that paper and fell and broke something.
It is good that teams like 27 and others are willing to help out with cleaning up the area that we as FIRST use for our events. It is an example that many other teams should follow.

Re: Paper Airplanes!
 

I agree, and I also should have said in my initial post that every team should endeavor to clean up the area around them. I just thought that the post I was replying to, like a couple others in this thread, was an overreaction. I think that throwing paper airplanes towards the field is a fun way to pass time during the seemingly endless delay before Einstein, although I definitely agree that this should stop when people are talking.

Re: Paper Airplanes!
 

Perhaps they understood that expecting tens of thousands of high school students to sit still for hours the way they had was a tad ridiculous.

I know that at the point where that particular speaker came up, they had already completely lost the crowd. Not just the students, but the parents and most all the mentors as well.

The structure is ridiculous. You don't want the airplanes? Ok. Have FIRST get a little more realistic about how they structure the awards, the matches, and all the numerous speeches.

You leave that many kids together with nothing to do, and they will find SOMETHING. They started with the wave, the roller coaster, and a dozen other things that I'm sure no one had any disagreement with. Leave them to their own devices though, and it's going to happen eventually.

Re: Paper Airplanes!
 

It wasn't just in Einstein with the VIPs, safety risks, and disrespecting the speakers- I know on Curie one of my team's matches [244s] had to be replayed because somebody threw an airplane onto the field. Does anyone have the common sense of when its ok to do things? It is just a bit upsetting to hear things like that.

Re: Paper Airplanes!
 

This was my first thought! Also, I'm fairly certain that whatever the arena staff did sweep up, they put it into the trash. Think of how much recyclable material that is!

Re: Paper Airplanes!
 

There were airplanes before the finals/closing ceremonies? I didn't notice them.

I thought they were cute at first. They looked really cool, especially with the lights off. I caught a few. My friend and I were writing cute things like, "smile, you're beautiful" and we even saw a few that said "prom? 555-555-5555." They definitely made me smile, especially with the stress of the tornado and some other stuff that was going on in the stands. However, I definitely agree that when they should have never been thrown into the VIP section and should have stopped during speeches. I was sitting with my friend Ria, who was in a wheel chair and there was an airplane that almost hit her on her knee. Besides that, I definitely didn't think of the safety hazards or the sponsors that were attacked by the planes. You would think that people had common sense.

Re: Paper Airplanes!
 

There was a single balsa wood airplane thrown onto/near the Curie field (an SAIC giveaway, I think?) on Thursday. I don't believe that's what caused the match replay, though... I think the replay was due to a communications issue.

Re: Paper Airplanes!
 

Simple solution:
1.every one downstairs put safety glasses on while facing the crowds
2.no throwing while someone is talking. Just do it prior to the speech or between the games.

Re: Paper Airplanes!
 

I could not agree with this more, I think the planes made for a very entertaining way to pass the time before Einstein. I know I for one, as well as the un-affiliated adult next to me, would have been at wits end by the time the matches started

And also I don't think the planes were as disrespectful as people are making them out to be. Yes there were some flying during speeches, but the ones I saw were thrown way before they even got to the podium, and all of the speakers didn't seem to have any problem with it.

Re: Paper Airplanes!
 

There was some booing when the PTC speaker came up, mainly because a woman at the scoring table grabbed a plane out of the air. That was a pretty bad moment for everyone.

Re: Paper Airplanes!
 

Tom, hit on something of a separate issue here. The amount of time that these teenagers (not to mention adult mentors) were expected to sit around and wait for thing to get get going is ridiculous. When you loose the attention of the group you have to expect something to happen.
The amount of time between alliance selection and the start of the divisional eliminations was so short that our alliance did not have enough time to get all together on the practice field. Our drive team and pit crew had just enough time to shovel down some food in the pit and rush out to the field. Then at the end of the divisional's I had time to pack up the pit, load the bus and still have time to wait two hours for anything to start on Einstein.
Then people want to complain about a harmless release like making paper airplanes. I think this group did very well listening to speeches from that they really did not want to hear after waiting that long to hear them.

Re: Paper Airplanes!
 

There's a pretty easy solution if it's important enough for them to stop: deny access to the upper tiers. Yet there were paper airplanes last year and it wasn't enough of a problem for them to deny it this year. Next year a small acknowledgement and request will probably suffice. "haha, thanks for remaining true to engineering -- yet let's have an applause and some respect for our incoming speakers and sponsors".

Mad props to whoever made the airplane that soared and hit the screen on the Galileo field.

Just wait, next year's safety award campaigns will include "proper" and "safe" paper airplane construction that "minimizes risk of poking an eye out".

Re: Paper Airplanes!
 

Denying access to the upper tiers is an atrocious idea. Our team was in divisional finals, so we didn't migrate to Einstein for a long time. By the time we arrived, literally all seats were filled. If they hadn't opened up the upper tier, then we would not have been able to watch Einstein.

Re: Paper Airplanes!
 

So move Einstein to one of the long sides of the arena.

Re: Paper Airplanes!
 

From what I heard, the plane landed in a robot and jammed the drivetrain. The alliance opted not to ask for a replay since they had won anyway.