A Not So Gentle reminder to display Gracious Professionalism
 

To teams who continue to save seats at competitions:
Puh-leeeze stop it!

There is room for everyone.

As 9 of my team members sat down in open seats to watch the matches at GLR, we were actually cursed at and told to leave by several members of another participating team who claimed the territory as their own. Parents on this team appeared to condone this behavior.

The offending team will be attending the National Championship, and I hope they calm down and learn to display decent behavior by then.

Re: A Not So Gentle reminder to display Gracious Professionalism
 

Out of curiosity, are you against saving personal seats? I kept my coat on my seat to save it and keep it out of the way. As did many team members. I did not think that this was going against GP. However, we did not do as you described and save empty seats. Team members who saved seats saved their own.

Re: A Not So Gentle reminder to display Gracious Professionalism
 

i think it is important that teams sit together, even if they are not all there at the same time. Some teams do not have 92387923759324 members that can site in the stands constantly. There are alot of teams on which there are only say, 10 members, that need to run in and out of the pits all day(such as us). Also, i think seats should be on a first come, first serve bassis. If your team is motivated to get up early to get good seats, then get there first and run for those prized possesions.

Re: A Not So Gentle reminder to display Gracious Professionalism
 

But there are some teams with a lot of members that block off a whole section of seats for their team. And they're never in the stands for very long.

Or the teams that block off 50 seats for their 10 members and two coaches -- but are saving the other 38 "just in case parents show up". That's not fair to everyone else who is already there.

Though I do agree it's important that teams sit together, I don't agree with teams blocking off a whole section of seats for the whole day when only a small portion of their members will be in the stands for most of the time. I think this is the problem most people deal with - not a few people leaving their coats on the backs of their chairs so they have somewhere to sit later on.

Re: A Not So Gentle reminder to display Gracious Professionalism
 

Yes, that is pretty annoying.. but if all the seats are blocked off just for students and advisors, i dont see a problem with it.

Re: A Not So Gentle reminder to display Gracious Professionalism
 

Ok, I'll be blunt. 384 saves seats. There, it's off my chest. But for us, we save them for our rounds. If people want to sit in our seats, they can, but we will ask them to move when all of our pit crew comes over to sit and watch. Then afterwards, they can come and sit again. We save only enough for us, and no extra. We had many people sit in 'our' seats, and we let them. It was GP and didn't mind it. Plus we handed them beads and buttons, so at least they'll advertise us too. ;)

Re: A Not So Gentle reminder to display Gracious Professionalism
 

*puzzled* FIRST rules don't allow any seat saving, so why is it ok if you're saving seats only for your rounds and doing it graciously?

link - see page 5

Re: A Not So Gentle reminder to display Gracious Professionalism
 

If people sit where your team sits then just sit around them. If you are a particularly spirited and verbose team they're just going to have to put up with it.
But being verbally abusive to other teams is VERY dumb. What if they are a seeded team and are in the process of selecting alliance partners? They'll remeber that your team memebers were graciously unprofessional and hold it agianst you. FIRST is as much about politics as it is about building a robot. Everything you say can be held against you and your team in the court of public opinion!

Re: A Not So Gentle reminder to display Gracious Professionalism
 

PLEASE REPORT IT TO THE JUDGE ADVISOR OR ANY JUDGES YOU SEE!!
THIS TYPE OF BEHAVIOR IS NOT TOLERATED AT THE FIRST COMPETITIONS OR LEGO COMPETITIONS.

In the pass, Teams have been removed from the award candidate list.
I remember one year a team ruined their chances at the Chairman's award because of one parent open their mouth to an inspector in a very un-GP way.

:mad:

Re: A Not So Gentle reminder to display Gracious Professionalism
 

Figure we should review the rules posted by FIRST in the manuel (please note #3, but how you choose to understand that rule is up to you):

Please read the following restrictions and adhere to them in order to promote an orderly, safe, pleasant, and exciting competition. As a group, we all should honor agreements with the venue and help promote the spirit of good partnership.

Please:

1. Do not bring food on the site. If you bring food, do not bring it onto the property.

2. Do not use noisy devices, such as floor stompers, whistles, or air horns.

3. Do not save seats. It is not fair to other teams or to the public guests we hope to interest as team sponsors or volunteers.

4. Do not deliver or ship robots directly to the site. All shipments go through the Drayage Company.

5. Do not arrange for Internet access on the site or attempt to connect to the internet.

6. Do not sell any products. This includes food, hats, shirts, or any promotional products.

7. Do not give out any free food products, such as candy, water, soft drinks, or fruit. You may trade team pins, however.

8. Do not bring helium tanks.

9. Do not invite or bring live bands to play in the audience. This dilutes the presentation on the playing field and is too loud and confusing for the audience.

10. Do not play loud music in the Pit because it interferes with important announcements. If a team receives more than a warning or two, the power to the team's Pit Station will be shut off and/or the music confiscated.

11. Do not form "tunnels" during the Awards Ceremony. This can cause discomfort to those traveling through them and creates safety issues.

12. Do not take any FIRST signage, including the Pit/Team number signs. We use our signs for multi-event and multi-year applications. They are expensive and it is stealing.

Re: A Not So Gentle reminder to display Gracious Professionalism
 

those of us up here in the artic (NY) have to wear winter clothing this time of year

we cant pile all our coats in the 100sqft pit area

so what else can we do but put our coats on a chair?

I dont consider that saving a seat - if I get to the event at 8AM and put my jacket on the seat Im using, then get up to wander around for a while, am I suppose to carry my coat around with me all day, everywhere I go? Thats absurd

I dont think leaving your jacket or bag on a seat is 'saving seats' and yes, I would feel upset if I came back and someone was sitting on my jacket, eating food, spilling drinks on it...whatever.

Re: A Not So Gentle reminder to display Gracious Professionalism
 

I do think if someone is sitting in an area and leaves their stuff I would hope someone won't come along and physically move it and sit down. That is just plain rude.

Re: A Not So Gentle reminder to display Gracious Professionalism
 

I thought this rule was meant to prevent teams from doing something like laying a banner on a whole bunch of seats to save it for the team. Do you guys believe it applies to the person like me who puts a coat on the chair? I never felt I was doing anything wrong. A chair seems like a natural thing to put your coat on while you are doing other stuff.

I just looked again and apparently a couple people just posted on the same thing. Why not have a poll?

Re: A Not So Gentle reminder to display Gracious Professionalism
 

Nothing wrong with looking after your stuff but if your team is guilty of using vulgar abuse to defend your stuff that is not accecptable.

Re: A Not So Gentle reminder to display Gracious Professionalism
 

I believe I can speak for my team in saying that we did not abuse anybody. Besides, we are not only representing ourselves, but we are representing Scouting as well since we are a Venture Crew. Doing something like that is against our policies.