Saved Seats
 

In the hotel and in the airport I heard the same thing from people coming to the Robotics for the first time. There were teams that were saving seats in the stands. These people just wanted to see a match or two or watch their grandkids or friends compete.

I know that NO FIRST students were doing this, but next year make sure you tell your parents and friends "saving seats". We want to invite people to sit down, not send them away.

Re: Saved Seats for Finalists
 

That's why I'm discussing it :)

Re: Saved Seats
 

Unfortunately this will always be a problem and should get it's own thread. This year my drive team went to see the drivers meeting. Teams had already been reserving seats for the competition. When they tried to sit down in a section a student came up to them and told them the seats were reserved for their team then an adult came up and told them the same thing and made them move. They wouldn't even let them sit there for the drivers meeting! I only wish I would have been there and not in the pits. We would have had a quick discussion about the rules, GP, and plain old common courtesy.

Re: Saved Seats
 

I'll bite and say plenty of FIRST students and entire FIRST teams were saving seats at Championship. One instance of this (towels with team number on them for every seat) was so blatant I didn't know what to think.

Re: Saved Seats for Finalists
 

Yeah I know what you mean. We were sitting right next to those stands and we saw it all :P. Although Frog Force did indeed notice you guys up there and tried to wave :D!

Anyway, don't worry about it. You guys are always welcome to come sit with us. We are pratically the same team since we share signs and all ; ) .

Re: Saved Seats for Finalists
 

Thanks alot and We love you guys. However, this goes deeper then just my team. In future years I think division finalists should be given roped off seats in order to be able to see Einstein. Not to mention if your robot was fielded. Think about it, what if your robot was fielded on Einstein but you could bairly see it. To me this would be extreamly disapointing (the not being able to see part, not the being on Einstein part;) ) It just seems logical that the teams who just missed being on Einstein should be able to watch it play out.

I don't think any bad can come from implementing something like this and it adds a bonus on to being the finalist other then a metal.

As to the saving seats rule. I think that most teams do this without realizing it. Despite any rules that are/might be put in place we will always see some of this. In the mornings I see many teams guilty of this including my own. I think most teams have come to accept this as just the way things are. So to sumerize, leaving things in the stands overnight such as roped off areas to save spots is unacceptable. However, I don't find anything wrong with putting sweatshirts and such over chairs in the beginning of the day as long as you're willing to share with other teams that might want to use some of those seats for scouting, viewing, ect.

my 2 cents

Re: Saved Seats for Finalists
 

A fellow mentor and myself watched some matches as a spectator this year and for the most part almost every seat in front of a field had some type of reserved sign on it, BUT when I asked if it we could sit with them and help them root their team on, no one objected. So, while seat saving will always be something we struggle with (and have been for the 10 years I've been in FIRST), let's make a committment to never turn folks away if they ask to sit down by you. Also let's continue to work with our parents on this. I know my team has been guilty of this in the past and it is often the case of parents just not knowing the rules.

I had to stand for most of the Awards/Einstein ceremony at the second level, even though there were empty seats that ADULTS were saving for the entire ceremony. Even after asking several times, they wouldn't budge, and I wasn't about to sit next to a JACK@$# for an hour. It turned out that standing gave me a pretty good view.

Opening up the third deck would have been great.

Re: Saved Seats for Finalists
 

I do see a lot of teams putting towels out and other team paraphanalia on the seats at events....as we do with sweatshirts. But I'm with you: I don't see a problem with this. We need to get enough seats together at the beginning, otherwise our team wouldn't be able to sit together!

That said, we strive to be gracious and if anyone wants to sit where we have place sweatshirts, my key line is, "Absolutely you can sit here, but just know that when our match comes up, you're going to be surrounded by yellow, buzzing teenagers." (as opposed to "buzzed" teenagers ;) ) Usually they laugh and either move when students come back for matches, or cheer along with us.

I do not like when teams use caution tape or duct tape to mark off seats. It blocks the rows completely and is a clear indication that no one is welcome there.

Re: Saved Seats for Finalists
 

An interesting tale I forgot to mention:

At a Vex competition a few years ago, a man was trying to find a place to sit, and it looked like two or three teams told him that their seats were reserved. He came by my section and I offered him my seat. That person turned out to be a representative from a local technical company looking to sponsor a team, and after seeing the team qualify, he gave the team $500 to cover the Championship registration fee.

FIRST is about changing the culture, so I'll give up having a perfectly uniform cluster of seats in order to accommodate the public any day of the week.

Re: Saved Seats for Finalists
 

The division Finalists are the First Alternates for that Einstein alliances. In fact, one was very closely called into play in the final match. It would have been a shame if their students couldn't see them on Einstein as they were late getting over from the award ceremony.

Re: Saved Seats for Finalists
 

i was lucky enough to know someone who had access to the press box... but i know how everyone feels... i saw security guards shooing people away because there wasn't enough seats... lets just hope St. Louis will accommodate the seating issue next year

Re: Saved Seats for Finalists
 

I would like to see a section of seats saved for division finalists the way it is for the division champions. Both alliances are on their division field for the same amount of time, and both are deserving of being able to see the Championship field. I don't recall if this has been done before, but it would be nice to start.

Re: Saved Seats for Finalists
 

I know that, I am talking about a division alternate. These teams have the same problems as the finalist but without any of the fun.

Re: Saved Seats for Finalists
 

I don't realy agree with you. You could send some of your team to get seats. I was sitting with 2 friends for several hours to save seats for our team. Somtimes people have to make sacrafices for the benifit of others

Re: Saved Seats for Finalists
 

Agreed, especially for visitors.