[Sunshine]

I agree that there has to be a happy middle ground here. And this comes from a team that has those " shiny vests and the bright batons". We do not do this to be annoying or to win an award. We do this because of the near misses that have occurred with people getting nicked or prodded with an oncoming cart.

We do not teach or students to scream robot but do ask them to politely say: "excuse us, robot coming through" if people ahead of them appear to disregard the danger or do not realize they are in the way.

My observation is that the problem is generally not with other teams (sometimes) but with visitors in the pit area. They just stand there in front of you and sometimes give the kids a dirty look because they are being inconvenienced because they need to move a couple of feet. Teams understand quickly about the dangers of the moving carts. Visitors need reminders.

My gut feeling is that this practice will not go away but can be better monitored. The safety inspectors made a big deal out of our team practice last year at a regional and actually made an announcement telling other teams to watch us as they paraded us and down the isles showing people the "right way". Were we screaming robot? NO. Were we we saying:" excuse me, robot coming through"? YES!

For the record, our team has won many safety awards including the national UL safety award. These awards are NOT won by screaming robot. It is a complete program that is ongoing throughout the year. It is a culture and an expectation for all students and mentors. We take safety very very serious. It is NOT an afterthought or a gimmick to win a plastic trophy. We believe that we are preparing our students for a healthy life after high school.