[N7UJJ]

By the time we get to St. Louis, we have spent over $1,000 per member to get there. Leaving safety glasses at the hotel, in the pits or losing them happens.

I do not know what a bulk order of cheap safety glasses cost, but surely a deposit of $5 or driver license or VIP pass or something similar would cover the investment for loaners that are not returned. FIRST needs to buy more.
We WANT people to visit the pits. We want everyone to be safe and to develop safe habits, thus the safety glasses station. With the huge cost to run the event, it would be an almost trivial expense to assure anyone who wants to enter the pits would be able to enter safely and with little hassle.

While I always agree with Jane, this time I have a differing opinion. Teaching and enforcing responsibility is a universal goal for teachers, parents and mentors , but not a priority for the safety glasses station. (maybe a tally mark after the team number of student/mentor loaners. Let the UL safety inspectors meet with the teams with the most "hits" to investigate and instruct.) Let’s focus on getting people in and out of the pits safely with minimum hassle. All people should be offered the opportunity to borrow safety glasses for safety sake. Discrimination for age, team affiliation, or competition location is counter productive to FIRST core goals.