[Oblarg]

Originally Posted by JesseK

I don't remember mass paper airplanes prior to 2011, and I've been to champs every year since 2007.

The reality is, the airplane issue is a double-edged sword.

On the one hand, many people disrespected the speakers and people on the floor by throwing things at them. On the other hand, the excitement of Einstein and Closing Ceremonies was totally annihilated by the fact that the whole process took four hours. For many people who showed up earlier than 3pm to get good seats, it was 5+ hours.

I was down in the lower stands, section 130. I concur that the airplane throwing needs to be addressed (in the very least, no more sharp edges!). However, the length and boredom of Closing Ceremonies is the root cause (not starting on time, going much longer than expected). Many FLL events bring in the drama club to keep the kids entertained for 30-45 minutes while the judging process wraps up. Along the same lines, FIRST could do something for Closing Ceremonies. Perhaps in keeping with the "Make it Loud" theme, a small entertainment event could start at 3pm on Saturday.

They could do a lot to alleviate the problem if they'd just do the following:

1) Give Dean Kamen a reasonable time limit for his speech, and make him stick to it.
2) Consolidate the giving of awards into a single ceremony, as is done for every regional competition I've ever been to and which I've never heard anyone complain about before. The awards-between-every-match system was horrid.