[Chi Meson]

Our team unfortunately tried to follow the rule and as a result we never got to sit fully together as a team.

When we had a game on the second match of one day, there were at least two teams in our division where 50+ seats were saved by 3 or 4 kids. The rest of the team were not even there when the matches started. No team in the second match. No team in the third match.

We managed to scrounge half a row of seat (up to the tape stretched across several rows by yet another team, who were, at least, mostly there--I got glares as I moved the tape down one seat so I could sit down). As the pit crew and mentors arrived for our match, there was nowhere near us for them to sit so...

They had to find the empty seats scattered among the other teams

Later in the day, our team managed, like an amoeba, to soak up various adjacent seats (our block looked like the state of Maryland [seriously, check it out on a map]), and after I gave up my seat for one of our students I stood in the aisle.

For about five minutes

looking at the team behind us who had four seats taken up by scouting boxes. Subtle hints were ignored. A direct question of "do all those boxes need to take up all those seats?" resulted in no effect.

So yeah, it's a problem. Everyone knows you're not supposed to, yet everyone does. The best teams do. Chairman Award Winning teams do.

If you are reading this, chances are your team does. And of course we have in the past (though we have never gotten any "good" seats because we don't send out the 3 kids an hour ahead).

Here's my solution:
Rule 1: One person in the stands gets to save 1 seat! If you need 50 seats, you better send at least 25 people into the stands to keep them.

2nd rule: a person in the stands gets seating precedence over any t-shirt, pom-pom, pennant, flag, number, or box. No argument.