[EricH]

A proposal:

The rule should be amended to clarify, something on the order of:

"[TXYZ] During opening and closing ceremonies, teams may work on their robots, with the following restrictions:
--No more than 6 team members in the pit.
--No use of power tools.
--Other noisy operations to be kept to a minimum--this potentially includes but is not limited to robot operations and hand sawing.

In the event that a team does not follow the above restrictions, event staff may request that the entire team leave the pit area.

Teams are encouraged to have their entire team attend the ceremonies as a team if at all possible.

[TABC] TXYZ may be suspended for an event if the Regional Director, FTA, and other staff as appropriate determine that having teams working will provide a distraction from the ceremonies at a certain venue. If this determination is reached, all teams must be out of the pit during ceremonies. In the interest of fairness, all teams must be informed of the restriction as soon as possible. Teams that have yet to pass inspection and have a match within the first ten matches of competition may apply through the Lead Inspector to work in or near the machine shop or other out-of-pit location for the duration of the ceremonies, under the restrictions outlined in TXYZ."


The trick with the second part is that it allows teams that really need to work a chance to try to get some working time, but they have to find a place that won't disturb the ceremonies. If you're "I have to get this automode fine-tuned right now" then you probably won't be given clearance--but you can also make arrangements to not go very far and be back quickly (and there's a chance of not being allowed to do that in the first place, as that could involve running a robot, which is a potentially forbidden activity).