[EricAnderson191]

I worked as a safety glasses attendant and had to deal with problems on Wednesday and Thursday.

On Wednesday before 5pm, pit access was supposed to be limited to 5 team members. There was no way to enforce this so most teams came through with everybody. This was a safety problem due to the large amounts of equipment being moved into the pits. Some monitors tried to enforce the 5 person rule which only annoyed people and slowed down the lines.

So for next year, if this rule/procedure is really important, FIRST needs to get buttons, ribbons, etc, to the load-in crew so convention center staff and FIRST volunteers can help enforce it. I do not care one way or another as I believe the fear of a person being impaled by trusswork or of actually doing the impaling will make people move thoughtfully.

On Thursday, one of the divisions was running late and we were told to shut down pits at 5pm on the nose. Ushers were there to do this and several teams who had legitimate business in the pits were denied. Some adults got nasty with the ushers who then called security. The issue was resolved when a paid FIRST staff member gave the necessary instructions to let people in.

On other notes:
- Men's bathrooms were gross after about 12noon. Leaky toilets, broken soap dispensers, and empty towel rolls ruled the day.
- Convention Center concessions were expensive. If I respect the operator's no outside food rule, then I expect not to have to pay $10 for a hamburger.

Meeting people was great and some the scenes of teams walking around will stay with me for a long time. After all, where else but an FRC even will you see a pig identify someone they know, give a hug, and then pose for a selfie?

Eric