Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik
Seat saving was a problem. I know it's theoretically not allowed, but having to explain...
My proposed solution would be adding an additional "No Saved Seats Period" seating zone around the current match team viewing area. Preferably with large-print easy to read signs and an usher or two to cut down on arguments. Teams would be welcome to reserve space outside of this zone as a home base, but seat saving in the zone would be banned or strictly curtailed to only support scouting teams (1-2 seats per person, up to 4 saved seats per team). This would obviously take some tweaking, but I think it'd work a bit better than the jungle rules that currently seem to reign in the stands.
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I agree with this sentiment. I've posted about this in the past. FIRST is being naive if they believe that "no saving seats" can be enforced. In fact it will lead to chaos if truly adhered to as individuals would have to take everything with them when they went to the restroom and find a new seat when they come back. The real answer is to better organize the seat allocations.
My proposal is as follows. Now that FIRST is giving badges to everyone they can use those badges to allocate seating.
- Each team is allocated a set of seats for scouts in the lower area between the arena end lines. Teams can claim up to 10 or 12 seats (that's a pretty typical true scouting crew size). The teams will inform FIRST beforehand of how many seats they need, and FIRST will segment off those areas. They can rotate scouts through those seats from their other seating sections (see below). Most importantly--no "spirit" displays are allowed in this section. Those sitting in these seats are part of the competitive team and this section should be considered part of the competitive area.
- A section along the front 2 rows is allocated for VIPs and other with special badges. It is important not to OVER allocate the numbers of these seats.
- Non-scout members of the teams can save up to 20 seats in the larger area surrounding the scout area. Spirit displays are allowed in this area. The number of seats saved may be set as a proportion of the badges issued to the team. FIRST should know the seat count for
- Open seating is available outside of this area. No seat saving is allowed in that area.