[Andy Baker]

I thought we were supposed to focus on wearing safety glasses in the pits BECAUSE there was metal cutting happening. Our team (and others) have handed out safety glasses for years to help keep teams safe, BECAUSE we wanted to still be able to cut metal in the pits.

I heard Safety Judges start this trend last year... "no band saws, no sparks, no grinding in the pits".

We're smart enough to build a robot, program the code, and compete with a new game every year. I suppose that these "Safety Experts" don't think we are smart enough to remain safe as we cut metal.

They need to figure out a way to let us still do this. I believe that we are smart enough to keep ourselves safe while still using these tools. Maybe there does need to be some boundaries set, but not omitting this use of equipment all together. Obviously, the people who are driving this rule have not had the opportunity to be on a FIRST team.

Andy B.