[Katy]

One mantra of my former mentor that I have come to respect is "No coats! Leave them with the scouting team!"

Coats, backpacks, purses, camera bags, laptop cases, umbrellas, and other personal affects of students on a 20+ person team take up a significant amount of pit space. They also constitute a hassle as team members come into the pit to retrieve various objects and get underfoot. Leave them with your scouting team. Your scouting team should be working in shifts and never leaving the stands anyway so there will always be somebody there to watch the belongings. Be sure to inform your scouting team of their new responsibilities.