[Rick TYler]

Seat saving -- the absolute worst part of Championships. I have only been to Champs once with our FTC students (I couldn't make it this year) and seating was just awful. I tried to sit and watch some FRC matches while I was there and EVERY SINGLE TIME I went to sit down some snot-nosed kid (and a few snot-nosed adults) came running over to tell me I was not welcome because these were reserved seats for their team. The only way I got to sit was to ignore them and stay where I was. In the FTC fields, a huge group of parents and other relatives from a single team camped out in the first four rows right behind the fields, blocked seats, and sat there for the entire tournament. Even when their team wasn't on the field and most of them were gone, they managed to cover seats with clothing and other personal possessions to guarantee that no one else could sit in "their" seats.

I once tried to politely explain FIRST's seating rules to some adults in Portland and almost got punched for my efforts. How about disqualifying a team from competition for a year for violating the seat saving rules? I can guarantee that not many teams would be penalized before the practice died out.

I can't imagine how someone not involved with a team would ever enjoy visiting a FIRST event if mine is a typical experience. One of the great things about scorekeeping is that I always get my own chair.

On the other hand, I love the pits and asking students about their robots. That's the cool part.