Pit work during ceremonies

[Libby K]

Originally Posted by stufflikethat

I see your point here about being respectful, but in all fairness what makes these people's 30 minutes any more important than mine or anyone else's. To them its just a speech at a cool robotics event, to my team its 6 weeks of hard work and our chance to attend champs. If "important" people want to come speak at events during ceremonies that is all good, but personally I have heard the opening ceremony speech too many times.

This is just like that 'why does Einstein have to face the VIP box' thread about Championship.

What makes their time worth your attention is that they've contributed support, in any number of ways, to help make FIRST happen in your region (or on a global scale, in the case of someone like Dean or Woodie). If they're important enough to warrant speeches, then they're there to help bring attention to the event you're at. How exactly is that not "important"?

These people you don't think are important, just because they're not on a team themselves, may have spent just as much time and effort on FIRST as you have in other ways. And their effort is just as important as yours. It's up to you to recognize that and respect them with your time and attention, just as they're respecting you and your efforts with their attendance.

You can put your power tools down for 20 minutes to give these people some respect. Send all-or-most of your team to the stands to respect FIRST's invited guests, and if you really feel like you need 3 or 4 people in the pit, make sure they know to keep it down.

How is that so hard?