Tips for first time at champs?

[northstardon]

Originally Posted by GreyingJay

One can only have so many servings of chicken fingers and fries...

We packed coolers with sandwiches, cookies, etc. but we were not allowed to bring them into the stadium. Security stopped us every time, examined the coolers, and said no. So we would have lunch parties on the sidewalk just outside. This wouldn't be bothersome except that somehow, other teams were managing to bring in food just fine. I'd regularly walk past groups with pizzas, BBQ chickens, Chinese takeout, ... Maybe we were using the wrong entrances.

I had nothing but positive experiences with the security personnel working at last year's event.

My parents drove up from Arkansas to watch their granddaughter's team compete. Now my mom isn't very mobile, and would have had a really hard time walking from the main entrance to the Archimedes Division field location. She's also (bless her heart) too stubborn to use an electric cart. Fortunately, Archimedes was located right next to a stadium entrance that was reserved for volunteer use. So before my parents arrived, I explained the situation to a security person that was stationed at that entrance, and asked if they'd make an exception for my parents. She smiled, shared a personal story about her own slightly stubborn mama, then made certain that her colleagues knew to let my parents use that entrance each day. They also didn't blink when my parents brought in a small cooler with their lunch (concession stand food doesn't work well with health-related dietary restrictions).

On a related note, I was also able to get my parents their badges the day before they arrived, so that they didn't have to stand in line for 30 minutes (registration was an even farther walk than the main entrance). The gracious assistance meeting my mom's needs was a personal highlight of Champs, and was much appreciated.