Standing Up During Competition...

[Shankar M]

Team 188 takes our scouting pretty seriously. Unfortunately for our scouting team, prime seats for scouting are also usually prime seats for spectators. We try to make it out to the arena early and sit together in a location that will provide us with a view of the field even with the teams around us showing their support during the day. That, of course, is not always possible. I don't spend a whole lot of time in the stands, but when I am around to catch a few matches from the stands, the problem of standing spectators is usually solved by a polite requests or simply a slight shift in position by our scouts. It is a bit annoying to deal with, but any spectator sport will have cheering fans that obstruct your view.

As far as how our own team deals with showing our support, we try as best we can to avoiding obstructing the views of those behind us. Usually this involves heading down to field level as a team, and finding a spot where we can all sit, kneel, or stand to watch our match without providing everyone behind us with a view of the back of our jerseys. Looking back at our three regionals, this was probably easiest at the LA Regional where a "Team Viewing Area" was set up right at field level, but well below the overhead grandstands. It was a great idea that helped prevent this very problem. Although, space may be an issue at some regionals, perhaps working in a set-up like that will help prevent the problem of standing spectators in the stands.