A plea for a quieter pit area

[Rich Kressly]

I've always responded to the cries of, "robot!" with, "person!" I always get startled looks. It's fun.

[JaneYoung]

At the Alamo Regional, I asked the safety captains to go that extra mile and be the eyes of the the pit crew and also the eyes of what was going on around them. We had so many rookie teams that I wanted them to experience looking around and staying aware of what was going on.

I also asked the safety captains on the corner pits to be mindful/watchful of robots coming through and to help keep the aisle in their area, clear. The teams that I asked did an extraordinary job of keeping things moving without hazard.

One area that can continually be improved upon is talking with the team before the event and having a plan to keep the pit safe, the aisles around them clear, and be a part of keeping the flow smooth. Excited happy teams can really clog the aisles, grouping together or individually. Being mindful of that, especially as Saturday rolls around, is very helpful. It has nothing to do with yelling, 'robot coming through', it has everything to do with each team doing their part to control their area and keep it clog-free.

Jane