Our scouting team is building our first bleacher mounted scouting table. Unfortunately we don’t have access to the bleachers to determine how to mount the table to ensure it does not fall. We are planning on using C-clamps but are looking for universal dimension of bleachers to ensure a good clamp no matter the venue. If anyone has any experience with this, we could really use the guidance.
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Is your team based out of a high school? If so, you could probably use the bleachers in your gym to test.
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We are based in a high school, but I just don’t have access to bleacher system to extend them at the moment. I have them scouring the internet trying to find dimensions for bleacher seats and row widths.
They are very motivated right now and I don’t want to have to make them wait to get the AD in here to open up the bleachers later this week. So, I figured reaching out to the community might help save some time.
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While I don’t have the bleacher dimensions, you can always pick up a cheap bleacher seat from your local Walmart/Meijer/Sporting Goods place
You can just copy that mechanism.
I don’t think there is a standard for bleacher seats. Ive seen plenty of metal ones, but I also see wood and plastic (where it doesn’t have room to clamp anywhere from what I can remember)
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What about the seat itself? Is there always a gap under the seat or a gap where your feet go under the seat in front of you?
This is something you should clear with the venue at which you plan to use it. A table clamped to a tight seating are is a potential hazard.
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Plus it potentially takes up space that would otherwise be needed for additional spectators. It’s a cool idea, but there is definitely a risk that you’ll be told to take it down - either by the venue staff, the Safety Monitors, or by other volunteers concerned about the amount of seating space available.
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This is common place in Indiana. I might be wrong about the clamping to the seats, I am just worried about it falling forward.
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I hate these things, OK I don’t hate the I hate where teams put them.
Look at the prime seating taken up by them. If you feel you need one that’s cool but move them out of the way much higher.
BTW not only are you taking up space that should be used for seating you are saving a large area of seats which is strictly forbidden in the manual.
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Oh! never new teams felt this way. I’m glad I reached out. Sounds like an easy decision to forgo this endeavor.
I am on the hosting team of this event (135). If you would like I can grab the measurements we used for our scouting table that we used on those bleachers.
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Thanks! That would be Incredible.
So my students are aparantly more over zealous than I give them credit for. The principal came in and was able to bring the bleachers out for the team. They had it made before I got turn around.
Where in the stands would you be ok with a team utilizing a table. The top 3rd of the stands?
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The venues where we play district events are PACKED. Every seat needs to be available for people to sit in. If we brought something like to this to an event, I think we’d get run out on a rail. Or at least end up on multiple “do not pick” lists. I’m honestly stunned that this is considered acceptable in some places.
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Depends on how busy it is.
It’s cool and convenient for the team using it, but yeah, it’s as considerate as people deciding to use the seat in front of them as their personal footrest.
So you’re not only taking up seats but also walking paths as well? This just doesn’t’ seem safe, or even remotely courteous to others, to me.
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That really does seem like a fire hazard, blocking the aisles for anyone that needs to leave in a hurry. Many venues I’ve been in have been packed, standing room only. Others have some open space, but usually on the ends of the field where no one really wants to sit (you can’t see much of the action over the alliance station wall). When considering something like this, please consider how you would feel seeing dozens of prime viewing seats unavailable because of these and your team relegated to seats where you couldn’t scout effectively.
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Just curious… what type of equipment are you planning to put on the table?
We use handheld tablets for our scouting in the stands. We typically try to set up a scouting table somewhere away from the field in a hallway, and have even been asked to remove that at a couple events we’ve attended.
Just 2 laptops, folders, paper scouting sheets.
This is my 6th year and I’ve seen them at every event I’ve been too by the dozens and never thought twice about them. Except for, “that’s a great idea, we should do that.”
Until now