Are there any safety rules pertaining to hair length? (ex. needs to be tied back)
The manual says …
**3.3.6 **NEW: Other Safety Recommendations
At events, the pure anticipation and excitement of being at the competition sometimes overshadows common sense and safety fundamentals. One safety area that teams sometimes overlook is the particular need to wear appropriate and proper clothing when working or just hanging around the robots. In addition to the ANSI-approved safety glasses required for eye protection, FIRST also highly recommends that team members and mentors:
• Don’t wear loose or baggy clothing near the robots
• Wear proper shoes to protect feet and toes
• Wear gloves to protect hands and fingers when carrying the robot or handling the robot crate.
• Tie back long hair so that it will not get caught in the robot or machinery
If your hair is long enough to be tied back, tie it back. 
Make a fashion statement by using a zip-tie. 
You sir, win an internet.
too many people claim i look like a chick when i tie my hair back…
look for me at the granite state regional, and nationals (and mark is still single but lookin…)
And if your hair is really long, a simple tie back won’t do, you may have to pin it up, bun it, do something to keep it from falling forward into machines.
Heidi
Looks like I’m getting a haircut
Well. I certainly have nothing to worry about…
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f327/X-Cats/2007%20Season/Week%204/100_1251.jpg
You’re absolutely right! My hair is about two feet long, so I tie it back (with three scrunchis!) and stuff it down my shirt. Although maybe I should consider using zip ties. . .
I got my head stuck in our robot twice last year; my hair kept getting tangled in the extruded aluminum. This led me to conclude it was time for a haircut…a foot and a few inches…
You know you’re addicted to robotics when it leads you to cut your lovely, long hair short for convienience.
Mine’s over two feet long also…but i don’t worry about it getting caught in the bot…although last year, when stationed in the middle, it was sometimes touching the bottom of the scoring thing…http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/rocknthehawk/sentinelhair117.jpg
that was a year and a half ago.
IF Exploding Bacon has anything to say about it…Barry Bonzack wont have to either…tee hee
Watch out for the suction cups… they leave a nasty little bruise.
Don’t ask how I know…
Jason
Sorry Ed, but I just can’t read this line from you without thinking of your MySpace “younger you” picture …
http://myspace-021.vo.llnwd.net/00834/12/07/834997021_l.jpg
This young man better watch out to be sure that his head doesnt get caught up in the drill press! 
-dave
Is there an actual length though that is “safe”? I am a guy, and my hair is about…mmm…I’d say it’s about 6 inches long (average length) all the way around (no, it’s not a bowl-cut)
Is it safe enough just to wear a hat, such as a brimmed-beanie?
My hair used to be really long, but I had to cut it or else they wouldnt let me work in our shop. And that woulda sucked you know?
This may have been done before but it might be fun for a team to put together some different hair ideas for those with long hair, or like me, chin length. I just take a wad of it and stick it in a rubberband when my face and work has to be free of mess. We had a senior last year who would do the same thing when he was working with the power tools/machines. Between us, it could get pretty ugly pretty quick - safe but ugly.
If anyone is getting a ten inches or more cut, they should consider Locks of Love. Here is their Web Site http://www.locksoflove.org/. When I get my haircut, it will be my third time donating to this organization.
I second that. Last summer I cut 11 inches off and donated it. The organization makes wigs out of the hair and gives them to children who, for one reason or another, don’t have any hair.
nice…but may we resolve a safe length to have? I say above shoulders = OK
…unless you have your face in a drill or disc sander