aparke wrote:Do our rules (i.e. insurance) dictate absolutely no children? I was under the assumption that children and pets must be supervised and must remain behind the barrier.
You can get into technicalities if you want, but the combination of our sites and our insurance rules has caused OUR CLUB to dictate "no children and no pets".
Technically, IF we were to set up a well-established "spectator area" a MINIMUM OF 100 FEET away from any hot area (that's course or grid), we could be a little more relaxed about spectators. That's impossible to do at SPC. The best we can do is keep people behind the barriers... which is fine for adults, and would be okay for children, but parents have proven repeatedly and constantly to be unwilling or unable to keep little kids out of my grid! So, no freakin' kids! For the protection of THEIR safety and OUR liability.
At Brooksville, were it not for the access list limits, we could set up a safe spectator zone and allow "spectators" and kids. But, still, the problem of "wandering children" ALWAYS comes up. Regardless, I'm not going to give up driver positions to allow children at those events. So, no kids at Brooksville.
However, is the SERIOUS ISSUE over the fact that they are present, or is this more of an issue of following the rules?
Both. Mainly safety. Like I said, kids wandering into the grid HAPPENS when kids are present. What spurred this discussion was a kid stepping off the curb (the curb is NOT behind a barrier) into the grid, and nearly walking across the start lane to get to Dad on the grid... and that's just ONE example of the kind of problem we're trying to avoid.
Drivers, even if they're driving slow through the grid, aren't looking for a kid to jump out in front of them. KIDS, on the other hand, are VERY likely to run out in front of their car when they see Dad or Mom over talking to someone next to another car in grid. Kids don't respect those boundaries. The guardrail will keep the car from hitting someone on the other side... but it WILL NOT keep a kid from walking out in front of the car.
In the past, we were much more lax about this. Like so many things, this is something that has changed as our club has grown from having 30-40 car events to having 60+ car events. As things get busier, it becomes that much more important for us to be vigilant about safety.
St. Pete is obviously more conducive for spectators and oftentimes, that means families are present. They way I see it, an issue of non-participant spectators (who haven't signed the waiver) wandering onto the course/grid is completely separate from actual participants and their families not following the rules. I think it's a plus that FAST has always been familiy-friendly at this site. Let's be careful not to let a few careless drifters ruin that for the others.
Want to bring kids to a FAST event? Set up "camp" outside the FENCE. The fence will keep your kid out of harm's way. Three sides of the pad at SPC are fenced. One side (that never seems to get used by anyone) is very grassy and open and would be IDEAL to watch from. I'm talking about the NW corner. Might be an odd hike to get over there, but once you're there... you're safe.
) So, Ron fixed him up and results have been revised.
