What not to do!!!!!

It baffles me that EO's would deem that kind of setup safe enough to have a crowd SITTING a tiny 2 meters from the action...

Lol thats pretty dodgy... reminds me of the old days of events in school playgrounds.

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Originally Posted by marto

OK I just saw this earlier today. And let me say its a little F*&%ed.

Nobody from Australia is attending this event as we are hosting our Nationals competition in a separate state otherwise I hope someone would have said something to the organisers.

Oh and here is a video which makes it look worse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_VGO9IuvRY

I really want to know what happened here as initially we were in talks with EB to do the event for our nationals competition however after a few months they dropped off talks and then announced Robot Wars was Coming for the First Time from the UK. *sigh*

I don't really care too much as we are more interested in the compeition not the show which is always difficult to balance at these sorts of events. However I really want to know what the hell happened with the arena.

What I am guessing happened was that EB said they would make the arena (something which they promised us) then the guys showed up there and this is what they got. Not sure if this is likely or not but I really want an explanation. As one person getting hurt is the difference between us never being able to run a public event ever again and this is just bullshit.

For anyone who is interested in what a real Australian Feather only arena looks like.
https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hpho...58075653_n.jpg
Notice the 6mm polycarb and steel......
I want it to be known that we would never run Heavies in a mesh cage in front of the public.

That ends my rant.

Steve

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It's probably quite simple really as to why they went with Jonno. If your given the option of 2 clients and one brands themselves as the "official TV show" then that's what they're going to go for. The fact is that other than some logos it's just RR.
They most likely had a deal to build the arena, but it's their duty to make multiple trips to go and see the arena designs and building throughout the process to make sure well in advance that there is a safe arena being produced, and if not call the show off. It's irresponsible not just because their insurances almost certainly won't cover anything, but with the robot wars brand being used we all fall under that image and so it has far greater effects on other organisers around the world to if they were just called roaming Robots.
I think it's about due for another FRA meeting.

I completely understand why they went with the brand and sure they were better equipped to put on a show.

But I am very unhappy with the level of safety which was employed.

I stressed the importance of the arena in my contact with them but they obviously completely ignored that when they switched to RR. Is there anyway to get in contact with EO as I would like some sort of explanation as its the rest of us here in Aus which are going to get screwed if there is/was an incident.

Steve

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Originally Posted by brandon_nichols

They don't have any polycarb screens in Australia? What about the RoboWars guys?

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Yes, we do have a full polycarb arena that can contain feather spinners. This was happening the same time 900km north.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npLTCMYvq8Q

You need at least a 1.5m area around the arena before the crowd. They shouldn't be right up against the polycarbonate like that. That said this make the other event look like death row.

In fairness though Alex, the drivers stand right next to Polycarb at the champs in the uk...

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Originally Posted by SamO

In fairness though Alex, the drivers stand right next to Polycarb at the champs in the uk...

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I specified the crowd. A driver knows when to step back and what machines could produce a dangerous accident and so they are aware. The crowds are generally not as well informed. Also if a driver is injured they know it comes as a hazard of the hobby, if you injure a spectator that is a whole other ball game. Its not perfect logic but there is a difference.

There is bollarads around the arena which are meant to keep spectators 1m+ away from the arena however these tend to creep in throughout the day. I am not particularly worried for non-spinners for the spinners I usually do a walk around before the fight. Still I Think we are slightly off topic. The 1m vs 1.5m gap behind polycarb and steel is somewhat moot compared to a mesh fence.

Steve

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Originally Posted by marto

There is bollarads around the arena which are meant to keep spectators 1m+ away from the arena however these tend to creep in throughout the day. I am not particularly worried for non-spinners for the spinners I usually do a walk around before the fight. Still I Think we are slightly off topic. The 1m vs 1.5m gap behind polycarb and steel is somewhat moot compared to a mesh fence.

Steve

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I agree. How did the Feather event go? I saw the damage to Mr Mangle.