Filming from Above

[Patrick E.]

If a team wants to use a small dirigible / drone to film live action near the sideline or over the field, would you let them?

[HLinNC]

 In NC, the state supervisor e-mailed us last week and advised it is legal, for now.

You can not hand the remote control over to the DB coach and say "here, fly this thing".  Whoever operates it better have training and a boatload of liability insurance.  Drop one in the stands and you will "hear the mating cry of lawyers in love".

[AlUpstateNY]

Sounds like a "Game Management" concern.

[FBUmp]

In NC, the state supervisor e-mailed us last week and advised it is legal, for now.

You can not hand the remote control over to the DB coach and say "here, fly this thing".  Whoever operates it better have training and a boatload of liability insurance.  Drop one in the stands and you will "hear the mating cry of lawyers in love".

We have one school with a drone which is one reason he sent the email. I don't know if there are others.

[wheels71]

it is ok in Ohio also

[Patrick E.]

In the states that are allowing drones, are there any guidelines as to minimum altitude, # of drones allowed to fly during a game? What if both the home team and visiting team want to use one?  How about if a later season opponent comes to scout the game and wants to fly a drone to obtain scout film?  Thanks.

[Etref]

May have to have an air traffic controller

[J12]

     In NJ, several years ago, there was a growing trend towards teams setting up a truck with a scaffold capability about 15 yards beyond the endzone. Coaches would be up there on the elevated platform from the truck on headsets to the sidelines. For whatever reason, I don't seem to see this anymore.

      I always took that to be a violation of the "team box" restrictions to have coaches there.

[HLinNC]

In NC, scouts filming would be prohibited anyway.  As to other regs, I don't know that there are any but as mentioned earlier, would be beyond the purview of game officials.

[d0d0joe]

It's not a drone, but around here a couple years ago my Alma Mater put up a cable cam over the football field to film the games.

They broadcast live on the Web FootballPhysics.Webs.com. I'm not sure if they broadcast Freshman/JV games, but if they do there is a double header this afternoon (starting at 5pm)

[Ralph Damren]

As stated in 1-6-1 & 2, just about anything can be used as long as it doesn't send the message/play/info/whatever directly to the player on the field including "outside the 9s" time outs. In Maine, the only drones we know of are the worker bees in a beehive. It has been rumored that some schools use carrier pigions and drop a note with the next play into the offensive huddle tied to a  bar. The snapper then slips the  to the hungry ump as a payoff for silence. Some overzealous pigions have been known to drop something else over the opponents' huddle. This could result in an USC charged on the pigion's team's head coach. The umpire should be advised against devouring said droppage. I believe this may only be a Urban  -no rural- myth, as no umpire that I know could eat a  bar after each play.

[VALJ]

Things are more fun when Ralph's around.