On top of everything else, the South Dakota High School Activities Association Board of Directors will give second reading tomorrow to a new policy on drones—i.e., you can’t have them at state events:
Not at State Track you don’t!
The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), also known as drones, is prohibited for any purpose by any person at any SDHSAA post-season tournament venues.
For purposes of this policy, a UAV is any aircraft without a human pilot aboard the device. This prohibition applies to all fields of play, courts, arena, mats, gym floor or pool, and includes a ban on the entire facility being used as part of the SDHSAA event, including the spectator areas and parking areas.
Tournament management shall refuse admission or entry to anyone attempting to use a UAV; and if necessary, tournament management shall remove anyone attempting to use a UAV and/or confiscate the UAV.
An exception to this policy, in writing, may be made in specific cases for SDHSAA broadcast partners, provided the management of the tournament facility permits the presence of UAV’s for broadcast purposes under the control of the SDHSAA [SDHSAA, proposed “Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Drone) Policy,” first read and approved 2015.06.10, scheduled for second reading 2015.08.27; SDHSAA Board of Directors Agenda Packet, Item #9].
If someone wants to record an outdoor event via a drone, they can be a mile and a half away (over 3 miles away with signal boosters) operating remotely (DJI Phantom 3 for example). So banning someone from entry isn’t going to make a difference if their goal is to film the event from above.
They will also have a hard time confiscating something if it is flying 200 feet above the field. However these rules are obviously trying to pre-empt some moron bringing their drone into a basketball court and thinking it is good idea to be filming from above… so probably not a bad idea even if the rules lack any ability to truly control people’s actions.
Deb Geelsdottir
2015-08-26 12:21
Your last sentence is the funniest, in a pathetic and perverse sense.
On the other hand, the policy is a good idea. Does SDPB use drones for filming events? Probably only in their dreams, right?
Douglas Wiken
2015-08-26 16:34
SDHSAA is also the collection of loons who decided girls and boys basketball had to be at the same time, so school boards interested in nothing but sports with their academics be damned mindset, are hell-bent on building incredibly wasteful and unnecessary “auxiliary” gymnasiums. Legislators should put a stop to this wasteful nonsense generating bad time and space management, etc. etc.
John
2015-08-26 20:21
hahahahahaahaha!!!!!!
The FAA and DOD have jurisdiction over the US airspace. SDHSAA can pound sand. What fools. What Malarky.
As a helicopter pilot I flew about anywhere I wanted, about, I often hovered inches above “private land”. Shooting at me or interfering or threatening my flight was captured on the gun camera film and turned over to the FAA & FBI for prosecution or a stern scolding. SDHSAA and the rest of you earth pigs lack any jurisdiction over my airspace. Deal with it.
Interesting, John: have FAA/DOD issued any regulations specifically allowing drones over crowded state athletic events? Or is the regulatory issue you cite simply that states and smaller administrative units cannot make any binding rule about the use of airspace? Do you mean the FAA really won’t allow Aberdeen Central to ban flying drones over the track and stands at Swisher Field? Would that include even drones hovering one foot off the turf?
If someone wants to record an outdoor event via a drone, they can be a mile and a half away (over 3 miles away with signal boosters) operating remotely (DJI Phantom 3 for example). So banning someone from entry isn’t going to make a difference if their goal is to film the event from above.
They will also have a hard time confiscating something if it is flying 200 feet above the field. However these rules are obviously trying to pre-empt some moron bringing their drone into a basketball court and thinking it is good idea to be filming from above… so probably not a bad idea even if the rules lack any ability to truly control people’s actions.
Your last sentence is the funniest, in a pathetic and perverse sense.
On the other hand, the policy is a good idea. Does SDPB use drones for filming events? Probably only in their dreams, right?
SDHSAA is also the collection of loons who decided girls and boys basketball had to be at the same time, so school boards interested in nothing but sports with their academics be damned mindset, are hell-bent on building incredibly wasteful and unnecessary “auxiliary” gymnasiums. Legislators should put a stop to this wasteful nonsense generating bad time and space management, etc. etc.
hahahahahaahaha!!!!!!
The FAA and DOD have jurisdiction over the US airspace. SDHSAA can pound sand. What fools. What Malarky.
As a helicopter pilot I flew about anywhere I wanted, about, I often hovered inches above “private land”. Shooting at me or interfering or threatening my flight was captured on the gun camera film and turned over to the FAA & FBI for prosecution or a stern scolding. SDHSAA and the rest of you earth pigs lack any jurisdiction over my airspace. Deal with it.
Interesting, John: have FAA/DOD issued any regulations specifically allowing drones over crowded state athletic events? Or is the regulatory issue you cite simply that states and smaller administrative units cannot make any binding rule about the use of airspace? Do you mean the FAA really won’t allow Aberdeen Central to ban flying drones over the track and stands at Swisher Field? Would that include even drones hovering one foot off the turf?