[IUgrad92]

I am seeing more and more schools using rows of individual chairs in front of the bleachers to use as the team benches. This, obviously, is putting the players closer to the sideline. Often, the players feet are pretty much right there. One school I was at last year had a stage opposite of the bleachers and put the benches on that sidline. It was utterly ridiculous, running outside of that sideline was not even a possibility.

When I played in high school, I believe every school used the first row of bleachers for the team benches, thus giving a decent amount of space between the bench and the sideline.

NFHS 1-2-1 There shall be at least 3 ft (preferably 10 ft) of unobstucted space outside boundaries.

I almost laughed when I read "preferably 10 ft". That is rarely possible on the baseline and from my previous statements, getting 3 feet would be a luxury.

Where do you start with addressing this type of issue? Local association or with the state? Anybody else experiencing this?