Originally Posted by flyinwalenda

This info comes from our group member who raced at Governors Island and Hawaii. He said that the organizers at the GI race had to take down a good portion of the track and redo it because the ama told them it was not safe for spectators. If they worked more closely with the ama from the start possibly that issue could have been adverted.

For spotters ,well ,in fpv racing things happen so fast a pilot needs or would want someone who is experienced in racing, knows the safety guidelines, knows how races work so they can assist them properly. At jet rallies a pilot wants another experienced ,event registered pilot as a spotter and I believe at some events that is the only person that is allowed to be a spotter.
Now not all pilots make good spotters that is for sure. I'll bet we have all had a fellow pilot spot for us at the flying field and do a not so stellar job.
At events where there are spectators the pilot and spotter need to be experienced,knowledgeable ,and on their game.

This is a problem with fpv racing as I believe (using mgp as an example) that a large number of members flying in their own little groups are not ama members and do not hold a Ham tech license.
Now someone doesn't have to be an ama member or have a ham license to fly safely but those folks are probably in the minority. Bad habits are formed early !