Post by Ushuaia on May 3, 2012 0:27:18 GMT -5
With Anthrocon approaching and the summer coming up I think it is important to open up a discussion about how to safely escort a suiter around.
The escort carries the essentials for the suiter. These may include ice packs, spare battery packs, water, food, things the suiter uses as props, changes of clothes for the suiter, emergency supplies, ect... The escort needs to provide these things when requested and needs to make sure that there are enough supplies and let the suiter know if they are getting low on something like water or batteries.
The escort needs to be able to know where to go to do things like get out of the suit use the bathroom or get medical attention. The escort should have a phone, and will usually have a camera. The phone is important for medical reasons. Suiters will often want to be filmed in suit and it usually falls to the escort to do it.
Suiters have extremely limited vision, so it is important to have someone to act as an escort to keep them safe. As an escort you should watch out for anything that could trip up, or catch a suiter. Stairs and escalators are especially dangerous. You should use an elevator whenever possible. If a suiter decides to use the stairs make sure you are walking behind him if going up and in-front if going down and are ready to catch him if he loses his footing. Escalators present their own problems. A suiter's feet or tail can become caught in the escalator. For this reason suiters should avoid them where ever possible.
You will also be responsible for communicating the suiters wishes to anyone that is around them. For instance many suiters don't like random people coming up and touching their suits. Unless a suiter initiates contact no one should go up and grab or touch a person in suit. So as an escort you are responsible to let others around the suiter when it is or is not ok to approach. Some suiters will not talk or have a very difficult time talking in suit. So you should have a preset understanding of certain hand signals to use. You should have signs for: bathroom, overheating, water, medical emergency, ect...
An escort may also have to help the suiter get into or out of his suit. This is critical as the life of the suiter is in the hands of the escort. If a suiter collapses, signal someone to get medical attention immediately. Stay with the suiter. If there is no chance of a neck or spinal injury then you will need to get him out of the suit ASAP and get him cooled down. You should know the signs of dehydration and heat stress and know what to do in-case of this type of situation. Once medical personnel respond, you will defer to them. Until they get there do your best to keep the suiter cool by applying ice-packs behind the neck and using a fan. Get the suiter out of any sweat soaked clothes as much as possible.
This is about all I have for now. If you have any suggestions or would like to post about your experiences either suiting or escorting a suiter as it relates to this topic, please feel free to do so.
The escort carries the essentials for the suiter. These may include ice packs, spare battery packs, water, food, things the suiter uses as props, changes of clothes for the suiter, emergency supplies, ect... The escort needs to provide these things when requested and needs to make sure that there are enough supplies and let the suiter know if they are getting low on something like water or batteries.
The escort needs to be able to know where to go to do things like get out of the suit use the bathroom or get medical attention. The escort should have a phone, and will usually have a camera. The phone is important for medical reasons. Suiters will often want to be filmed in suit and it usually falls to the escort to do it.
Suiters have extremely limited vision, so it is important to have someone to act as an escort to keep them safe. As an escort you should watch out for anything that could trip up, or catch a suiter. Stairs and escalators are especially dangerous. You should use an elevator whenever possible. If a suiter decides to use the stairs make sure you are walking behind him if going up and in-front if going down and are ready to catch him if he loses his footing. Escalators present their own problems. A suiter's feet or tail can become caught in the escalator. For this reason suiters should avoid them where ever possible.
You will also be responsible for communicating the suiters wishes to anyone that is around them. For instance many suiters don't like random people coming up and touching their suits. Unless a suiter initiates contact no one should go up and grab or touch a person in suit. So as an escort you are responsible to let others around the suiter when it is or is not ok to approach. Some suiters will not talk or have a very difficult time talking in suit. So you should have a preset understanding of certain hand signals to use. You should have signs for: bathroom, overheating, water, medical emergency, ect...
An escort may also have to help the suiter get into or out of his suit. This is critical as the life of the suiter is in the hands of the escort. If a suiter collapses, signal someone to get medical attention immediately. Stay with the suiter. If there is no chance of a neck or spinal injury then you will need to get him out of the suit ASAP and get him cooled down. You should know the signs of dehydration and heat stress and know what to do in-case of this type of situation. Once medical personnel respond, you will defer to them. Until they get there do your best to keep the suiter cool by applying ice-packs behind the neck and using a fan. Get the suiter out of any sweat soaked clothes as much as possible.
This is about all I have for now. If you have any suggestions or would like to post about your experiences either suiting or escorting a suiter as it relates to this topic, please feel free to do so.