My son competes on a swim team and every parent must volunteer. I would call the upcoming heats for the swimmers. There are a lot of people at these events and they can be spread out a long way. $10 when I purchased it, would pay $15 without batting an eye. What a deal! Some families learned to camp out not so close to the staging area. Batteries lasted the whole season (beyond, actually.) At least 24 hours of use.The siren is loud, too, but I don't have much use for that.