Eric,
I assert two things.
First, top ten lists, etc are not provided for in the rules. That much is
fact. Provision for these kinds of listings exist only in the editorial policy
of the sponsoring organization.
Second, it is my opinion that such lists do not necessarily recognize the best
efforts. A careful reading of contest results, including such details that are
available outside the contest writeups such as station configuration, hours of
effort, band summaries, etc reveals much that top ten lists miss.
If one were to take the top ten lists, es pecially in DX contests, at face
value, it would appear that almost all the best contesters live east of the
Appalachians and north of the southern border of Virginia, but it simply isn't
so. The distribution of both excellent operators and excellent stations is
relatively uniform throughout the country. Results from other kinds of contests
demonstrates this fact.
The problem which contest sponsors need to confront and solve is how to
recognize excellent efforts apart from a top ten mentality. This said,
contesters themselves need to accept the challenge to maximize scores by
learning to "play the hand with the cards dealt them". That is to maximize the
comparative advantages they hold with respect to other contesters in other
regions and there are many examples of contesters outside the northeast that do
this well. The question is, are these efforts recognized? The ARRL, by the
way, should be commended for establishing the top 5 boxes by region and class
for the ARRL DX Tests, this is certainly a step in the right direction.
7e de Jim
W0UO/5
Eric Hilding <dx35@hilding.com> wrote:
>Jim, W0UO/5 suggested:
>
> > The development of top ten lists, etc is no more than the editorial
>policy of the sponsoring
> > organization, and that can and should change.
>
>WHOA!!! ?I disagree...I think Top 10 lists are not only cool, they are
>highly motivational.
>
>>Rick, K6VVA
>
>
>
>
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