> Next to that it has spiraled out
> of control - just look at the spotting beacons, the pre-contest
> propaganda etc.
>
> 73, zoli ha1ag
I agree with Zoli.
The very structure of the category encouraged poor behavior - not only
operators being "overly eager" (what a finely-nuanced phrase that is) to
assist their national HQ station, but operators actively trying to reduce
the scores of other HQ stations with various trickeries. Was that promoting
international goodwill? Obviously not. Is making QSO after QSO from a list
of calls not your own somehow improving operator skill? I don't think so on
that account either. The HQ category had been degenerating into a
ballot-box-stuffing competition for years.
While the HQ competition increased cross-border activity some, the
misbehavior was guaranteed to spread into all contests and all categories.
Opening the HQ circuit breakers was entirely appropriate and was not an easy
decision to make in any sense of the word.
Will there be room for an HQ or HQ-like category in future IARU HF
Championships? I can't say, but perhaps instead of trying to defend what
had become rather a mess, what sort of competition and rules could be
devised that would not include such powerful incentives to misbehave?
Instead of encouraging national member stations to get on so that they will
work the HQ station, encourage them to work everybody and then total up the
scores like a big club competition. Sponsor a competition to work the most
WRTC-2010 stations. Who can work the most ITU zones? Etc.
I like the IARU's mid-summer, 24-hour format with unusual zones to be logged
and interesting HQ prefixes, suffixes, and abbreviations to copy. If we
could get everybody trying to maximize participation for the benefit of all
instead just for "the home team", it would be a big step forward out of the
swamp.
73, Ward N0AX
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