Move the WRTC weekend? Nope.
Starting flames, put your suit on Rob.
The IARU HF Championship is under the auspices of the IARU - making it the
one international contest which has a backer that is the international
society for all hams.
Like yourself Rob, as an American, you are very free, something which seems
as unimportant to us as having IARU's contest's unspoken backing in the form
of the WRTC being run in conjunction with the IARU can make it be viewed in
the eyes of other governments sending competitors as being a real/serious
event vs. a so-what file that sheet of paper in file 13.
Yes the WRTC being simultaneous with the IARU HF Championship means the condx
for WRTC will never be as good as for those the WW contests enjoy.....period.
A real challenge of the WRTC is how the teams balance their all around
contesting ability including their CW vs SSB operation. I admire the winning
contesters for being able to do "the phone" as well as cw....and knowing when
to say when!
This means that if the competiton is to ride piggy back on THE existing
international contest it pretty much so has to be the IARU HF Championship
that does the piggying. Politics could get tough if say we were to run the
event as a piggy back to regional/globally events like the All Asian or WAE
or ARRL DX contests....no, keep the link to WRTC - and get the ability to go
both modes on one weekend as well.
As far as making the event a floating one going from country to country, yes.
Without doubt the moving of the event to different countries every cycle (4
years) is definately a sign that it IS an international event and just as the
Ws enjoyed the advantages of knowledge of W propagation the past two runs,
eventually the European operators will enjoy the advantage when the event is
staged in EU and the JA ops when it is done from Asia.
I think your major gripe is that the contest is not as major a player and the
ability to demonstrate multing skills is not given as strong a workout as it
could...I question that moving the contest would change that. The ear wax
boys are without doubt the best at passing mults, and they didn't make the
top ten....the TOY team (k1 TO and kr0 Y) out passed 'em however....don't
tell me that the rate wasn't challenging enough - the contact leading Judge
and Ajudged team (K4BAI and KM9P) averaged 139.5 QSOs per hour over 18
hours...this is enough of a rate test I think.
So - how do we make the contest more of a passing test, sit back for four
years and most of that problem will be solved. The sunspot cycle will bring
back DXing into the picture, and if the event is held abroad, DXing will be
running W's! And, one more thing that will help....the recollection of this
incredible event held in the minds of those who were lucky enough to have
partaken in it from either end of the QSOs.
WRTC2000, will only have to compromise the antenna requirements to be
duplicated every fours years worldwide, I cannot imagine a location abroad
which would have 52 stations in such close proximity with such similar
antennas. Heah, this could also will be an opportunity for some antenna
manufacturer to promote its 4 band vertical! Perhaps the ability to be thE
provider of the antennas used by the WRTC entrants could be auctioned off, as
well as the antennas being supplied gratis.
How about having the next one on a lucious stretch of endless beach, some
sort of major tent or trailer would be required as well as generators of
course. There would be a station every mile or two planting their verticals,
works for me - other than the potential for the disruption by Foster's Lager
drinking hooligans!
Just a few thoughts from an old fart, writing them down before he forgets
them.
zx k1zx@contesting.com
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Forwarded message:
From: ND3A@cais.cais.com (Rob Shapiro - ND3A)
Sender: owner-cq-contest@tgv.com
Reply-to: ND3A@cais.cais.com (Rob Shapiro - ND3A)
To: cq-contest@tgv.com
CC: donovanf@sgate.com (W3LPL)
First, I would like to congratulate everyone involved in WRTC-96. The Bay
Area
did a superb job in organizing and running the event and a great showing by
all
participants.
I guess it's time to look forward to the next WRTC, whether it's in 2000 or
2001.
Let me throw out some ideas and let's hear on the reflector what everyone has
to say. I have my flame retardant clothes on so don't worry!
First, having been involved in the PVRC attempt to host WRTC-95, I believe a
host should be chosen for the next event as soon as possible. This will
allow
organizers ample time to obtain financial support and plan everything. My
guess
is having a host chosen by two years prior to the target date for the
competition.
I realize NCCC had less than a year, but I believe (or would like to believe)
that
the work done by PVRC allowed NCCC to not have to start from scratch. I
don't
know when Seattle was chosen to host WRTC-90.
Where should the next one take place? I believe a great effort should be to
find
a suitable locale outside North America. The Olympics are moved around the
world, so why not WRTC? Also, I heard that jetlag was a problem for many of
the
non-North American contestants. For one who does a bit of travelling, spread
the joy of flying around! In that case, most people might start thinking
about
Europe or Japan. Major cities in both regions have large concentrations of
hams
==> contestors ==> contest stations. Those are two choices well worth
considering, but let me propose one other - Sydney, Australia. I've seen a
couple
of comments about WRTC being a demonstration Olympic sport, and Sydney is
hosting the 2000 summer games in late 2000 (don't forget the reversal of
seasons in the southern hemisphere.) I realize there are potential problems
with
Sydney, i.e. long flights for most contestants contest activity in/around
Sydney.
The big advantage would be potential great media coverage and sponsorship
due to the completed or pending Olympics. JUST A THOUGHT!
Let me say this about my next thought - I'm just throwing out ideas for
people to
consider and get their juices flowing. Therefore, it may not be politically
correct to
some. I propose that the next WRTC take place during CQWW SSB with
second choice being CQWW CW. The reasons follow:
1. I'd be willing to bet that the vast majority of semi-serious to serious
contestors
hold CQWW in the highest esteem compared to all other contests. All
contestants contact stations worldwide, unlike ARRL DX. You are not rewarded
for making contacts with same-country stations other than country and zone
multiplier credit. The IARU contest does reward same-country QSOs with
points.
I believe WRTC contestants should have to make a concerted effort to QSO dx
stations, and not run the "locals". Also, people are used to using one mode
during a given CQWW.
2. The WRTC stations could be made to count as multipliers as in the IARU,
wheher as one-time multipliers or once per band. I favor the one-time
multiplier
for each station so that other CQWW participants would not concentrate solely
on QSO'ing them as was the case in the IARU contest.
3. Let the teams operate in the multi-single category. One rig should not
be
constrained to receive-only as was the case last weekend. I believe this
would
enable the multiplier totals of the teams to increase, if the effort is made
to
search and pounce. Also, to enable stations to host teams, the teams could
be
constrained to 10m-40m operation as was done this past weekend. A common
off-time could also be imposed on the teams, so that it's not a 100%
endurance
contest for the contestants and for the judges! The off-time could be when
80m
and 160m operation would normally be taking place.
3. I mention CQWW SSB vice CW because the SSB weekend occurs closest to
the autumnal equinox. Sun lighting conditions would be similar worldwide and
not favor either hemisphere to a great extent. That weekend has appeared to
me to have a slight edge in propogation in years past compared with the CW
weekend, when operating from the east coast U.S. Finally, the general public
cannot copy cw. This is important considering videos made for the public,
media
coverage, especially if a demo Olympic event.
4. Notice that I said "next" WRTC, and not all future ones. There might be
a
general agreement that CQ and ARRL (CQWW and ARRL DX) should alternate
from one WRTC to another. Also, I (and probably many others) would have no
problem with a cw contest.
There's more I could probably say, but this is a handful for now. Please
throw out
your comments/suggestions to the reflector and lets make the next WRTC better
than the previous two, which won't be easy.
As a footnote to comments made about the next W1AW location during IARU,
W7RM sounds like a great idea. Another PVRC'er!!!
73 and good contesting, Rob
Rob Shapiro - ND3A
Potomac Valley Radio Club
Member of W1AW/3 team
Internet: nd3a@cais.com
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