Actually, Hrle's idea isn't at all ironical or brilliant. Many contests
request either an SASE or a small donation to defray costs of mailing the
results out -- the Pennsylvania QSO Party, to name one, has been doing that
for years. (So you say big deal, they only have a few hundred entries to
handle instead of a few thousand? That's still quite a lot to handle -- and
beside the point)
But that's really beside the point.
The entire issue being raised here (again) about having to buy a magazine or
join an organization to get contest results is or soon will be a moot point.
Remember, the ARRL is moving the contest results to the web effective 2003.
So you won't have to join the League or buy QST or get someone to photocopy
the results for you anymore in just a few short months.
So now the argument is that there are some who don't have access to the
Internet and won't be able to read their results online? Well gang, I'm
sympathetic, really. But still... I suspect that no matter how hard they
try, it will prove to be virtually impossible for the organizers of these
big contests to get the results to everyone. Mail gets lost or stolen.
People don't buy magazines. Internet access is unavailable. Results are
not translated into the appropriate local language. CD-ROM's containing the
results get turned into coasters. There will ALWAYS be something.
I think the real irony here is that for most of this year, there was nothing
but complaints about the ARRL removing the contest line scores from QST.
NOW the complaint is that they're not on the web fast enough! Sheesh.
So rather than sit back and continually whine about how unfair (fill in the
blank) is about how they run the (fill in the blank) contest and how they
expect everyone to (fill in the blank) to get the results, why not work
together to help get those results to those having difficulties?
Hrle, if you want your friends to see the results, why not let some of us
know ? I have no doubts that SOMEONE will volunteer to get them a copy of
the results, one way or another, merely out of goodwill. Most of us are
like that.
But if you really choose to erroneously believe that you are being
"blackmailed" into buying a publication to get the results of a contest,
then don't operate in that contest. I hope you don't choose to take that
route. We'll miss you.
73, ron wn3vaw
"And they give you cash,
which is just as good as money!"
Yogi Berra, AFLAC Commercial, 2002
----- Original Message -----
From: "Hrvoje Horvat" <hrle@ipazin.net>
To: cq-contest@contesting.com
Cc: patrick@rkp.ice.hr
Subject: [CQ-Contest] Re: ARRL discrimination
As a young student of economy I learned a bit of a modern capitalistic way
of making business, and guys in ARRL/CQ Mag you doing it all wrong.
Contesting is soooooooo popular and there are bunches of people every day in
front of my doors begging me to let them play in a contest, so this gave me
an idea how community can make more money on them.
Blackmailing with asking people money (memberships and such stuff) and in
return giving out the results isnt really so popular among radioamateurs and
some people usually get the results without even paying for it. We dont want
that, right?!
Here's what I suggest. In every other hobby one must pay if he wants to take
part in some compettition (yeah, even fishing) and so ARRL/CQ-Mag guys you
should do the same.
You should ask people to pay you before the contest, okey as hamradio is
specific hobby, you should ask to pay when people are submitting logs. So if
one who sent log didnt pay simply wont be shown in the results. This way you
will avoid all those that are not willing to pay and wants to read the
results wont even be in them. Same way you will avoid them searching trough
all the possible ilegal ways just to see what place they took.
Now you gotta admit this is just a brilliant idea.
I do hope someone got the irony out of the text above.
One can only laugh on how CQWW/ARRL organizers are presenting their's
contest results to the world. I guess CQ Mag and ARRL folks didnt notice
that hamradio as a hobby is fading out and newcomers in this hobby appears
in rare cases. Instead of making plans of how to make more people comming
into our hobby you make fools out of the existing ones.
Last week I was CQing on 20m and one ukraine guy came to ask me the postal
mailing address for the SAC SSB Contest. He asked that in the name of the
very active young kid's radioclub which I worked dozens of times in all
sorts of contests. They have no internet, no cabrillo formats and their
equipment is older then I am (19). Sad part of the story is that they're not
the only one. There's a lot of amateurs in east europe which probably wont
see their scores in any contest no matter they participated and sent their
log.
Their avarage monthy pay for hard work is about 50 USD. So if they wanna
read their CQWW results they have to work whole month for it, and if you add
ARRL make it two months of hard work. But I'm sure you out there notice how
your qso rate meter goes up on these people.
We're not talking about free food here, you guys are making fools out of
people!
If you want to make private contest, if you think you can charge your
contest charge it so people will know what they're getting in return. You
cannot invite all the people and taking money out of them with using pure
blackmailing methods. I sure missed a line in rules saying if you want to
receive the results get subsribed to CQ magazine or something like that.
Same for ARRL, I have to wait months longer if I'm not a member and nobody
said that within the rules. Maybe if I knew this I wouldnt work those
contests at all.
People at WAE and UA DX Contest understand this and so I greatly welcome
their new standards. Thanks for the fantastic free scorebooks and broshures.
I'm sure I'll be back in those ones, while I have strong doubts on showing
up in ARRLs again.
Hrle - 9A6XX (9A7P Team)
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