I am a casual contester and have been on and off since the Novice
Roundup of 1966.
So, there is a good place to start. Many of us made our debut into
contesting as part of the old Novice Roundup. It was a good place for
the total contest newbie to get the flavor of a contest. We don't
have much of anything similar today, except for the rookie divisions
in some contests. I am not sure what form this contest for newbies
should take, but a contest devoted to the contest novice only would
be a good place to start getting newbies interested in contesting.
Perhaps the rules could be written so that a big gun could loan his
station to the novice for a day or two of contesting. There is
nothing to hook a ham on contesting like a big signal.
I installed a new computer in the shack about the same time as the
Morse requirements for licensing died. A lot of the new calls on the
digital modes are upgrades. I think that a digital beginners contest
would be a good way to attract newcomers to contesting. Or
publicizing the digital contests we have to the newbies in the club
newsletter, repeater, word of mouth, or whatever.
I think that the contest rules are often daunting to the newcomer. It
is still hard for me to comprehend that it takes a half dozen pages
to list the rules for a contest whose main purpose is exchanging 599
plus your state. Streamlining the rules would help attract newcomers.
Yes, I know that would open the door to cheating, but isn't that a
bad message to send to future contesters? That we must have a
plethora of rules to prevent cheaters?
The QRP community has been very successful in getting newcomers
started in QRP contesting. They have done it with simple rules,
simple contests, short duration contests, contests that have
interesting themes, and rapid reporting of results.
Local contests clubs are a big help to the newcomer as well.
Recruiting members to contribute to scores in the club competitions
certainly helps get the enthusiasm and drive up among newcomers. I
know I would not have operated the last Phone SS if the local club
did not need the score, and I probably would not have operated as
long in the CW portion. Being invited to operate a couple of
rotations at big station multi-multis recently has helped get me
enthused about contesting as well.
Quite often getting started is the hardest thing. So publishing a
getting started in contesting article in the local club rag or web
page should help a lot. And be specific, talk about what things to
load in the keyer memories, how to setup a computer for contesting,
how to chose a band strategy, when to call CQ and when to S&P, and
when to sleep. Yes I know that we learned these things the hard way,
but knowing these can make the difference between a pleasurable
experience for a newcomer and a frustrating one.
Perhaps one of the most helpful things to encourage newcomers is to
comment favorably on their effort after the contest. Find something
positive to say about it and give some tips on how to improve things
next time. This is especially effective when coming from a known big
gun. - Dr. Megacycle KK6MC/5
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