First of all, my sincere thanks to the DL team for stepping up and
volunteering to host WRTC 2018! In many ways it seems like a thankless
job, with criticism shared before, during, and after the event, but I
believe the vast majority of this is good-natured and the vast majority
of participants go home with lifelong positive memories. I would like
to provide some counter-arguments to Vlad's comments as well as the
thoughts of some others regarding selection in the Oceania area, which
have some points applicable elsewhere.
I, obviously, was very surprised and overjoyed that the selection
committee has decided to take two teams from Oceania. It helps
eliminate some of the propagation disparity between VK/ZL and stations
north of the equator. In reality, three qualification spots are likely
required to cover the differences in propagation [differences in
propagation to Europe] from Oceania. I don't think we will find such
sympathy from our counterparts in Europe or parts of NA where the
density of contesters is much, much greater! Look at Africa for
example, where ZS stations have to compete with those in zone 33.
Oceania had a similar issue during qualification for WRTC 2014, but I
understand why the committees have decided as they did.
There has been a lot of argument about how the geographic zones are
unfair to one country or another. From my area, zone 27/28 always will
have better propagation than zone 31 to Europe, and thus will always be
at an advantage in the high-scoring qualifying contests as they are all
EU-Centric. How do I counter that? I can operate some contests from
KH2. Likewise, VK6 will always have advantage over ZL. Operate a
couple qualifying contests from VK9X to maximize your chances. Is it
easy? No - but it is possible if you really want to compete. Look at
Dima's score from 7O2A and you can see what is possible with a simple
setup of verticals on the beach. My contesting as NH2T was all with
simple verticals and a Spiderbeam. Instead of trying to change rules to
a way that benefits the suggester (and will always place someone else
more at a disadvantage), why doesn't the suggester be more flexible
himself? Every sport requires effort and sacrifice to compete at the
highest level.
I do not think it matters which contests are used for the selection
process. WAE, RDXC, and the WAG will provide contest opportunities for
those who have the skills but not access to the stations. Large
stations may be available for guest operating in these smaller contests,
from station owners not interested in competing at WRTC. For example,
W3LPL may be available for a younger operator in the WAE contest, where
he can guest operate, compete, and potentially make max points to help
his chances of selection. Limiting the selection to the big contests
only helps to help keep WRTC an elite event where those with the most
money and biggest stations go, because the big station owners
historically operate the major contests themselves. Historically, the
WAG has had poor participation from Oceania. I bet participation
increases in 2015 and 2016! If you want to get max points in this
contest, you still need to beat the other guys in your area all vying to
make maximum points. Remember, you are only competing with others in
your area.
There also has been a lot of complaining about the short qualification
period, with 12 contests over two years. Personally I don't see the
issue. From NA, lots of guys operate both modes of ARRL DX, WPX, and
CQWW DX - that is six contests per year already. Add efforts in other
popular contests, such as RDXC, Sweepstakes - I just don't see this as a
big deal, and I am an active duty military member with two young kids
still at home. Every sport requires effort and sacrifice to compete at
the highest level. This gives you a chance in 2017 to operate with your
WRTC partner and practice for the big event.
I am not sure about the Low Power *VS* High Power decision. It is
completely logical to reward good operators who compete in the low power
category, because they are most likely to succeed in the low power WRTC
format. On the other hand, I am not sure it is possible to ensure
everyone plays by the rules. What percentage of EU contesters operate
the CQWW DX legal limit of 1500 watts output? 400W UK and 300W I
stations? I suspect there are a lot of violators who run more power,
and many of them are prior WRTC competitors. It is sad, but that is
reality. I only hope that those who chose to try qualifying by
competing in the low power category are truly low power. Unfortunately,
I envision some people at their computer reading this and laughing at
how naive I am being.
It is interesting how the qualification process changes between WRTC's,
but many of the same players end up competing repeatedly, one way or
another. I suspect it will be no different next time. Wild Card and
Sponsored teams will provide opportunities for those who gave a full
qualification effort and are worthy of competing, but didn't make it for
one reason or another.
Again, thanks to the OMs and YLs in Germany for their willingness to
host the next WRTC event. I already can't wait to participate, be it as
a competitor, referee, or just a spectator.
73, Dave KH6/N2NL
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