[3830] VHF Contest Submission and Rules Clarification

[Henderson, Dan N1ND]

Good afternoon all:

I know that many of you are spending this up-coming holiday weekend getting
ready for the September VHF QSO party.  With that in mind, there are several
rules concerns that I would like to take a moment and re-emphasize.

Submission of Entries:
In the January VHF QSO party, we had several clubs that collected their
entries from club members and mailed them in one envelope to the contest
Branch.  General Rule for All ARRL Contests 6.6. reads "Only one entry per
envelope / email is allowed."  There is nothing to prohibit clubs from
gathering entries and the club submitting them.  However, if you do so, each
individual entry must be in a separate envelope (you may include all of the
individual envelopes in a large manila envelope if you so choose.)  This may
not sound like a big thing, but there were 5 clubs submitting group
entries for the January contest that were mailed from the US postal service
after the February deadline for submission - two of which were postmarked up
to 15 days after the deadline.  This affected over 80 individual entries for
this contest. We are enforcing this rule in ARRL contests.

All entries must be postmarked or emailed within 30 days after the end of
the contest.  It is the responsibility of each participant to submit their
entry to the ARRL Contest Branch.  If you choose to send your entry to your
club for them to submit, if the club submits it after the deadline it will,
in the future, become a checklog.  Clubs are not required to submit
individual entries on behalf of the club.  A club is only required to submit
(within 30 days from the end of the contest) a list of eligible members (if
the contest is a Club Competition event).  A club is not required to submit
logs or scores of its participants.  We encourage each individual to submit
his/her entry directly to the ARRL Contest Branch (with a copy going to your
club score keeper if that is your club's policy.)

Use of Packet and Spotting During Contests:
The question has again been raised about use of packet during VHF Contests.
Self-spotting is never permissible during ARRL contests, regardless if it is
packet, the Internet, going on the local repeater, or on the propagation
logger.  Someone else may spot you, but self spotting - or requesting
someone to spot you - is not permissible. Self spotting includes posting
your call, your listening frequency, grid square and/or your beam heading.
The use of non-amateur means (Internet or telephone for example) is never
permissible for any ARRL contest during the contest period.  We are prepared
to monitor packet, Internet reflectors and propagation loggers and will
consider taking violations to the ARRL Awards Committee for action.

Thanks and good luck in next weekend's contest.

Dan Henderson, N1ND
ARRL Contest Branch Manager


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FAQ on WWW:               http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/3830
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