[CQ-Contest] RE: Aging Ranks

[n4gi at juno.com]

Greetings,

Great thread!  I must say it is good to see some more of us "younger"
folk come out of the woodwork for this one.  KI0MI and KK7GW have brought
up some good stuff.  Myself being one of the "2 hands" at Dayton this
year under 30 at the contest banquet, (NW3Z has me beat by 1 month...) I
feel like throwing in my 2 bits. 

 I attribute mostly all of what I know about contesting now to the UCF
ARC faculty sponsor, who is also a contester, and a few of the FCG folk,
who have been kind enough to have the patience to be teachers.  The Top
10 box is cool, but if you don't put anything back in, where will our
wonderful sport be in a few years??  Even though I don't really have a
competitive station (yet...), I usually make an effort to stop by the
K4UCF club to get the chaps motiviated in advance of a contest, whether
it is CQWW phone, C.C., or the FQP (how many days, Jim??).  I have
created a few contest enthusiasts this way, out of thin air!  Getting the
no-coders in the  HF op. chair also increases their chances of upgrading
(kind of "dangling the carrot").

  I share Eric's sentiments about the college club "laziness" when it
comes to HF & contesting.  It has frustrated me at times as well in my 3
year stint at the K4UCF club.  I was vice pres. for 2 years, pres. for 1,
and now, as an alumnus, I am sort of the "contest coordinator".  I recall
operating collegiate championships by myself wondering when my help would
arrive, only to have the other officers stop by to check their e-mail,
bring me a Coke and split!!!  

  This year has been my second Dayton attendance, and once again I
enjoyed the fun and festivities.  The opportunity to learn things from
the big guns is motivational in itself, and in a few years, hopefully I
will be able to step up in the ranks of the contesting sport  ( I need to
get a job first!!).  So remember folks like us when planning your next
M/M or M/S....  Let one of the young folks take the wheel for a
while.....  Contesting is Contagious!!  


Without more of our kind, the rate could get pretty low in years to
come!!   


73,
Blake M. Meinecke,    N4GI  (Licensed since Nov. 1995)
MEMBER:  Univeristy of Central Florida Amateur Radio Club,   Florida
Contest Group    
                 Web page:                                  E-mail:      
     n4gi at qsl.net 
      http://www.qsl.net/n4gi                                            
  n4gi at juno.com

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