[CQ-Contest] New SS Category Proposal

[W2CE at aol.com]

In a message dated 3/13/00 11:13:28 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
dnorris at k7no.com writes:

>  I like the idea.  I never enter a contest to WIN.  My goal is to 
>  participate and do the best that "I" can.  Since I am getting older, the 
>  idea of lengthy contests is not met with enthusiasm.  This proposed type 
of 
>  entry would allow me to participate and be somewhat competitive.
>  
>  A win to me is bettering my last score by 1 point.  If that one point 
gives 
>  me the win, so be it.
>  

It has been a long time since I've spent anywhere near a full contest at the 
radio. For health resaons now I never get past about 15 hours in the SS and 
have been down as low as 7 hours. The days of a 1,200 Q stint in the chair 
before getting someone to relieve me are long gone (like about 10 years ago).

The idea of a category for a part time operation would be nice but how long 
and where in the contest becomes a very questionable item. 

Why load the tail end of the SS for the big stations who have worked everyone 
else and need their last feeding frenzy.

Why limit the short time category to Sunday only where some may be free 
Saturday but have church and family commitments on Sunday, and yes into the 
evening.

No playing field will ever be level and attempts to create categories to 
please everyone is impossible.

SS is a contest long standing in tradition and has many roots back to the 
early days of amateur radio and traffic handling. I am not pleased with the 
idea of changes to the SS, not even the collegiate part that was added. It 
diverted greatly from the traditions of SS and added a unique category of a 
small percentage of operators.

A lesser hour category is fine, it would sure place me in a different 
competitive aspect.

I would think more of a 10 hour category with the operator to choose when he 
can operate and the band conditions to work multipliers competivitely. I 
would like to see 10 hours anywhere within the contest with a minimum 
operating block of 1 hour.


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  73, Bob Reed W2CE

  W2CE at aol.com    W2CE at juno.com    W2CE at arrl.net
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