[CQ-Contest] Volunteers Needed for Contest Coverage Working Group

[Bob Marston]

>Hi Everybody,
>
>So far, we've had a very good response to the call for volunteers to 
>participate on the ARRL Contest Coverage working Group. This group will
assist 
>the ARRL in coming up with a great contest coverage solution that takes 
>advantage of print and electronic delivery tools - like QST, the ARRL web
site 
>and email. The plan must also make financial sense to the ARRL.
>
>The goal is to put together a Working Group that is:
>1.  Representative and sensitive to the needs of the both the amateur radio 
>community as a whole and the contesting community, in particular, and
>2.  Skilled and experienced in the key disciplines of contesting, sports 
>journalism, print periodical publishing and electronic publishing.
>
>The group will have a key contact at the ARRL, and will assist in
developing a 
>great plan, which will be presented for approval at the ARRL BoD meeting in 
>July 2002.

Hi Jim

  First I would like to say thanks for your time and effort as well as
those of the group. It seems to me that you are way ahead of where the
group should be right now. And just as important some basic questions that
need to be answered remain open at this time. Foremost in my mind is where
the ARRL stands on the matter of contests. In light of the events
transpiring in the last 2 weeks the contest community has good reason to be
skeptical of the ARRL. I would think that the we are owed an explanation of
why the League intiated proceedings without at least sending out some
feelers. And more importantly an apology for Walt Stinson's remarks.
  To my mind the group should draw up a list of contingencies. These
contingencies should provide the option of either including and excluding
the ARRL. As I stated in my last post the Contest Community should not be
afraid to Think Big and should not sell ourselves short. One of our most
important assets the Contest Reflector was developed through the individual
efforts of Bill Fisher W4AN and AD1C. Computerized logging programs were
developed through the efforts of K1EA, N6TR and K8CC. The implementation of
Cabrillo and the efforts of N6TR to develop the Robot for the league have
cut the time to check logs and compile scores tremendously. I can think of
a number of projects that the group could take on in order to grow the
sport and boost the ranks. Heck Michael Dinkelman takes the time and effort
to compile High Claimed Scores from the 3830 List. How many of us remember
when the League did that in the late 70s and early 80s for Sweepstakes and
ARRL DX and printed them in QST ? 
  Returning to the main point Jim at this time I think it would be best to
gather input from the Contest Community. We have 2 big conventions coming
up, Visaila and Dayton, which provide excellent oppourtunities to do just
that. We also need to hear the right sounds coming out of the ARRL before
we hammer out an agenda that will entail us donating time and resources to
the league, remember we were nearly blindsided. It now appears the fopar
that lead to this discussion are yielding concrete results.

73s

Bob K1TA 


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