[CQ-Contest] The day of opening ceremonies and WRTC2002 Dinner

[Bill Tippett]

Ward, N0AX reports:

 On the Bus with WRTC - #2 - 11 July 2002 

 Yesterday was a fun day - introductions, bus rides, cold beer (there's a
heat wave in Finland this week), and great food.
 Now we are seeing the serious side of the competition. 

 Starting after dinner on Wednesday, both the competitors and referees had
the first of a series of meetings to review the
 rules of the game. All of the competitors want to make the most of every
technique available to them, but none want to
 be disqualified or appear dishonest. Similarly, the referees want to know
exactly how to interpret the rules and what to
 do in case of a perceived infraction. 

 There are a LOT of detailed, knowledgable questions from both. For example,
the question arose, "In the 10-minute
 QRT period before the contest, can the competitors be listening to the
bands?" (The rules are posted on the WRTC
 Web site, www.wrtc2002.org.) This might seem a small thing, but it would
allow the team to prepare a "band map" of
 multipliers (ITU zones or HQ stations). They could then start the contest
with enough knowledge to put several
 multipliers in the log that may not be available later. All teams should be
allowed to listen during the QRT period or all
 should be equally forbidden to do so. It was decided that listening was
forbidden until the starting bell rings at 1200Z. 

 The participants are seasoned contesters - both those operating the
stations and those charged with monitoring rule
 enforcement. These people are clever and motivated to do their best. It is
in the interest of the sport to have clear rules
 and fair enforcement, so a lot of time is spent in the days before the
contest judging these unobvious cases. In a
 "spinoff" effect, the questions being raised and answered at WRTC can also
be applied in many cases to regular
 contesting. By having the top competitors meet at one place, as with WRTC,
the exchange of views and decisions can
 happen in minutes, instead of across contest seasons. 

 A new feature of WRTC that has raised some interesting issues this year is
the Real-Time Scoreboard. (check the
 WRTC2002 Web site for details) For the first time, the competitor's claimed
scores will be available to the general
 public (and contest participants) world-wide DURING THE CONTEST via a Web
page. The referees are charged with
 using the Finnish GSM mobile phone system to send a short text message once
an hour with the team score. The SMS
 (Short Messaging Service) is used to transmit the information, which is
delivered automatically to a computer. The
 score is then retrieved from the message and added to the on-line data
base, where it is posted as a large bar chart for
 viewing. It will be updated on the Web every 30 seconds, with most score
changes occuring within a few minutes of the
 top of the hour. 

 This is truly groundbreaking! The first tiny steps toward real-time
visibility of a contest are taking place. This will
 expose many more amateurs to the dynamics of contesting, as well as members
of the general public that may take an
 interest in this strange Radiosport business. 

 Real-time score availability does have the ability to affect the way the
contest happens, of course. Radiosport is unique
 in that members of the amateur radio public are expected, indeed required,
to participate in order for the contest to be a
 success. It's as if a golf tournament gallery were required to catch the
ball and throw it back onto the fairway a few feet.


 While improved visibility is definitely a good thing, there are also
potential negative consequences. For example, if one
 team is lagging and their countrymen are able to identify them by their
voices or other nuances of their operation, they
 might be motivated to "help out" by encouraging other local hams to get on
and contact that team. There are other
 similar concerns. The organizing committee evaluated these concerns and
decided that the potential for negative
 effects was greatly outweighed by the positive benefits visibility would
bring. In addition, it was felt that there were
 factors that would affect the competition much more strongly--weather,
propagation, and general operator skill.
 Therefore, the real-time scoreboard remains. Be sure to check it out! 

 Did I mention weather in that last sentence? Finns are feeling
uncomfortable this week because daily high temperatures
 are hitting nearly 30 degrees, even up-country in the lake district of
Himos and Jamsa where we are before heading to
 our host's stations. This is uncommonly hot for Finland, also known as
Suomi. While it makes for some sweaty brows
 on people from cool climates, I don't think it is bothering the Texans,
Italians, South Africans, or Argentines. Yet, we
 have some thunderstorms moving through the area tonight and tomorrow and
then for the contest weekend, things
 should be a bit cooler and clearer. 

 The Opening Ceremony was quite the show, under a very large Big Tent over
more than 50 meters in diameter. All of
 the competitors filed inside as for the Olympics, grouped by countries and
wearing their WRTC shirts. The teams
 completely encircled the audience, serenaded by a fine jazz group. "The
Saints Come Marching In" started off the
 parade, believe it or not, earning a laugh from the crowd that rapidly
turned to applause as their favorites appeared. 

 Tonight we have the more formal WRTC Opening Dinner with a speech from the
Contest Club of Finland's (CCF)
 president and other dignitaries and members of the previous WRTC
committees. The brainchild of Danny Eskenazi
 K7SS has certainly grown up to stand on its own two feet at the ripe old
age of 12. 

 I expect the late night schmoozing and conversations to QRT a little early
tonight (although the sky might still be
 bright) for all of the operators and those who will supervise them to get
caught up on sleep and dispell the final
 smidgens of jet lag. Tomorrow brings one final set of meetings and then on
to the host stations! The WRTC2002 has
 done a marvelous job in setting up 54 nearly identical stations, all
checked out and ready for operation. But who could
 rest easy, having come all this way, with so much on the line? 

 The clock is ticking in Finland...Kiipis! (Cheers!) 

 73, Ward N0AX/OH 

 PS - Don't forget to send in a log within 6 hours of the contest to
participate in the WRTC-sponsored raffle. There are
 also special prizes for working as many of the OJ competitor callsigns as
possible. Check www.wrtc2002.org for details.