[CQ-Contest] Florida and the new ARRL Club Turf Rule

[Jim White, K4OJ]

Probably because you guys simply turn your beams South to work Florida you
do not realize how "tall" Florida is North to South...it is NOT a small
state, when I lived near Miami and drove to the Northeast the hurdle was
getting out of Florida - once you got out at least there were state lines in
the near future! Because we are not recognized as being as big as we are,
comments like this one from W9WI are fairly typical:

"Florida probably did shoot themselves in the foot by creating WcF."

The reason for the creation of the WCF section was due to ARRL officers who
were either North FL based (Jacksonville) or South Florida based (Miami) not
being able to have good communication with the hams in the central part of
the state - it is a four and a half plus hour drive from my QTH near Tampa
to Miami, and that is with a heavy foot!

Tampa, the heart of the WCF section was just too far from SFL for appointed
officials who lived in the Miami area to be able to do it justice...it
needed its own section - just wish you guys would learn it

Whiskey Charlie Fox
West Central Florida
WCF

....its been over two years now guys!

As far as ARRL affiliated club turf...I question whether or not the TCG
realizes that the new rules are "either/or", but not both, the radius or the
section.  I know there were a lot of TCG members NOT in Tennessee...if they
adopt the Section version of the new rules then these guys (mostly KY hams I
think) are going to be without a club.

Our situation in Florida is a very unique one since we are a
peninsula...unfortunately since the infamous circle is much wider than the
state is.   A large portion of any circle drawn within Florida results in
roughly a third of that area being in either the Atlantic or the Gulf of
Mexico.

This is a shame, especially since there is an active contester population in
the panhandle of Florida....to accommodate these hams our club developed an
FCG Panhandle Club - just for times when we must compete in ARRL events and
their scores are NOT allowed to be grouped with the rest of ours.  This is a
shame, within our own state we have like minded hams who cannot compete side
by side with us.

The ARRL's new guidelines with the either/or option for club turf will
probably not cause a big difference for anyone other than the TCG who now
can have all Tennesseeans (but will have to forsake previous contributions
by others out of state who previously were joined with them).

Until someone in Florida can come up with an easy way for the ARRL to
calculate land area for use in club territory definitions I guess we will
just have to get ready for the







FLORIDA QSO PARTY!  Its only 54 days away!

Please help Florida contesters get over our disappointment at the club
restructuring dilemna's resolution by working us in the FQP.

Hams from all walks of life, even Dentists, enjoy the FQP.  Florida works
the world and you work us on 10 through 40 meters!

Check out the full details at the FQP website - where you can also sign up
for the FQP re-mailer to keep you up to speed on this years FQP April 27/28!

Go to the FQP website at:

http://www.qsl.net/fqp

Stats/Records, etc can be found there...the FQP is a QSO Party run by
contesters, the results are meticulously tabulated by current WRTC 2 time
co-champion K1TO and you are assured of fast paced snappy contest
exchanges...including our mobile teams who will attempt to activate all 67
of Florida's counties once again!

Join us, it is a fun contest! Not a BORING one.


73,

Jim, K4OJ