[CQ-Contest] Chiming in -- SO2R

[W0uo at cs.com]

Eric, 

I assert two things.  

First, top ten lists, etc are not provided for in the rules.  That much is fact. Provision for these kinds of listings exist only in the editorial policy of the sponsoring organization. 

Second, it is my opinion that such lists do not necessarily recognize the best efforts. A careful reading of contest results, including such details that are available outside the contest writeups such as station configuration, hours of effort, band summaries, etc reveals much that top ten lists miss.

If one were to take the top ten lists, es pecially in DX contests, at face value, it would appear that almost all the best contesters live east of the Appalachians and north of the southern border of Virginia, but it simply isn't so. The distribution of both excellent operators and  excellent stations is relatively uniform throughout the country. Results from other kinds of contests demonstrates this fact.

The problem which contest sponsors need to confront and solve is how to recognize excellent efforts apart from a top ten mentality.  This said, contesters themselves need to accept the challenge to maximize scores by learning to "play the hand with the cards dealt them".  That is to maximize the comparative advantages they hold with respect to other contesters in other regions and there are many examples of contesters outside the northeast that do this well. The question is, are these efforts recognized?  The ARRL, by the way, should be commended for establishing the top 5 boxes by region and class for the ARRL DX Tests, this is certainly a step in the right direction.

7e de Jim
W0UO/5


Eric Hilding <dx35 at hilding.com> wrote:

>Jim, W0UO/5 suggested:
>
> > The development of top ten lists, etc is no more than the editorial 
>policy of the sponsoring
> > organization, and that can and should change.
>
>WHOA!!!  I disagree...I think Top 10 lists are not only cool, they are 
>highly motivational.
>
>>Rick, K6VVA
>
>
>
>
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