[CQ-Contest] The good old U.S. holiday weekend contest debate

Wed Mar 31 14:28:14 EST 2004

I have a solution that's probably easier to accomplish 
than changing contest dates.

The U.S. should hold its Thanksgiving when we do - 
mid-October...

73,
kelly
ve4xt

> From: "Scott R." <w4pa at yahoo.com>
> Date: 2004/03/31 Wed AM 10:14:23 CST
> To: cq-contest at contesting.com
> Subject: [CQ-Contest] The good old U.S. holiday 
weekend contest debate
> 
> 
> Amuse me, can we rehash a tired old debate for a 
little while on the
> reflector?
> 
> Make sure to read all of this before flaming me, 
because the status quo
> for CQ WW CW works for me at the moment.  But I 
don't think it works
> for a lot of other people.  I would like to know the 
reasoning involved
> behind why this can't be changed from the CQ 
committee members, or why
> even considering it is not possible.
> 
> In the aftermath of being gone for 3 days to do a 
serious M/S operation
> for WPX SSB this weekend I started talking with my 
XYL about plans for
> this year's contest season last night.  My XYL is VERY 
tolerant of all
> the time I put into station building and contesting.  At 
least at the
> moment. . .
> 
> Last year, I missed Thanksgiving to operate CQ WW 
CW at NT1Y.  This was
> not a big deal.  I haven't missed CQ WW CW since 
1994, and last year
> was the FIRST time I wasn't home on T-Giving day.  
Including a trip to
> the Caribbean once to do CQ WW CW - I was home 
on turkey day.
> 
> My XYL has noticed I wrote 'contest' on my calendar 
across Memorial Day
> weekend for WPX CW.  She pointed out that if I am 
gone over
> Thanksgiving for CQ WW CW (possible) that I will give 
up two holiday
> weekends - rare ones - to run radio contests this 
year.
> 
> True.
> 
> I don't usually operate WPX CW.  It's **"almost 
always"** the weekend
> after Dayton, and ALWAYS Memorial Day weekend, 
and that makes it
> IMPOSSIBLE.  This year, I decided I might sneak in 
and try it, for the
> first time **EVER** on Memorial Day weekend.  My 
XYL saw this on the
> calendar and (even though she is very supportive) 
she was not too happy
> when faced with the prospect of me being gone for 
two holiday weekends
> this year.  
> 
> She said: "How do they expect people to do them 
when it's always a
> holiday weekend?" and I gave her the arguments that 
I always hear - the
> United States isn't the whole world, we've always (or 
most always) done
> it this way, there are people who it does work out for, 
etc., etc.
> ...and her non-contester response was:
> 
> "Couldn't they substitute the weekends every other 
year?" - which is
> also a point I've seen made here many times before. 
>  
> I have heard the comments made that we (the United 
States) are not the
> whole world, that the rest of the world doesn't have 
these contests on
> a holiday weekend, blah blah blah.  That's great, 
except I might point
> out that there are A LOT of contesters, serious and 
casual, that live
> here and we are DEPRESSING overall activity in WPX 
CW and CQ WW CW by
> having these contests every single year on U.S. 
holiday weekends.  It's
> not a holiday weekend in Europe.  And serious 
European contesters are
> going to work less U.S. stations when these contests 
are on a U.S.
> holiday weekend every year.  The competition among 
us is less from the
> U.S. side.  I happen to like more competition, not 
less.  DXpeditions
> won't happen...because it's always a holiday 
weekend.  See where I am
> going with this?
> 
> Don't get me wrong, the T-Giving day weekend for CQ 
WW CW **WORKS FOR
> ME**, usually.  But I am pretty sure I am not going to 
operate both WPX
> CW and CQ WW CW this year, AGAIN, in deference to 
my family EVEN
> THOUGH, I *could* do them both if I want to.  It's 
going likely going
> to be one or the other, or neither of them this year, just 
because
> they're on a holiday weekend . . . .AGAIN, ad infinitum.  
Repeat: 
> I have NEVER operated WPX CW because it's always 
Memorial Day weekend.
> That sucks, sports fans.  I really would like to try it for 
once.
> 
> Tell me the rational argument for why these contests 
cannot be inverted
> every other year to hold CQ WW CW the last weekend 
of October and WPX
> CW this last weekend of March.  Propagation is better 
in November;
> you'd think the SSBers would want the chance to 
enjoy this every so
> often.  Conversely, March is generally better, us 
CWers might like the
> opportunity to have the good prop then. . . .
> 
> I don't want to hear "it's tradition, we've always done it 
like this" -
> with that logic we'd be running AM phone, starting the 
contest at
> 0200Z, 2 weekends for contests and have quota 
systems for DX contacts. 
> 
> 
> There was a MAJOR rule change made to WPX to 
increase operating time
> from 30 to 36 hours (net effect: U.S. east coast wins 
this contest,
> like all other DX contests, every time, too.  How does 
that stimulate
> activity?  If we can do THAT, we can invert weekends.)  
I want to hear
> the logical argument for why inverting the weekends 
for WPX CW and CQ
> WW is not possible.  Please note again (being 
redundant) - I am not
> being hostile or antagonistic.  I really want to know 
what the logic is
> for why this is not possible to do.  Isn't the point of 
contests to
> stimulate amateur radio activity?
> 
> Scott Robbins, W4PA
> 
> 
> =====
> Visit the Tennessee Contest Group - 
www.k4ro.net/tcg.html
> 
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