[CQ-Contest] 1 way for low-scorers to feel competitive/motivated?

[Craig Cook]

...maybe two ways. Clubs and teams.

I know that if I belonged to a contest club, I would
have waited longer in multiplier pile-ups last
weekend. I could hear the 4S great on 20 (for
example), but so could hundreds of others that were
calling. That would have been a great double-mult, but
I don't need him for DXCC, and I will still get beaten
soundly in my category by several hundred-thousand
points, so why bother? That football game on the tube
looks like a good one? Ok, I'll take a long break.
Another 50-100 Qs or so aren't going to put me at the
top of anything, so why bother? But, if I were adding
my score to a CONTEST club, I would have worked much
harder, perhaps to help our cumulative score beat club
x, or whatever. That would be something special, even
if I didn't win anything individually. 

Several years ago we had the beginnings of a contest
club, that was a wonderful 10 months. The 175 mile
rule that the ARRL wrote years ago based on the
population density of the W1,2,3 and 8 call areas
keeps alot of us from joining a club and feeling that
camaraderie and sense of belonging to the community.
CQ followed suit. Shouldn't I be able to join my
CLOSEST club, if I live outside the circle? Two years
ago I posted on another reflector that is read by many
of the big-shot contesters around here re:
resurrecting the short lived Cascade Contest Club.
Still not a single response, 2 years later, HI. I sort
of envisioned something similar to the SMC, no dues,
mostly online, etc. I am still the only member, and
always turn in my scores for the club, HI. The ARRL
still recognizes it as an "approved" club on their
list, and my cabrillo does not get bounced because of
the name, whatever the hell that means.

I DID organize a team this year, however I was only
able to organize 1 team. Who are we competing against?
We do not know. I hope to have 2 teams for NAQP in
January, we can build a little rivalry between
ourselves, and maybe that will be a better motivator. 
       

Bottom line is if you can't win your category, and you
can't get your own category, there are ways to feel
like you accomplished something. You guys that belong
to Contest clubs and actually know other contesters
don't realize what that means. You might if you
didn't.
73, N7OR


		
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