[CQ-Contest] ARRL DX and foreign relations

[Kelly Taylor]

Hi all,

When KQ2M first proposed revised reporting for ARRL DX, delineating between W and VE, I didn't really see why VY2's advantages were any more compelling than any of the other advantages many operators, rightly so, exploit to maximum effect. At the very top end of contesting, that's what it's about: using every advantage you can within the rules and law. If that wasn't good enough for W1s and 2s, there was nothing stopping them from setting up a Canadian contesting powerhouse, too.

And since they have often in response to criticism from those west of the 100th meridian said "If you dont' like it, move to New England!" it would be hypocritical for them to not concede that point. (It's not like K6LA needs a visa or anything...)

I didn't really have many objections, however.

Now that we have folk proposing that we toss VE out of ARRL DX and ARRL SS, I see a very real need to push back. These contests are always great fun. And how fun would SS be if a sweep only required 70 sections? Or if a sweep no longer included those sections where perhaps it takes a bit of skill to be one of the lucky?

I think even Bob would recoil at the suggestion VE no longer deserves to play in SS. 

Was the missile defence thing really that big a deal? Perhaps if the darn thing even worked, our answer might have been different, but I digress.

In light of all this, then, add my voice now to the 'leave things alone' crowd.

73, kelly
ve4xt