[CQ-Contest] Contest Support

[Don Field]

Which may be true but won't be a win-win for ever, because the contest will 
eventually disppaear up its own orifices!

There's a side to this which hasn't been explored. The fact is that contests 
do cost money to administer (postage, computer systems and time, 
certificates, plaques, etc.). Quite apart from the uncosted adjudicators 
time (or costed in the case of ARRL).

When CQWW started it was a MUCH smaller event than it has become over the 
years. To a large extent the tail is now wagging the dog. Some years ago CQ 
tried to offload the contest, but no other body would take it on. In the 
case of contests organised by national societies, they generally started as 
a service to members. That is probably still true or national contests 
(sweepstakes in USA, most CHF contests) but in the case of international 
contests many entrants are not members and those who are members could 
rightly ask why part of their membership is going to subsidise non-members, 
especially when times are tough.

As for plaques, these are usually donated by external sponsors, but this 
sponsorship doesn't grow on trees - sponsors support sporting events because 
they get cheap publicity, but that doesn't really work with ham radio 
contests.

Yes, some contests continue to provde an excellent results and awards 
service (WAE, Russian contest, etc. have been mentioned) but usually these 
are newer events that are still in the flush of enthusiasm, with financing 
signed up for a while. Maybe it will dry up eventually. Or there are 
contests like the Internet sprints in Europe and North America where 
everything is done by Internet and costs are kept to an absolute minimum. 
However, I suspect that formula may be stretched if they got the number of 
entries that we see in CQWW.

So where should the money come from? No one seems to have answered that 
satisfactorily yet. In most sports it comes ultimately from the audience 
(whether those who visit a stadium, or from TV royalties). We don't enjoy 
that in our hobby. Hence the dilemma. Unless anyone has a satisfactory 
answer, these self-defeating posts on the reflector will coninue ad nauseum!

Don G3XTT

On 8/7/05, Rick Bullon <kc5ajx at hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Ok here my solution to the problem. If I don't subscribe to CQ ( and I
> don't) I will never see the results. If I win a cert or plaque I will 
> never
> see it. So I will operate the CQ contests but never submit a log. If more 
> of
> us do this then the log checkers at CQ will see the number of submitted 
> logs
> fall sharply and maybe the will realize the problem. Also I will be a Nil 
> in
> everyone's logs that submits a logs thus more people will be upset I will
> have fun in the contest and not miss anything as CQ doesn't do anything 
> but
> make the rules No results for non subscribers and not cert. or plaques for
> the winners
> For me it is a win win solution
> 73
> Rick
> kc5ajx
> 
> 
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