[CQ-Contest] WRTC Selection Criteria

[Mark Beckwith]

> I think Jeff is absolutely right that the WRTC should be open to anyone
> who wants to participate.  Something like a marathon, to use a sports
> analogy.

I think WRTC tries to draw a line between:

1. On-site contesting between champions
2. What we all do every weekend anyway

There are marathons and there are marathons.  I don't think I'd give a hoot 
about the Olympics if there wasn't a rather fastidious screening process to 
ensure only the best athletes compete at the Olympics.

We can take heart in the fact that even the Olympics suffer from the same 
stuff we're grousing about, and we all hear it on the news - judges favoring 
their own athletes, people with no talent getting in from obscure countries, 
qualification criteria that are flawed, etc.

On-site contesting is a concept that sounds good on paper, but is obviously 
very hard to implement.  I'm glad we're trying, and maybe, 20 years from 
now, we'll have it all sorted out; but we won't get there without continuing 
the experiment now.

Thanks to OMS and the gang for picking up the baton.

Mark, N5OT