[CQ-Contest] Competitor Friendly Contesting

[Lee Volante]

Hi all,

I've been following this thread with interest....  Coincidentally on local broadcast radio this week I heard a story about a computer game fan in China who passed away following playing continuously for about 3 days.

I drew a few parallels immediately - motivated people sitting in front of a PC for several days continuously, without a break, or much food and drink - that's us !

Might we see in the future a contest related death, or serious injury ?  Do people push themselves too far ?  Do contest sponsors have an obligation to the health and safety of their entrants ?  Might one day someone commence legal proceedings against a contest sponsor for promoting activities hazardous to health that are necessary in order to win ?  Are disclaimers required in the rules ?

I subscribe to the notion that "being the best" requires physical and mental skills - but do we have the limit set right ?  The marathon is not 100 miles, a football game does not last for 24 hours - the majority of participants could not last the course.  Is the bar set at the wrong level for contesting ?

Perhaps more contesters have had car crashes, or suffer with colds and flu for being tired afterwards, but we don't see it as a trend.  We know the hazards of working with antennas and towers, but these exist even without any 'endurance factors' being considered.  I've read many contest reports where many people go straight into a 48 hour contest after spending the Friday before at work as normal, or fixing antennas.  So we're into the same ball park for continuous activity as the deaths recently reported.

Text below detailing the story.

73,

Lee G0MTN


"BEIJING, Nov. 1 -- The recent deaths of two net gamers have once again raised the issue of the impact of addiction on the online gaming community, and the health risks involved. 
    A young girl nicknamed "Snowly" died last month after playing the online game "World of Warcraft" for several continuous days during the national day holiday. Snowly's friends, who share the same game community, say that Snowly was a very diligent member and a key official of their community, who was always connected to the Internet. 

    Several days before Snowly's death, the girl was said to be preparing for a relatively difficult part of the game and had very little rest. She told her friends that she felt very tired. 

    A big online funeral was held for Snowly one week after her death. But the event was sadly overshadowed by the death of another game enthusiast nicknamed "Nan Ren Gu Shi". 

    Thereafter, several online game communities have posted announcements to urge their members to pay attention to their heath."