[CQ-Contest] Holding a Freq Before a Contest

[sawyered@earthlink.net]

Some have called the practice of getting on for a period preceding a contest on a certain desirable frequency cheating.  Do you consider this cheating?  Are any of the Qs logged before the contest put in your log? I doubt it, since that would be cheating for sure and likely pointless since, chances are the other station isn't doing that and you will be NIL.  Are you pre-arranging scheds prior to the contest?  Well, possibly, but all I ever hear of this activity is "please work me in the contest".  Hardly a pre-arranged sched...

Has there ever been a claim in any of the well thought out rules by the major sponsors that "holding a frequency" before the contest is unsportsmanlike or against the rules?  I have not seen any such claim made (unlike things like pre-arranged scheds which are clearly stated as against the rules).

I ask this to solicit opinions.

I'll start with mine.  A legal activity which is not specifically called out in the rules should be okay to do.  Are people claiming that you can't do a radio check before a contest?  If so, where can they do such radio check?  Having done one and seeing that the frequency is clear, what is ethically wrong with staying there and occupying it until the contest starts.  If you choose to start the contest S & Ping, what is wrong with checking the bands prior and seeing who is on and where.  For that matter, if you are going to claim assisted, what is wrong with keeping an eye on the Packet prior to the start.

To me, doing whatever you would do "in the contest" but doing it "just before" the contest should never be wrong.  Doing something before that you would be prohibited from doing or that would change your class if done during the contest, should be prohibited as unsportsmanlike (ie warming up with an amp and then turning it off, or checking packet before and then going unassisted after start, etc.).

Lets not blend clearly wrong behavior like using packet to populate a band map before the contest but then going unassisted with behavior that there should be nothing wrong with.

73

Ed  N1UR  (is it too early to warm up 3505 for ARRL DX??  Hi, Hi)