[CQ-Contest] Assisted - still trying to get it right

[Alfred J. Frugoli (KE1FO)]

Part of this whole dilemma comes down to enforcement.  There is little 
or no way to enforce the rules in the case of information being passed 
on 20M during a qso, someone pulling up to date propagation information 
off the web or from WWV, or the operator's neighbor ham stopping by and 
commenting that 10 was open when he left home - short of having a human 
referee at every station and listening constantly.  DX clusters are 
somewhat different.  You can see if someone logged into a cluster, or if 
they worked a spot immediately after it appeared on the cluster. 

73 de Al, KE1FO

kr2q at optonline.net wrote:
> It was recently posted that:
>
> [snip]
> That's not Single-Op Assisted, that's (technically) Multioperator.  The
> definition of "Assisted" in both CQ and ARRL contests is specifically
> limited to spotting assistance, with "spot" presumably defined as a complete
> identification of call sign, frequency, and time.  "Assisted" category does
> not cover all forms of "assistance" - as I discuss in this evening's issue
> of the Contester's Rate Sheet.
> [end snip]
>
> I couldn't DISAGREE more.  Please read the CQWW Rules:
> http://www.cqww.com/WW%20Rules%202006.pdf
>
> Note that it says, :
>
> "The use of DX alerting assistance of any kind places the station in the SINGLE OPERATOR
> ASSISTED category."  That is a direct QUOTE!  Please note the phrase "of any kind."
>
> Your stated "presumption" of the definition to mean the "complete identification of call sign,
> frequency, and time" is your own invention and certainly NOT correct for CQWW.  You have
> somehow narrowed the definition of "of any kind" to be something very specific, which is not
> part of the rule.  You go on to state the exact opposite of the rule states when you state
> that "the rules does not cover all forms of assistance."  When it comes to DX alerting
> assistance, Yes it does cover all kinds!
>
> When someone says that the band is open "to the Pacific" and you are in the USA (or VE or etc), it is my considered opinion, that such "notification" certainly does qualify as "DX alerting assistance OF ANY KIND."  It's about DX and it is assistance.  What else would you call it?  The fact that it resulted in additional DX qso's is just more proof (but not necessary to meet the criteria). 
>
> What if you are competing with your buddy in a "local" or "regional" or "club" competition.
> You are both slugging it out on an equal basis.  You both have the same years experience,
> you both have the same rig, antennas, and tower, and you both are at the same elevation
> with the same "surrounding" terrain topography.  You are both approaching the finish line and
> you both have essentially the same score.  Suddenly, someone "mentions" to your competitor
> that "the band is open to the Pacific" and he works some extra Q's or an extra mult or two,
> and as a result, he wins.  Are you telling me that he was not "assisted?"
>
> If there were an organized effort to find other club members and "alert them" about band
> opening (say, on 10m during the sunspot bottom), and as a result, many of those club
> members "discover" more Q's and maybe more mults, how could that NOT be defined as
> assisted?  Does it make a difference if the "alerting" is over the internet or over the HF air?
>
> Food for thought.
>
> DISCLAIMER:
> The concepts and interpretations mentioned above are my own and should not be construed
> as any official or unofficial consensus by any contest committee with which I may be 
> associated.
>
> de Doug KR2Q
>
>
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