[CQ-Contest] A call to action

[Ward Silver]

>>Just look at the CK numbers you logged in the last Sweepstakes.
>
> Point taken, but that is a cultural problem, not a contesting one.
> Kids prefer computers over ham radio for any number of reasons.
>
> As I understood the question, it was how to attract more hams to
> contesting, not how to attract more people into ham radio. Two
> different things.

Not so very different at all.  The real question is how to RETAIN the new 
ham's interest in ham radio. By going beyond the sheer utility of 
communication to the enjoyment and interest that radio has to offer, they 
will become much better hams in nearly all senses of the word.

We would all very much like for every new ham to discover the magic of ham 
radio that we know, in particular the special magic of HF operating. 
Contesting is an excellent path to the discovery that magic exists - the 
band openings, operating finesse, the unexpected multipliers, the 
comeraderie.  Once the new ham discovers magic, they are much more likely to 
dive deeper.

The biggest challenge for all of us is to help them make that discovery by 
giving them a helping hand whenever and wherever possible.  After all, where 
would WE be if someone hadn't done that for us?

73, Ward N0AX