[CQ-Contest] The contest is over

[Mark Beckwith]

"What HE said...."

It seems like the closer we get to "put down your pencil; the test is 
over..." the more meaningful the results will be.

Mark, N5OT


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Randy Thompson K5ZD" <k5zd at charter.net>
To: <cq-contest at contesting.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2008 5:48 AM
Subject: [CQ-Contest] The contest is over


> EZ4EBL and HK0T are two calls that have been discussed on the reflector in
> the past days.  People were more than happy to point out these calls were
> incorrect and what the correct call was.  I was very disappointed and
> concerned by that.
>
> What is contesting?  It is a competition between operators.  This
> competition involves working stations on the air during the contest 
> period.
> Part of working stations is recording them accurately in the log.
>
> When the contest is over the participants submit their log (the record of
> their activity) to the contest sponsor.  The sponsor checks the logs and
> publishes the results.  Some people are declared winners, but everyone is
> also able to compete with themselves and measure their own improvement.
>
> Seems pretty simple.
>
> If contesters sit around after the contest and compare their logs with
> others in order to make corrections to what they copied, is that within 
> the
> spirit of the competition?  You are still competing to work stations, but
> accuracy is no longer being tested.  Same is true if you use other means
> after the contest to correct your log (looking at DX Summit records,
> listening to audio recordings, etc.).
>
> In the "old days" ops would write their log using pencil and paper.  They
> would then have to manually go back through and dupe the log.  During this
> process they would correct errors they found or make the text easier to
> read.  This process took time and is a big part of the reason there is a 
> 30
> day period to submit logs.  It also lead to this perception that 
> correcting
> logs after the contest was OK.
>
> Today, we keep our log on computer.  At most we should scan through the 
> log
> looking for typos and fixing anything we kept a note of during the 
> contest.
> These corrections should be done by you based on your own review and
> knowledge of the log.  Not as a group effort or using outside tools!
>
> Its ok if you didn't get every call or exchange correct.  Yes, your score
> may be reduced by the log checkers.  That's part of the competition.
> Request your log check report after the results are published and study 
> it.
> If you confuse certain letters on phone or CW you know what to work on
> during the next contest. Its called improving your skills and should be 
> the
> most satisfying part of contesting.
>
> Do all contesting and yourself a favor.  Follow the rules and work the
> contest as best you can.  Put your log in the proper format.  Send it in 
> as
> quickly as possible after the contest.  The result will be an honest and
> fair competition that can be used to measure your skills against others 
> and
> yourself.
>
>
> Randy, K5ZD
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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>
>
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