[CQ-Contest] Categories, Participation and Competition

[Robert Chudek - K0RC]

I agree that a fixed length sub-category might encourage this type of 
operation. One the other hand, if the "Best of X hours" (sliding window?) 
concept is used, the operator can concentrate on making contacts for any 
period of time and then choose his/her best X hours to submit after the 
contest is over.

It's a tough call trying to anticipate human nature and I can't offer proof 
that a "Best of" category would produce the expected results. It's only a 
discussion topic at this point, among many other ideas.

This idea just popped into my head... It might be an interesting project to 
examine older logs, apply this "Best of" concept, and see what results are 
obtained. For example, did the Top Ten winners also produce the Top Ten 
"Burst" rates? When were the highest rates obtained? What bands? What 
regions? What were the solar conditions at those times? Etc... The SH5 log 
analyzer shows some of this information for a single log, but not a wider 
comparative view.

73 de Bob - KØRC in MN


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John T. Laney III" <k4bai at worldnet.att.net>
Cc: <cq-contest at contesting.com>
Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2009 11:58 AM
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Categories, Participation and Competition


> The only reservation I have about short recognition periods in contests
> is the possibility that it encourages people to operate only 6 hours (or
> 12 or 24) and quit, when they would have operated longer and made more
> contacts otherwise.  My approach is to operate all the hours I can spare
> from other activities and then enter the category that fits.  So,
> sometimes I am in the 12 hour group for IOTA and sometimes in the 24
> hour group, but not because I am trying to win either, but because that
> is the time I had available.
>
> This is a good time to mention that it is a good practice to send in a
> log for a contest when you make only a few QSOs and were not a serious
> entrant.  It does encourage the sponsors, it helps to check logs, and
> for a few contests only, it allows the guys you work to get credit for
> contacts that otherwise wouldn't count for their final score.
>
> 73,
>
> John, K4BAI.
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