[CQ-Contest] XTREME category...a colossal BUST?

[Doug Grant]

W4ZV wrote:
 ----
Has anyone else noticed this?  With <2 weeks remaining for CQ WW log
submissions there have been a grand total of SEVEN entries and ZERO
from the continental US.  Where's the BEEF?  I thought this was the
wave of the future.  Even Mario didn't enter his preferred
category.  Never before have 2 plaques generated so little interest.
-----

Bill only listed the CW Xtreme entrants. There were about the same
number on SSB.

It is both disappointing and surprising that there were no U.S
entries. Several operators who had expressed interest and were
planning to enter got caught up in work, family, and other commitments
and were unable to prepare their stations.

When this category was announced at Dayton at the SDR Forum, one
attendee asked us to make sure we continued that category for 2010,
since it would take him a while to get his software written and
running.

Some people had already made plans for the contest, but have told us
that they will be Xtreme entrants in 2010.

K3EST and I had informally set a goal of getting at least a dozen
entries over the two modes. We appear to have met that goal. For a
category that was only announced 5 months before the contest, this is
pretty good.

One multiop DX station has a unique situation that has precluded an
entry in any existing category for several years. They finally have a
category they can enter. They have been listed as a chcklog for
several years, but this year they may win a plaque for their Xtreme
entry. That will probably encourage them to keep participating in the
CQWW. And this is a very good thing.

We anticipate more Xtremists in 2010, based on comments we have
received from people who weren't prepared for a 2009 entry.

Give it a chance, Bill.

73,

Doug K1DG