[CQ-Contest] IARU and other contest dirty secrets

[kr2q at optimum.net]

So now there is a survey....sigh.

The problem is not the rules; it's not the contest.  The problem is that some have lost the sense
of what a competition is.  The concept of EARNING a win has, on many fronts, gone away.
The GOAL, for some, has become all there is.  Sad.

The problem is "the ends justify the means."  The problem is, "stacking the deck" has nothing
to do with competing.  The problem is "win at all costs."

A next likely step, instead of simply offering "incentives" for "working us," we'll see that you
are rewarded with 10 Euros per QSO with station XYZ.  It's not prohibited in the rules, is it?

Playing the "victim" is a joke.  "We didn't know what 'they' were doing so why should we be
penalized?  We are the innocent bystanders who were called by 'over-enthusiastic' helpers."
I don't think so.

Unfortunately, one cannot legislate ethics and "culture" is very far from being universal.

Everyone actively involved in this mess, has now ruined for all the others...and don't tell me
that you were not "actively" involved.  Hogwash.

QRPers submitting impossibly high scores (ha ha ha...or is it HA HA HA), round-robin phantom
QSO, creating "incentives" to "work just us."  

Equally responsible are the sponsors who lack the fortitude to even attempt to enforce law
and order.  "We have to take entrants at their word" is a lousy excuse.  You cannot put
yourself on a "high level" and "be above all that" by ignoring what is obvious.  Any competition
(that's what a Championship is, right?) requires judging / adjudication / enforcement of rules.
Failure to do so means that the competition is meaningless.  And I guess that's what now
been done.

Step up to the plate and do what is right for contesting -  politely smiling does not cut the 
mustard.  Grow some!

de Doug KR2Q