[CQ-Contest] BCQP 2012

[Rebecca Kimoto]

Hello all 

First, Happy New Year! May 2012 be full of great contesting results and good stories to tell. 

Rebecca, VA7BEC here with some news on the British Columbia QSO Party (BCQP).

Highlights:

1. BCQP 2012 will take place 1600z Feb 4 to 0400z Feb 5.

* Start time is the same, end time is earlier.

2. New sponsor: Orca DX and Contest Club

3. New sponsor callsign: VA7ODX

4. New place for rules, background, multipliers, etc.: http://orcadxcc.org/bcqp.html

5. New contact: Contest Coordinator: Rebecca, VA7BEC (email: va7bec at rac.ca)


I have posted to various groups and reflectors, sent out invitations to associations, clubs and societies, and asked to be listed in various printed and online calendars, so to some of you, what follows may be old news. But I want to cover all bases.

Yes, the BCQP is the same weekend as the Minnesota QP and the Vermont QP and the Delaware QP as well as the 10-10 Int’l Winter Contest and the North America Sprint CW and the Mexico RTTY Int’l Contest. The Arizona ScQRPions QRP Club usually runs its FYBO Contest the same weekend, too. And there are other contests as well.

The upside to lots of parties the Feb 4-5 weekend is that there is greater Q potential all around. The downside is that ops not familiar with the other parties may give exchange overload just to cover every possible requirement and/or demand certain info that is not part of required exchange for the CQer’s contest. I’m sure everyone on this reflector has experienced the situation. It’s somewhat annoying but not the end of the world.

And I’m sure you all know there’s absolutely nothing wrong in trading a Q. I did this countless times last year running the sponsor station.

And on the topic of sponsor station, it will be VA7ODX.

There’s been a sponsorship switch. The BCQP had been sponsored by the Delta Amateur Radio Society, but support was dwindling as interests shifted toward other areas of our vast hobby. The BCQP has been picked up by Orca DX and Contest Club.

The object of the BCQP remains the same: VE7/VA7 stations work anyone in 36 federal electoral districts of B.C., as well as Canadian provinces, U.S. states and DX countries. In this party, Hawaii and Alaska are considered U.S. states, not DX. Non-B.C. stations are to work ONLY VE7/VA7 stations.

Top scores in all categories -- see rules and other BCQP-related information at http://orcadxcc.org/bcqp.html -- will still be very nice photograph-based certificates showcasing BC scenery, so the reward for a solid score could be a pretty picture to hang on the shack wall. It's a different picture each year.

I don’t really expect people in the U.S. parties to give the BCQP their exclusive attention, especially since the other state QSO parties may be more logistically appealing. But if anyone hears a lonely BC operator calling CQ, CQ, CQ, please drop by.

I think all stations on the air that weekend, regardless of which party they may be in, can benefit from the wider Q potential that the various events will generate. It’s just a matter of awareness, so that the appropriate exchange can be given/received and proper on-air etiquette can be maintained.

33, 73 and/or 88, as the case may be, and happy contesting,
Rebecca VA7BEC