[CQ-Contest] Suggestions

[Radio K0HB]

Ken, the way to eliminate concerns about cheating would be to just to 
eliminate the contest.  For this discussion I will presume that would be an 
unacceptable approach.

So let's discuss Yuri's suggestions.

First, Yuri doesn't talk about the "world top 10" which you state might have 
"20 or so entrants"  --- his proposal talks about "operators who think they 
MIGHT BE in Top 5 in their respective categories".  CQWW has six categories 
(SO, SOA, MS, M2, MM, and Extreme), and some of those categories have 
"categories within categories".  For example, SO really consists of 3 
categories (HP, LP, QRP) and each of those 3 each contain another 7 
categories, one for "all band" and another six "single band" categories. 
That makes 21 categories (or a "Top 5" of 105 stations).  SO(A) repeats that 
pattern, for another 105 "Top 5 in Category" stations.  So far that adds up 
to 210 stations who WILL BE (not "MIGHT be") in the top 5 of their category. 
MS, M2, MM, and Extreme  have no subordinate categories so they collectively 
add another 20 "top 5" stations, for a total of 230 stations who WILL BE in 
the top 5 in their category.

I don't know how you interpolate Yuri's "MIGHT BE" number from the "WILL BE" 
number, but I'm pretty sure it's not "multiply by 2" as you suggest.  I'd 
estimate that at least 50 operators worldwide consider themselves "MIGHT BE" 
capable of  breaking into the Top 5 of a chosen category, with a little luck 
and a tailwind.

50 times 230 is 11,500 operators who potentially are asking themselves, 
should I jump through all these hoops on the chance of "MIGHT BE".   "Naw, I 
don't think so" will be an oft-reached conclusion, and the follow-on 
conclusion might well be "why bother at all this weekend".

But, hey, maybe you don't care how many of those 11,500 "MIGHT BE" guys drop 
out.  We could still hold a contest.

So lets go further into Yuri's proposal, and examine his paragraph 1, where 
he wants a binding declaration BEFORE the contest of your entry category. 
Now I'm not sure why such declaration of intent is needed, but I understand 
what he proposes, and he wants it binding --- no changes allowed.

Until his list of exceptions.

Now the thing is so full or holes it looks like a bowl of fruit loops.  The 
smart pre-contest declaration for EVERY station would be SO QRP.  Yuri's 
exceptions then allow you to "move up" in category, but you can't "move 
down".

I won't even begin to discuss paragraphs 2 and 3, because I consider them 
insulting to all but about 2% of the very elite, and maybe even to 98% of 
that 2%.

73, de Hans, K0HB


-----Original Message----- 
From: Ken Widelitz
Sent: Friday, September 14, 2012 12:05 AM
To: 'Radio K0HB' ; 'Yuri'
Cc: cq-contest at contesting.com
Subject: RE: [CQ-Contest] Suggestions

Hans stated "While every contester, in his own mind, is a "top contester,"
99% of those top contesters know that realistically they are not going to be
in the world top 10 in CQWW. If a contester thinks they might be World top
10, and that wouldn't affect more than 20 or so entrants, the ideas are not
unreasonable, outrageous or Draconian, given the potential to almost
eliminate concerns about cheating among top scorers, evidently one in
particular, but you really can't require something of one top entrant that
isn't required of all top entrants.

73, Ken, K6LA / VY2TT