[CQ-Contest] How many hours do SOAB entrants actually operate?

[Christian Schneider]

K4XS wrote: People run in marathons and hate the last part of the run.
However,  they do it for the same reasons I and some of the other "iron
butts" do a full 48 or close to it.  It's a challenge.... a rare combination
of skill and endurance.  
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The one crucial difference to this marathon example has nothing to do with
skill and endurance but with the total number of hours necessary: To finish
a marathon takes you less than a day of your time with all circumstances (if
you do not a marathon-expedition from DL to the NY-run like an SOAB on
DX-expedition who will and still can do 48h). That is the time budget needed
in a 24h-category. More hours simply don´t fit in the majoriy of everyday
lifes. Simply look at the figures available. Are all those crazy hams lazy,
unwilling aunable? One can claim people with less than 30 hours optime lazy
or unmotivated - but that is not the reality. People want to operate but
life prevails - and that is good for good reason as long as we are talking
about a hobby competition.  And endurance can only be tested if you have the
time to operate and really endure in front of your radio(s). It ist not
endurance to tell the familiy: "Do what you want but without me".

But of course we can continue to claim the <10percent cases with lucky
circumstances as the only standard and declare the rest for being not real
contesters - but then we should not complain if not enough reagrd
competetive contesting as a thing to try. The sheer number of logs is not a
measure of interest in competetive contesting as long as 90 percent SOAB
drop out before they reach the necessary op-time to be competetive. Many of
them may be happy with it - no problem, we all enjoy regularly laid back
"participating". But as long as we call it "contesting" and not "activity
weekend" we should look for all ways to encourage competetive operating -
which necessarily means "finishing", too.

And to the endurance champions: Did anyone vote for abolishing their
48h-marathon-category? I didn´read this. So what is taken away from the
"48"hour-guys when they are still able to compete against others coming
close to 48h? Did they feel any pride in winning against the other 90
percent operating half as long or less? I don´t think so. Their competition
is the race with the other lucky >10 percent.

73, Chris (DL8MBS)