[CQ-Contest] Have NCCC and PVRC ruined SS?

[Guy Olinger K2AV]

I don't buy it that the big clubs spoiled anything at all.  They've spoiled
SS the same way having two really good NFL teams duke it out in the final
game of the season has spoiled the National Football League.  Tell me
that's spoiled individual players' salaries across the league, and I've got
a bridge...

SS is THE contest for someone that only has a low 40m dipole up in the air.
 There will be plenty of PVRC and NCCC stations that will be looking for
him.  All he has to do is call CQ once...  If he doesn't work anyone else,
he'll work 50 or 100 stations from the two clubs and say "Wow, I can
compete in this. I've got a pipeline into CA and Atlantic coast."  None of
us will try to dissuade him of that notion.

As to the "big ole bully" PVRC beating up on the others, I don't see NCCC
as disadvantaged toward PVRC at all.  From the indications emerging, they
made a conscious choice to emphasize elsewhere.

When NCCC and PVRC WERE putting in very close scores (most of the prior
decade) you could argue that PVRC put in a conspicuous number of very high
end SSB scores, giving an advantage some years even though NCCC had more
logs. NCCC turned in somewhat higher CW scores during the time.

Some surmise the SSB edge was due to PVRC easily reaching a large number of
east coast stations on 75m, a popular hangout for easterners, particularly
when sunspots were down.  Hard to argue against.  On the other hand, when
spots were up, there's the 10m and 15m advantage where west coast easily
works the entire east coast and east can only hear the fewer stations on
the west coast, and NCCC got us on sheer volume on the high bands.  Also
hard to argue against.

PVRC sat on its laurels after a long run of success some years back, let
attention decay, and then got slammed first by SMC and then by NCCC.  That
is what is supposed to happen.  We tend to keep SS on the front burner now
because it's a good match for our membership overall.  For a lot of us,
it's the season opener.

Truth is, NCCC of three or four years back would have taken us this year,
no question.  I don't think we were really on top of our game this year.
 PVRC is really at it's best when, yet again, we're behind NCCC after the
CW weekend, and a bunch of generally CW only ops get on in their only SSB
contest of the year and suffer through to help make up the difference.  I
hope NCCC decides to "do" SS again next year, or SMC takes a run at it
again.  Top unlimited club should never have an easy year, no matter who
they are.

73, y'all

Guy K2AV
PVRC since 1963

On Fri, Feb 1, 2013 at 7:25 PM, James Jordan <k4qpl at nc.rr.com> wrote:

> If political parties can gerrymander congressional districts I see no
> reason why an amoeba with equal area wouldn't work for club
> competition--within reason. Octopus also OK but no snakes leading from one
> superstation to another all over the country! Actually I like the idea and
> as Guy points out PVRC also has some dead spaces.
>
> 73,
>
> Jim K4QPL
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Feb 1, 2013, at 6:21 PM, Bill Haddon <haddon.bill at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > K4QPL wrote:
> >
> > > No matter where the NCCC guys put the center of their circle they're
> going to get either a lot of ocean or a lot of sparsely populated area, or
> both, on the sides.
> >
> > Circle? Bad for NCCC.   I'll push for amoeba or octopus with same total
> area as a circle of the current specified diameter.  We could get pretty
> creative.  Would add a whole new element to the club competition.
> >
> > 73 Blll n6zfo (loyal NCCC member)
> >
> > On Fri, Feb 1, 2013 at 4:07 AM, Jim Jordan, K4QPL <k4qpl at nc.rr.com>
> wrote:
> > Very true. LACK of activity ruins contests. SS suffers from that to a
> considerable degree in that unlike many contests, you can't work the same
> station on another band. Makes for a very slow Sunday, but fun for the
> casuals who jump in then as "fresh meat".
> >
> > In fairness to NCCC, and other clubs as well, I would think demographics
> gives PVRC an advantage. With our circle stretching from 3 of the 4 major
> population centers in NC through VA, parts of WVA, MDC, DE and a bit of PA,
> there is a huge population from which to draw contesters and logs when we
> push--which is what has been done. No matter where the NCCC guys put the
> center of their circle they're going to get either a lot of ocean or a lot
> of sparsely populated area, or both, on the sides.
> >
> > Not that we intend to give up any ground....:-)
> >
> > 73,
> >
> > Jim, K4QPL
> >
> > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ken Widelitz" <widelitz at gte.net>
> > To: <cq-contest at contesting.com>
> > Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2013 11:10 PM
> > Subject: [CQ-Contest] Have NCCC and PVRC ruined SS?
> >
> >
> >
> > How can more activity ruin SS? Once you get a sweep, it's all about
> finding
> > stations you haven't worked before. You don't care where they are. And if
> > you haven't gotten a sweep yet, you still want to work as many as you can
> > and you don't care where they are.
> >
> > 73, Ken, K6LA / VY2TT
> >
> >
> >
> >
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