[CQ-Contest] Will there be anyone to work in 20 years?

[Jack Haverty.]

Ham radio contesting arguably invented "online gaming", long before
there was a 'net.   If we can remember what it was like to be young, I
think there's some easy explanations for why our own form of online
gaming isn't very popular.

Young people typically don't have much money.  Maybe they can scrounge
a few hundred dollars, or convince a doting relative, and buy an XBox
or such.   They can do battle with their friends, and if they develop
skill at the particular game, they can even win, at least among their
online buddies.

Contrast that with ham radio.  A few hundred dollars might get them a
basic station scrounged from flea markets - the 100 watt and a wire
type.  They can have a little fun with that, but it's not likely
they'll ever be able to win anything unless they find an obscure entry
category where there's no competition.  And then they might experience
a pretty hollow victory.

To win, they're told they need a Real Station -- a modern radio,
preferably two, at least one tower/rotator/antenna, and assorted
accessories.  Perhaps $5000 would get you started.  That still isn't
likely to be a winner's station, no matter how skilled they become.
Plus they need to commit rather large chunks of time, since contest
scores strongly correlate with BIC time.  Maybe even schedule a trip
to a more score-friendly QTH where you can really be competitive.

If they somehow manage to find that wad of cash, they're probably far
more likely to spend it on a car than on a pair of K3s or a tower.
They'll be out somewhere doing something at least part of their
weekends.   They won't be pulling all-nighters to try to win a contest
that they know their station isn't good enough without that extra
tower, or amp, or set of beverages, that won't get past the local
Parental HOA anyway.

So they go buy the new version of Call of Duty, and spend a few hours
gaming before heading out with their friends.

This situation isn't limited to the young.  There's legions of new
hams that committed a few hundred dollars for an HT and got a Tech
license, who can be coaxed into getting an HF license too.  But the
cost of setting up a competitive HF contesting station is a very big
hurdle that few cross.

I think a big obstacle to getting new contesters, of any age, is
simply that the bar to entry is set too high.   There aren't any
categories, in any contest, where a "simple station" can compete with
others of its kind, to see who has the best radio skills.

If contests provided a way such that "simple stations" could actually
compete, with each other, perhaps we'd see more contesters, of all
ages, in the games.

73,
/Jack de K3FIV