[CQ-Contest] Towards a critical examination of the 2-point rule in CQWW

Thu Nov 28 10:37:34 EST 2013

"...P.S. Up here in the barren lands of the EU Aurora Belt, we should get 4
points for all DX QSOs that we manage to squeeze through. I'm sure that our
fate-sharing friends in Alaska and Nunavut will agree :) But actually, the
guys really getting screwed over are in Oceania, and they get hardly any
consideration. In my opinion it's a testament to their dedication that they
bother participating at all. If anything, most of them should get at least 5
points for all contacts...."

The Southern Cone CQ Z (12/13) are close enough to EU/USA/JA. We should get
-3 points.  C'mon.
One of the ways to make make a so called contest "A REAL CONTEST" is use
the Stew Perry QSO point scheme and use the NA Sprints QSO-QSY.
All smart people here in the reflector! Who in the world really believes
this is a competition?
Lots of uncontrollable factors.
Lots of unleveling factors.
I'm okay with it. I like it. I enjoy it. It's one of my passions, but it is
not a competition.
The only competition you can expect is competing against yourself. Other
than that, it is just a matter of zillion dollar stations, decawatts and
sort of a running fest.

What I always keep wondering is why  organizers are so afraid of changing
things radically.

CQ should not be too worried about breaking the entrants records year after
year. With the long tradition this contest has, they should worry about
making it the best ever and most challenging ham radio event in history,
where operating proficiency rules over budget, location and the like.

Vy 73.

Martin, LU5DX

On Thu, Nov 28, 2013 at 10:20 AM, Kim Östman <kim.ostman at tut.fi> wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> Bob's N6BK / HS0ZIA e-mail to the reflector triggered some (long...)
> thoughts in my head. He wondered why North American (NA) stations in CQWW
> get 2 points for each NA QSO outside their own country, when it's 1 point
> for everybody else in the world. I also brought up this question in March
> in
> conjunction with the CQWW survey. At the time, a kind veteran US contester
> answered me privately, explaining that the rule was created decades ago
> when
> there was a need to encourage activity especially from zone 8 (the northern
> Caribbean). The world was a different place back then.
>
> To bring some analytical structure to the discussion, let's examine what I
> see as the most common arguments for maintaining the status quo:
>
> 1. "The rule evens out the imbalance between the number of available NA and
> EU countries" = multipliers. ===> The numbers show that there are 73 EU
> multipliers and 50 NA multipliers. Being in zone 7/zone 8 (from here on:
> z7/z8) on the doorstep of SA brings in 32 additional SA multipliers, and as
> the map shows, many are in very close proximity. So that's 73 (EU) vs. 50 +
> 32 = 82 (NA & SA): the numbers don't support this argument.
>
> 2. "You can't log the existing multipliers due to lower activity level in
> the NA/SA vs. EU countries." ===> That's already retreating from and
> shifting the original argument. You need one single station for the
> multiplier, and if you're in a rare zone/country and have put in an effort
> to have a good signal, chances are they will find you without you even
> having to hunt them down. This year in CQWW CW, I worked 55 different EU
> multipliers vs. 40 different NA/SA multipliers, from up here in the
> propagationally challenged Aurora Belt where NA/SA is actually challenging
> to reach. In the 2012 CQWW CW, one of the top z8 stations worked 57 EU vs.
> 40 NA/SA multipliers. A log analysis covering multiple years will provide a
> more reliable view.
>
> 3. "There are less stations available for QSO points." ===> First, EU has a
> virtually endless supply of other 1-point EU stations. But likewise, z7/z8
> have an endless supply of US stations to work. Second, the EU <-> NA
> 3-point
> DX highway is open for z7/z8, and good antenna systems result in good
> signals even down to 80m or 160m. Likewise, the EU guys with good systems
> get a nice number of NA contacts even on the low bands. Of course z7/z8 are
> further away from EU than z5 is and the openings are shorter. But then
> again, z15/z16 are also further away from NA than z14 is. We accept the
> reality, work as many NA/SA as we can and then attempt to make up for it in
> other ways. It's all about strategy!
>
> 4. "z7/z8 NA stations are disadvantaged relative to the z9 SA stations,
> which are *just a few hundred kilometers away*." ===> So what about
> southern
> Europe and the hot-bed AF z33 in close proximity? Are the serious
> contesters
> in southern Spain asking for rules exceptions in the form of 2-point (or
> even 3-point) EU QSOs, because close-by 3V and CN get 3? No. If their
> concern is to win the world, they simply travel to places such as z33.
>
> An interesting further point emerges when looking at the 2013 CQWW survey
> results
> (http://www.cqww.com/files/2013_CQWWDX_Contest_Survey_27Apr2013.pdf),
> questions #9 and #10. The former was about increasing the intra-NA points
> for "z1-z5 <-> z6-z8" QSOs from 2 to 3, and the latter was about increasing
> "JA <-> rest of Asia" points from 1 to 3.
>
> Funnily enough, a higher number of respondents (31.9%) thought that NA QSOs
> should be valued 3 points than that Asians hams should be rewarded with 3
> points (27.7%). Even more interesting is that a greater number (32.9%)
> thought that Asians should NOT be rewarded than that NA QSOs should NOT be
> 3
> points (26.2%)! There were 2.5% less people with "no opinion" in the Asian
> question (NA: 41.9%, AS: 39.4%).
>
> ==> In light of all the above, is the 2-point (or proposed 3-point)
> exception really about creating a level playing field? For a global group
> of
> participants, in a global contest?
>
> Finally, a personal example, not to toot my own horn (I have as many flaws
> as the next guy) but to illustrate the point. Last year I was trusted with
> the wonderful opportunity to operate CQWW CW as SOAB HP from a southern
> European superstation. It was tons of fun for this frozen OH guy and quite
> the learning experience.
>
> But I was in 1-point EU; had I been just a few hundred kilometers south and
> worked the exact same people, I would have won the whole damn thing. Such a
> comparison is of course too simplistic, but it makes the point, and relates
> directly to the z7/z8 vs. z9 argument about such a small distance placing
> one in a 1-point (or, well, 2...!) area vs. a 3-point area. Did I start
> requesting beneficial exceptions for my location so as to "correct" the
> perceived injustice? Of course not. I accept the fundamental continental
> divide, no matter the relative disadvantage for me in the fight for the top
> spot.
>
> Summa summarum, I think the above analysis shows that serious
> reconsideration is needed for an exception that was created for a reason
> that no longer exists. We are all equal, but this is making some "more
> equal
> than others," as one author famously coined. Perhaps distance scoring
> schemes could help, but I suspect the devil would again emerge in the
> details.
>
> I may be a naïve idealist, but I'd like to think that we are an
> international contesting community, one that continuously seeks for better
> ways of understanding, acknowledging, and encouraging each other in
> positive
> ways. In the long term, exceptions that privilege given subsets are highly
> counter-productive to this higher purpose. What do you think?
>
> Sincerely,
>
> 73
> Kim OH6KZP
>
> P.S. Up here in the barren lands of the EU Aurora Belt, we should get 4
> points for all DX QSOs that we manage to squeeze through. I'm sure that our
> fate-sharing friends in Alaska and Nunavut will agree :) But actually, the
> guys really getting screwed over are in Oceania, and they get hardly any
> consideration. In my opinion it's a testament to their dedication that they
> bother participating at all. If anything, most of them should get at least
> 5
> points for all contacts...
>
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