[CQ-Contest] Classic - Doing what was intended?

[David Gilbert]

Everybody's physiology is different.  I used to race time trials on my 
bicycle and landed on the podium at the Arizona state championships 
three years in a row in my age group in my mid-50's. I was healthy 
enough that I could bike for an hour within a couple of beats per minute 
of my maximum heart rate, and my resting heart rate was around 42.  The 
training required to get to that level was very difficult, and the races 
themselves were gruesome to the point that I swore I'd never put myself 
through such agony again.   During that same time frame I was physically 
never able to operate more than 36-40 hours in a major contest without 
suffering intense headaches, and I sometimes ended up with surface clots 
in my legs afterward no matter how much I tried to keep my weight off 
the back of my thighs.

So please don't pontificate about motivation and desire.   Just because 
you and others have the physiology to endure those kinds of contesting 
hours does not mean that everyone does, and your own data shows that 90% 
of the contesting population does not consider the return to be worth 
the trauma.  You wisely (in my opinion) implemented the Classic category 
this year in recognition of the situation ... so why can't you just 
leave it at that?

My job situation (I now work weekends) has precluded me from contesting 
for much of the past two years, but for me the Classic category was 
probably the most positive thing to hit radiosport in a long time and I 
truly was disappointed not being able to take advantage of it.

Dave   AB7E


On 11/28/2013 8:38 PM, Randy Thompson K5ZD wrote:
> One could argue that running a marathon or the Iron Man triathlon is
> unhealthy.  But, we see people of all ages do it on a regular basis.  It is
> all about motivation and desire.
>
> I don't find doing 44+ hours to be a health issue for me.  But, there are
> many weekends where my personal life may not allow me to compete at that
> level.  Having options provides motivation for more people to participate.
>
> Ham radio contesting is the most healthy in terms of participation as it has
> ever been in history.  As long as we keep making the tent bigger and more
> inclusive, we will all have more stations to work and more fun.
>
> Randy, K5ZD
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: CQ-Contest [mailto:cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of
>> W0MU Mike Fatchett
>> Sent: Thursday, November 28, 2013 11:19 PM
>> To: cq-contest at contesting.com
>> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Classic - Doing what was intended?
>>
>> Can we really expect an aging group of contesters to continue to do 48
>> hour contests?
>>
>> Operating 46 of 48 is less than healthy.  Why should we continue to push
>> people to do what is not healthy?  Pro sports are taking measures never
>> seen before to protect their players.
>>
>> Mike W0MU
>>
>> On 11/28/2013 12:16 PM, Edward Sawyer wrote:
>>> After seeing literally more than a dozen well known contesters in each
>>> mode "opt down" for the 24 hours of Classic and others commenting they
>>> may try it next year, I have to ask - is it doing what was intended?
>>> Seems to be a nice choice for those who feel inclined at the moment
>>> but taking 40+ hour contesters down to 24 hours is not "helping
>> contesting" necessarily, folks.
>>> Maybe there are lots of people "opting up" to 24 hours who used to do
>>> 10 or
>>> 15 hours, I don't know.  But it does not seem to be "achieving
>> expectations"
>>> collectively, from where I sit. Maybe the positive results are just
>>> not obvious.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 73
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Ed   N1UR
>>>
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