[CQ-Contest] SSB Sprint - W4ANs View

[David Pruett]

On 9/16/2014 8:51 AM, Hal Kennedy wrote:
> The CD parties were dropped.  There is no "Giant Rule-Book in the 
> Sky"  that says once a contest is established it has to last forever.  
> Is it time to pull the plug?
The CD parties were not dropped because of linsufficient activity. The 
CD parties were dropped for political reasons.  The ARRL was afraid of 
the non-contester backlash from sponsoring contests where only ARRL 
appointees (closed CD parties) or only ARRL appointees and ARRL members 
(open CD parties) were allowed to participate.

I remember when the SSB Sprints were instituted and thinking that this 
was the dumbest contest ever invented.  Ar least until the RTTY Sprint 
came along.  But I was wrong.  I have occasionally operated in both the 
phone and RTTY sprints and enjoyed myself - these are indeed viable 
contests.  However, at this time I have insufficient interest in either 
to devote four hours on a weekend evening to these.  No offense meant.

However, without sufficient activity a contest withers away.  The 
participants support the contest by their participation.

Also, Sprints by their very nature are somewhat exclusive.  The QSY rule 
and operating demands are not very friendly to casual or newbie 
participants.  It can also be brutal for stations running QRP, low power 
and/or poor antennas.  It is easier on CW than on SSB or RTTY.

If people want the SSB Sprint to survive, they need to recruit other 
stations to get on the air and participate, whether on a team or not.

73, Dave/K8CC