[CQ-Contest] Level Playing Field and Geography

[Jim Brown]

On Mon,5/25/2015 5:05 PM, Steve Sacco NN4X wrote:
> Perhaps all entries should be graded on a curve?  /sarc 

A concept I've toyed with is for stations within each geographic region 
are assigned a handicap based on how their scores compare to other 
scores in the same region. For example, stations in W1 make a logical 
region. ARRL sections SNJ, NLI, ENY, NNJ, WDC, DE, and EPA might make 
another one. WNY, NNY, WPA, OH, MI, WV, and the ON sections might be 
another. Canada east of VE3 another. And so on. A station's final score 
in a contest would be adjusted based on a factor proportional to his 
score and the average of all scores in his region.

This simple concept (simple now, thanks to computing power) could be 
part of leveling the playing field in a lot of contests. The other half 
of it is changing the scoring rules so that more stations want to work 
each other. This might involved redefining what counts as a multiplier, 
or perhaps eliminating multipliers and going to distance-based scoring, 
like the Stew Perry.

K6XX, for example, has long suggested counting entities within the 
European Union as a single multiplier. Don't like all those lovely EU 
multipliers going away? How about call area multipliers for VK and ZL, 
and multipliers for JA prefectures?

All of these suggestions are VERY easily implemented with computers that 
are on all of our desks. Heck -- I've seen scoring rules changes added 
to N1MM Plus in a week! With this sort of change, CQWW actually BECOMES 
a WW contest, rather than a party for the privileged class.

73, Jim K9YC