[CQ-Contest] Distance-Based Ranking

[Lyubomir Slavov, OR2F]

Good evening,

the distance is not that great issue on HF today ... how to evaluate it on
different bands - as advantage or disadvantage ?
Indeed the Matrix-method is one possible solution but I'm afraid it needs
to be modified each year depends the Sun activity.

I think that the contest location is the major point !
In October 2014, I wrote already my opinion about this:

http://wrtc2018.de/index.php/en/ueber-uns-2/mailinglisten-2

Here below is a part of it :
-------------------------------------------------
Concerning the weightings – I do respect each individual opinion, in general
all you are right. But only in theory, not complete 100% for the reality.

What I mean ? …

The goal of WRTC is to evaluate the individual operating skills and
the team work of both participants. Putting all the teams in as much
as possible equal contest circumstances (location, power, antennas,
online referee, etc.) helps too much for such evaluation but not to
select the operators who will join the event. All they have to be
selected in accordance with their results based on some other criteria
- mostly the rules of passed contests - each one of them different, in
accordance with its philosophy.

So, the results of these Q-contests have to be modified in the way to
eliminate or at least to filter the results towards the WRTC-target.

Such modification doesn’t disturb the results of all these passed
contest neither prejudices their reputation at all. Observing the
results in Europe (where I'm personally interested), there are
two-three directions, the results of these contests still have to be
modified in the way to improve them for WRTC-purpose :

1. Attractive locations.

The difference between Azores and Madeira is not that great as between
Madeira and Kenya or between Azores and The Netherlands, is it ? This
could be adjusted by some additional weighting that depends of the
number of the participants in this multiplier area and varies for
instance between 0,8 and 1,0 (just example values). And to prevent any
idea to write and upload several dummy check logs with 5 Qs in each of
them, this weighting can be linked (function) to the ratio between the
individual and total results of this multiplier area (based on the
contest rules and final results of all sent logs, nevertheless
category). The weighting "UNIQUE QTH" could be easy calculated by the
following formula:

*Ku= (1 - 0,2 * (Ri / Rt))*

(*** 0,2 only in case the lowest limit is 0,8)

where* Ri* is the individual result of the evaluated participant and
*Rt* is the total result of all participants within this multiplier
area.

If there is more than one multiplier, this weighting should be a
result of multiplication on all separately calculated, i.e. in case of
CQWW - *Ku* can vary between 0,64 and 1,0.

----------------------------------------------

of course this is only an idea ... and surely there is enough
calculation resource to be carried out.

and most probably the limits can be adjusted within couple contest
editions ... then fixed on that values until some other idea is being
introduced as better one.

73,
Leo / OR2F


On 11 November 2015 at 07:51, Jim Brown <k9yc at audiosystemsgroup.com> wrote:

> On Tue,11/10/2015 3:15 PM, Ward Silver wrote:
>
>> Distance-based scoring really won't work for bands on which there is a
>> skip zone.
>>
>
> Horse-pucky!  Scoring rules determine who wants to work whom. For stations
> in Zones 3, 11, 12, 13, 29, 30 to have fun in a DX contest, there must be a
> real desire for other stations to work them. Those zones are remote from
> population centers, and for the most part, there's only 2-3 countries in a
> zone. VK is a continent larger than EU, yet only one country multiplier and
> two zone mults. EU is much smaller than South America, but EU has 5X the
> country multipliers.
>
> Distances DO matter on bands with skip zones. I cited examples in an
> earlier post. Stations and power being equal, I can work a LOT more mults
> on more bands in IARU, CQ, and ARRL DX contests from W1 than I can from W6.
>
> We need FAR more than "ranking" by zone or geographical area. We need a
> system where an operator in all but the most remote parts of the world is
> at least in the same contest with those in the Atlantic basin, and where
> his final score is determined by comparison with his geographic peers. It
> IS possible to design scoring rules that achieve this. It's like the US
> Congress -- we simply need the WILL to do it.
>
> 73, Jim K9YC
>
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