[CQ-Contest] Additional Penalty

[Kelly Taylor]

Some contests operate differently than others. In some contests, for instance, it’s possible to blast through a bad error rate with brute force: make enough QSOs that even when the bad ones are removed, you’re still left with enough good ones to win. It’s a strategy that sometimes pays off.

If you know that going in, then you can adjust accordingly.

Other contests appear to wish to put more emphasis on clean logs, and thus penalize errors to hinder a brute-force strategy.

If you know that going in, then you can adjust accordingly. 

And, if everyone is playing by the same rules, it should be of no consequence in the standings. If you win by 10 Qs under a more relaxed rule structure or win by 10 Qs under a more restrictive error policy, you still win, yes?

73, kelly, ve4xt 


> On Apr 12, 2016, at 10:11 PM, Radio K0HB <kzerohb at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> In a contest you accumulate a score by contacting other stations, correctly
> copy their callsign and generally some other bit(s) of information, and
> accurately transcribe that exchange to your log.
> 
> Having correctly copied and logged the required elements, you are credited
> point(s) and perhaps a "mult".
> 
> If you incorrectly copy the exchange, or finger-fault the log entry, then
> you are not credited the point(s) or mult.
> 
> Without overly belaboring the obvious, your success as a contester is
> directly proportional how fast and accurately you can fill your log with
> "good" exchanges. Lower accuracy = lower score.
> 
> So what useful purpose is served by the retribution imposed in the practice
> of reducing the score further with an "additional penalty"?
> 
> Do basketball players suffer an additional score reduction if they miss a
> shot? Are points (already scored) deducted from a baseball team if a batter
> fails to get on base? Does a bowler forfeit points earned in the first
> frame if they throw a gutter ball in the eighth frame?
> 
> Just wondering.
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