[CQ-Contest] Absurd Rule in NAQP

[Kelly Taylor]

Every contest has its own quirks likely purposefully built in to create its own feel. WAE has QTCs, SS has a long exchange and work 'em once only, WW has everybody works everybody but some equals are more equal than others, Sprint has the QSY rule. CX rewards ops who use vintage equipment. 

NAQP, it seems, wants to celebrate the unassisted single op. Bravo!

If all the contests had the same rules, all the contests would be the same. 

Sometimes, the key to happiness is not trying to alter every environment to suit particular tastes, but rather being able to find joy in environments as they are. 

I find complaints about popular contests' rules are, at times, like someone walking into a Szechuan restaurant and saying "What, you don't make cheeseburgers?"

I, for one, enjoy a contest without as many crazed, RBN- and spot-driven pileups. But I'm not going to complain about contests that have them, either. 

73, Kelly 
ve4xt

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jan 16, 2016, at 3:24 PM, Pete Smith N4ZR <pete.n4zr at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> NAQP does not allow use of spotting assistance on any mode, and single-ops using assistance are reclassified as Multi-two.  Then, *because they areMulti-Two, they are required to adhere by the 10-minute band change rule*.  When I asked one of the organizers, he first said that they had never thought about it, but after a couple of back-and-forths, he affirmed that is indeed how it works.
> 
> Why should we care?  First of all, because penalizing assisted single-op participants in this way is a classic example of unintended consequences.  The band change rule was intended to prevent elaborate octopus arrangments competing with genuine two transmitter multis, not to limit single-op band changes.  It prevents assisted entrants from participating in one of the most fun aspects of NAQP, moving stations (or being moved)  to maximize the distribution of rare mults.  For people who operate assisted in other contests, it prevents them from practicing high-rate assisted search-and-pounce skills unless they are willing to accept a heavy handicapso far as NAQP competition is concerned.
> 
> It's hard for me to understand why NAQP would cling to this antiquated situation.  The other three contests reclassifying assisted single-op as multi-op were ARRL 10, ARRL 160, andIARU HF.  All three have now adopted Single Op Unlimited as a legitimate competitive class. When will NAQP get rid of this counter-productive anachronism?
> 
> -- 
> 
> 73, Pete N4ZR
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