[CQ-Contest] CQWW madness

[Jim Brown]

On Sat,7/23/2016 5:50 PM, Ed Sawyer wrote:
> Why are we beating up the CQWW contest? SS and NAQP are not fair either.

Actually, SS and NAQP are relatively competitive between different parts 
of NA. In SS,  PVRC, SMC, and NCCC have each turned in wins in Large 
Club competitons, and another half dozen or so smaller clubs have done 
will the Medium and Small club competions. Indeed, it's been largely a 
matter of motivation of members as to which club wins any given year.

Likewise, top NAQP and NA Sprint scores are spread around, and there's 
quite healthy competition between teams. NCCC teams often place well in 
both contests, even beating "ad hoc" teams of top operators all over NA.

IMO, the most unfair element of SS is the number of geographically small 
sections with relatively little ham activity, most of them located where 
they're easy to work on 80/75 from W1/2/3. I'm thinking of the four new 
VE3 sections, RI, and MAR sections.  The only section comparable out 
west is SF; things are better there since K6SRZ moved from Berkeley (EB) 
to wine country (part of the SF section) when he retired several years ago.

> Just advantage those outside W1 and W2 so somehow that makes it okay that
> they are unfair.  Same propagation problems and the scoring doesn't offset
> it.  And those contest are hardly growing compared to CQWW.  Why not fix
> those first, and see how it goes, rather than starting with CQWW which
> doesn't look to need fixing according to ant statistics that I see.

The only thing I would do to improve SS is to delete those four VE3 
sections and go back to ON. Whether they need the local organization is 
a different problem. And I wouldn't change NAQP or NA Sprint at all.

> I repeat - create a new  contest to solve this issue.

Why? So you and all the guys who have the undeserved reputations as 
"super operators" don't have their golden throne advantage?

> Just make sure you skew the rules enough so that a guy in California with a 50 ft tower and a tribander can win.  Otherwise its not fair right?

BS. Google N6RO and look at his antenna farm. Then consider that top 
operators at his station cannot be competitive with inferior 
stations/operators in W1/2/3 in DX contests. I have a far more modest 
antenna farm, but one that most guys in W1/2/3/4/8/9 would be thrilled 
with. I would like to be able to at least be in the same contest with 
comparable operators in comparable stations.  So would other guys all 
over the world.

73, Jim K9YC