[CQ-Contest] Is Contesting an e-Sport ?

[Jack Haverty]

On 07/23/2017 01:14 PM, Henning wrote:
> Radiosport could be as e-Sport, but there is a big lack of pictures.
> Standing behind an active contester is boring, even for another contester.
> So make some Contest score boards with pictures and action - then you can go
> on-screen.

Many years ago, I was in the UK on a business trip and turned on the TV.
 There was a live telecast of a Fishing Tournament.  The camera was
focused on a fisherman, standing by the edge of a lake.  For hours (as I
did some paperwork) all you saw was the contestant moving the rod up and
down.  I thought it was a joke.  It wasn't.

That's probably on par with watching radiosport.  It is hard to imagine
anyone watching this for hours.

But apparently people do...at least in the UK.  I think what probably
made it interesting was that there was an announcer and commentator, who
provided a constant banter.  He'd whisper "Ahh, looks like that was a
nibble" and other such commentary.  He also provided a constant flow of
factoids about the contestants, their prior records, the lake itself,
the fish, the weather, etc., etc.

So, it seems possible to make something that is inherently boring
interesting enough to watch...at least for some audiences.

With a "god view" of a radio contest provided by RBN et al, a good
commentator could inject some excitement - e.g., "15 meters just opened
and Bill is running at 60, closing in on Harry.  Harry doesn't seem to
have noticed yet.  Or maybe he doesn't care and his strategy is to pick
up more mults on 20 as propagation shifts..."   Or "Jane's chasing a
mult who she noticed S&Ping up the band on her second radio.  She just
set up a CQ trap 10 KHz up from the mult.  Let's see if she catches it!"

Perhaps if e-sport had commentators, invited expert guests, and other
such distractions, "watching" a radio contest could be interesting?

73,
/Jack de K3FIV