[CQ-Contest] Interesting Youth In Ham Radio Contesting

[Jack Haverty]

IMHO, it might be helpful to look at Contesting from the "youth
perspective", and see what might make it more interesting -- to them.

Some obvious characteristics of "youth" (and other casual contesters):

- they often have limited resources and constraints, e.g., living in an
apartment or HOA, unable or unwilling to spend $10000s on a hobby, etc.
- they're comfortable using technology - computers and Internet are
familiar everyday tools; some are even competent at programming as well
as using computers
- they like social activities, doing things with friends and sharing
experiences
- they like to compete in a fair battle; they like to at least be able
to "win"

So, what could Contesters, and Contest Organizers do to attract more of
this crowd to Contesting?  Make them feel welcomed?  Make it fun?  Make
them come back?  Make them get involved?

Here's some ideas:

- make it possible for "casual" stations to compete against each other,
and win over their peers.  E.G., define a contest category for the low
power, simple antenna station - maybe call it the "casual" category.
Existing categories don't do this, e.g., even a QRP entrant with stacked
beams at 70' will easily trounce a casual ham with an apartment station.
But casual contesters would like to compete -- but only against others
like them where it's a "fair" battle.

- make casual stations more welcomed and even sought out by the big
guns.  E.G., include the station category in the contest exchange (as in
Field Day), and give extra points for working a casual station.  Big
guns might be more likely to dig those weak signals out of the noise.
Casual stations might feel more involved than being just the normal
cannon fodder for bored rate runners who have run out of strong signals
in the pileup.

- include digital modes in contests, even if few people use them at
first.  Make digital Qs worth more points.  Let the casual stations use
their computer skills to make contest contacts even with simple rigs.

- allow casual stations to use the Internet.  But redefine "Assisted" to
mean "Use of any form of communications during the contest other than
amateur radio."  Create Casual/Assisted as well as Casual/Unassisted sub
categories.  If you need the assistance of the Internet that's OK -- but
wouldn't it be more fun to figure out how to use radio instead?  Don't
outlaw anything.  See how they can use amateur radio in ways we haven't
thought of.

- encourage casual stations to use their computer skills to compensate
for their lack of high-altitude aluminum farms and kilowatts of RF.
Instead of outlawing innovation (like Skimmers, RBN, etc), encourage it,
at least for use in the casual sub-categories.  See what they can
build...it's all just software after all, which they're comfortable with.

- encourage innovation in the use of amateur radio.  Permit, and
encourage, introduction of new tools that use amateur radio instead of
using the Internet.  E.G., Spotting networks, where all interactions are
accomplished only by use of radio, are allowed, and do not constitute
"assistance".

- encourage teamwork and social interactions during the contest by
defining "teams" of stations that compete as a coordinated group, and
who compete against other such teams.  Their coordination can be
whatever they can think up - "assisted" only if they use the Internet.
But there's a lot they could do to operate as a team by using radio to
talk amongst themselves and even to their competition.

- educate youthful contesters that modern radios are really just
computers running a radio app that consumes a stream of numbers coming
from the "modem" wired to the antenna.  Show them that radios now use
software and algorithms instead of capacitors and transistors to create
things like mixers, oscillators, filters, and all the myriad parts of a
radio.  Show them that they actually can build their own radios today -
it's mostly just software.  Point them to Flex, Anan, and especially the
HPSDR DIY communities.   A really interesting "contest radio" might be
the result.

OK, enough...you get the idea...   All of the above is of course not
limited to "youth", but largely applies to all of the 1000s of casual
contesters who show up for a few hours to play with their radios but
don't really compete.

73,
/Jack de K3FIV