[CQ-Contest] The Meaning of Disqualification

[Ria Jairam]

Hi Terry,

Thanks for your explanation.

With all due respect though, this doesn't look like an explanation,
but rather a half baked (I would like to use a different word but I
must be respectful) attempt to cover a disqualification that was done
for a technical rules violation.

It seems as though 4U1WB counts for USA in some circumstances and does
not in others, and it's done whenever/wherever convenient. This
inconsistency falls squarely on the part of the contest committee, and
in a broader sense on the CQ magazine awards program.

I would urge you to get some clarity and make the status of 4U1WB and
other UN entities within other countries, at least for the future
rather than just arbitrarily disqualifying an entrant who would have
otherwise qualified. Whether this means that they are counted as a
separate DX entity or counted as the United States AND their UN
documentation is accepted as proof of license - either solution is
fine. But there must be clearly defined rules as to what is what.
Otherwise when you have a contest with no rules you don't have a
contest at all, but you have a free for all with "winners" and losers
picked by the contest committee as they see fit.

73
Ria, N2RJ

On Fri, Oct 27, 2017 at 11:19 AM, Terry Zivney <n4tz at arrl.net> wrote:
>  The Meaning of Disqualification
> Masa, AJ3M, has initiated a thread with a lengthy post
> about the disqualification of 4U1WB in the recent CQ WPX SSB Contest.
> Rather than trying to address all of Masa's concerns in one
> long post, I will attempt to compose several focused messages.
> The first message is on the meaning of disqualification.
> Masa sent me the following on October 24:
> "I am sure that you, as a fellow contester, know that considering an entrant
> for a disqualification means that the contest committee is challenging the
> operator’s integrity and sportsmanship. I fully understand that the
> CQ WPX Contest Committee’s intention is to protect the integrity of the
> competition and address any violations of the trust that underlies radiosport
> competition. My reputation in the worldwide contest community is very important
> to me. Our Club’s reputation is equally important. The damage was done."
> The meaning of DISQUALIFICATION for the CQ WPX Contest uses the following
> dictionary definition:
> "to put out of a competition etc for breaking rules. She was disqualified for
> being too young." Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd
> Thus, disqualification in itself should not impact ones reputation.
> A recent news story (though not unique), illustrates this point. When
> a high school athlete broke his leg in a cross-country competition, his
> teammate carried him to the finish line. Both were disqualified because
> they broke the rule that runners are prohibited from touching or assisting
> another runner during the race.  The pair's reputations seem to have been
> enhanced by this event:
> http://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/10/high-school-runner-carries-teammate-broken-leg
> On the other hand, if the athletes had been disqualified for using
> performance enhancing drugs, then their reputations would have been
> negatively impacted.
> Simply put, disqualification needs to be viewed in the proper perspective.
> I applaud Scott, KA9FOX, for his low-key response on this reflector
> on June 3, 1994 to being disqualified in the 1993 WPX contest for
> signing KG9/KA9FOX:
> "The effort was not serious (nobody would compete seriously from my
> seriously deficient station) so it was no biggie.  Heck, it gave me
> something fun to talk about at Dayton!  (wore a name badge
> with "Dee Qued" as the name)"
> Terry N4TZ, CQ WPX Contest Director
> This message posted at 1519 UTC, October 27, 2017
>
>
>
>
>
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