[CQ-Contest] Why was 4U1WB Disqualified in the CQ WPX Contest?

[N4ZR]

Enough, already!  Terry has acknowledged he was wrong and has made Masa 
and 4U1WB whole again, so let's move on.  Rumor has it there's a contest 
this weekend.

73, Pete N4ZR
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On 10/28/2017 2:33 PM, John Geiger wrote:
> That is an interesting idea Chuck, but I think that 4U1UN and 4U1WB could
> be counted as 1 entity, because due to the DXCC rules, the physical
> separation between them (more than 75 miles) would them separate entities.
> Same for 4U1ITU and 4U1VIC.
>
> 73 John AF5CC
>
> On Sat, Oct 28, 2017 at 12:20 PM, Chuck Dietz <w5prchuck at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> 4U1WB should not have to sign "/" when they operate from their fixed, home
>> location. They should be either considered a separate "country" or lumped
>> in with 4U1UN with both counting as "UN"  Similarly, 4U1VIC could be lumped
>> in with 4U1ITU.  These are artificial entities anyway and I think it would
>> enhance the fun of the contests. Who has not experienced the thrill of
>> working the "4U1" prefix followed by the let down of it not being a
>> multiplier?
>>
>> Chuck W5PR
>>
>> On Fri, Oct 27, 2017 at 7:38 PM, W0MU Mike Fatchett <w0mu at w0mu.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I could be wrong but I thought 4U1WB could only operate at the world bank
>>> location and 4U1UN from the UN Building in NY.  I do not know if 4u1ITU
>> is
>>> locked in to a specific location in EU.
>>>
>>> Thank you for reconsidering and reinstating the log and fixing the broken
>>> rules!
>>>
>>> W0MU
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 10/27/2017 1:02 PM, Terry Zivney wrote:
>>>
>>>>    Why was 4U1WB Disqualified in the CQ WPX Contest?
>>>>
>>>> As Masa, AJ3M, noted in his posting about the
>>>> disqualification of 4U1WB in the 2017 CQ WPX SSB
>>>> contest, I informed him that:
>>>>
>>>> "4U1WB violated rule V.C.2:
>>>>
>>>> 2. Special event, commemorative, and other unique prefix stations are
>>>> encouraged to participate. Prefixes must be assigned by the licensing
>>>> authority of the country of operation.
>>>>
>>>> 4U1 is not assigned by the FCC, the licensing authority of the USA,
>> which
>>>> is
>>>> what the log of 4U1WB showed as the country of operation."
>>>>
>>>> *********
>>>>
>>>> The WPX contest rule cited clearly states that the callsign must be
>>>> assigned
>>>> by the licensing authority. The FCC did not assign the callsign, and
>>>> has no authority to issue 4U1WB callsigns. Thus, the station did not
>>>> operate in compliance with the existing contest rules.
>>>>
>>>> Since 4U1 prefixes can be in multiple countries, rule V.C.1 would also
>>>> apply.
>>>> The DXCC list includes 4U1UN and 4U1ITU as separate entities. So, the
>> 4U1
>>>> prefix does not denote the country of operation. This rule states:
>>>>
>>>> "A station operating from a DXCC entity different from that indicated
>>>> by its call sign is required to sign portable." Because the 4U1WB
>> callsign
>>>> does not reflect the DXCC entity of USA, it is required to sign
>> portable.
>>>> I did not write these rules, but was charged with interpreting and
>>>> enforcing them.
>>>>
>>>> *********
>>>>
>>>> Why was 4U1WB disqualified in 2017 but not in prior years?
>>>>
>>>> I cannot answer why 4U1WB was not disqualified previously. However, I
>>>> can state that my practice, as I believe is true of most contest
>>>> directors,
>>>> is to focus most of my attention on the larger scores. 4U1WB's score
>>>> was less than 1 percent of the highest score in his category, so it
>>>> was not eyeballed earlier.
>>>>
>>>> I was proofreading the line scores and top scores boxes for the CQ WPX
>> SSB
>>>> contest shortly before CQ's submission deadline.  These scores change
>>>> every
>>>> day as new logs are received. I try to let this process continue as long
>>>> as
>>>> possible to ensure the most accurate log checking. While doing the
>>>> proofreading,
>>>> I noticed 4U1WB/3 listed in a top scores box. This seemed odd, so I
>> looked
>>>> further. Was this 4U3 or 4U1/W3? What did he send? Reference to his log
>>>> showed he sent 4U1WB and was located in MDC so it was obviously in the
>>>> USA.
>>>> This resulted in my checking the rules about portable callsigns and the
>>>> rest is history.
>>>>
>>>> *********
>>>>
>>>> I will change the WPX rule V.C.2 for 2018 to reflect a new and improved
>>>> wording, "Prefixes must be issued or permitted by the licensing
>>>> authority of the country of operation."
>>>>
>>>> This revised rule will fit the case of 4U1WB, who has a letter from the
>>>> US Department of State saying that the licensing authority (FCC) has no
>>>> problem with this operation.
>>>>
>>>> I don't believe it was wrong for me to enforce the published rules. The
>>>> fact that all published rules have not been (and maybe even are not)
>>>> always
>>>> enforced does not mean that they can safely be ignored.
>>>>
>>>> As an example, the  CQWW contest has always had a rule that the exchange
>>>> includes the zone, yet for many years the directors of the CQWW
>>>> did not penalize operators for incorrectly reporting the exchange.
>>>> Indeed, one of the former directors published an article in CQ Contest
>>>> magazine saying that the exchange would not be checked! Yet, in recent
>>>> years
>>>> the exchange has been checked and operators penalized for incorrectly
>>>> recording the exchange.  No advance notice was given of this change in
>>>> practice.  It was always in the rules and now the rules are enforced.
>>>>
>>>> **********
>>>>
>>>> Resolution of problem
>>>>
>>>> 1) Rule V.C.2 will be clarified for the 2018 WPX contest as noted above
>>>> 2) In the spirit of good sportsmanship, the 4U1WB 2017 logs will be
>>>> removed
>>>> from disqualified status and his corrected scores entered in our online
>>>> databases.
>>>> 3) An errata will be posted on the CQWPX.com website
>>>>
>>>> I am so sorry that this experience caused Masa grief. I respect
>>>> both Masa and his contest club. I meant no disrespect to either Masa
>>>> or his contest club over this situation.
>>>>
>>>> 73
>>>>
>>>> Terry N4TZ, CQ WPX Contest Director
>>>>
>>>> This message was posted at 1701 UTC, October 27, 2017
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