[CQ-Contest] Certificates for ARRL DX - a great motivator for new contesters

[ktfrog007 at aol.com]

Hi Ria,


I can give a testimonial on this subject.  


In early 2007 with fewer and fewer sunspots I decided to put up a secret outside night-time only antenna for 40m and 80m to supplement the increasingly useless high band ones in the attic.  Consequently, I put in (for me) a maximal all-band effort in the 2007 ARRL DX CW.  The only goal was to work toward a 5BDXCC.


I had never before sent in an ARRL contest log, so I decided to submit my log just to see how the process worked.  I did so and promptly forgot all about it.  


Almost a year later I got a large white envelope from the ARRL.  No apparent reason.  I opened it and there was a certificate for first place  SOLP in EMA.  At that point I couldn't even remember doing the contest, but took some encouragement from it.


I tried it again in 2008 but got my clock cleaned.  But since then I've done a number of contests with fair success, mostly in overlooked niches.  I'm a Woody Allen contester, as he is suppposed to have once said, "95% of success is just showing up."


None of this might have happened without the surprise paper certificate in the mail.  I'm not sure if that's good or bad.  You might check with my wife.


And after a few more loops around the sun I got the 5BDXCC.


73,
Ken, AB1J






-----Original Message-----
From: rjairam <rjairam at gmail.com>
To: CQ-Contest Reflector <cq-contest at contesting.com>
Sent: Wed, Apr 4, 2018 6:07 pm
Subject: [CQ-Contest] Certificates for ARRL DX - a great motivator for new contesters

I know that some contest sponsors have done away with printed
certificates to cut costs, and this is understandable. I have no
problem with keeping it sustainable.

But I would just like to point out that I have seen quite a few people
on social media sharing unexpected ARRL DX certificates. These are
usually single op, low power entrants who decided to sit at the radio
and work the contest even though they have zero chance of winning one
of the big prizes. Some are even encouraged to try even harder and get
into contesting more.

I think if possible, at least for first time entries that contest
sponsors should look to get the certificates to encourage these
contesters. There is nothing like finding out that you did well enough
to win *something* to encourage you into diving deeper into
contesting. Online certifiicates are nice but there is nothing like
opening the mailbox and finding a real certificate. This isn't really
a participation trophy - these folks topped their section, or maybe
earned a single band award. IARU also gives for 250 QSOs, which was my
initial motivator for participating in the IARU contest and why it
holds a special place for me.

For experienced contesters like myself and others, printed
certificates really don't matter - we go for the big awards or even
just our callsign in the results column. So for us we can mostly opt
out. But I think for the newcomers it is important,

73
Ria, N2RJ
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