[CQ-Contest] Contest Burnout

[Gerry Hull]

I understand, Pete.   It's only been 40 or so years of contesting for me,
and often worry about burnout.
Different from most, I have spent the majority of my contest career as a
multi-op operator.   For a zillion reasons,
I've never had the opportunity to build a really competitive station of my
own.
So, I fight burnout by helping to put together new and interesting contest
teams.    We all know the formula to put tried-and-tested teams together,
but how do we integrate new people in the mix?   I love technology, and
have found ways to allow remote operators to effectively
communicate and compete, while operating from very disparate (operator)
locations.  This provides new and interesting challenges.   In the past few
years,
we put together some Multi-Multis, with all ops remote.   I included people
with a wide level of skills.  It worked very
very well.   I also have been operating from around the world without
having to leave my shack.   It's not for everyone, but it is certainly
enlightening to
learn propagation from another country or continent.

It is easy to get stuck in a rut doing the same things over and over
again.   However, the great thing about this contesting part of our hobby
is that there
are still many many facets to explore!

73,

Gerry W1VE


On Fri, Dec 2, 2022 at 8:30 PM <w1rm at comcast.net> wrote:

> I would like to have a serious discussion regarding contest burnout.  I'm
> not interested in nasty or snide comments but rather a real discussion on
> those, like me, who are suffering from it and have overcome it.
>
>
>
> I have been a serious contester since the late 1960s.  I am a CW guy and
> have won CQWW, ARRL DX, and a bunch of others.  I have been a regular
> participant in many of the majors for a very long time and have a wall full
> of plaques for my efforts.
>
>
>
> After 66 years of contesting, I'm faced with ben there, done that.  At 80
> years old, I am not going to win anything, and I know it.  I don't have the
> stamina.  My station used to be very competitive, and it still is, but I
> don't do SO2R, I only have one beam/antenna per band.  I do have top-grade
> gear, though.
>
>
>
> So, I would appreciate some honest thoughts about how to combat contest
> burnout.
>
>
>
>
>
> Pete Chamalian, W1RM
>
> W1RM at Comcast.net
>
>
>
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