[CQ-Contest] A public thanks to CQP (and others who've tossed the MAR mult away)

Thu Sep 28 19:06:07 EDT 2023

Yes, I asked a non-ham cousin from Toronto if they knew what the term meant
and they never heard of it.

Barry WA2VIU

--
Barry Jacobson
WA2VIU
bdj at alum.mit.edu
@bdj_phd

On Thu, Sep 28, 2023, 6:30 PM Yuri <ve3dz at rigexpert.net> wrote:

>  >>>Ontario Golden Horseshoe GH
>
> Hopefully this one will follow MAR's path soon.
>
> 73, Yuri VE3DZ
>
> On 9/28/2023 3:06 PM, Gerry Hull wrote:
> > Canada's sections for SS 2023:
> >
> > Alberta AB
> > British Columbia BC
> > Manitoba MB
> > New Brunswick NB
> > Newfoundland and Labrador NL
> > Nova Scotia NS
> > Ontario Golden Horseshoe GH
> > Ontario East ONE
> > Ontario North ONN
> > Ontario South ONS
> > Prince Edward Island PE
> > Quebec QC
> > Saskatchewan SK
> > Territories TER
> >
> > I suspect NS will be the rare one and hard to get, especially in SS CW.
> > Not a lot of active contesters in NS anymore,
> > and none that I know of that will do Sweepstakes.
> >
> > I'll be operating from NB (via remote); N3JT as VY1JT from VY1JA's QTH
> (via
> > remote)
> > 73,
> >
> > Gerry W1VE aka VE1RM /VE9 for SS CW
> >
> >
> > On Wed, Sep 27, 2023 at 7:15 PM Paul Bourque <pbourque at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> The MAR section is no longer, effective 1-1-2023. NS and NB have been
> >> added, as well as PE. The ARRL/RAC section list has been updated to
> reflect
> >> that. There’s s link to the contest sections list on the ARRL
> Sweepstakes
> >> web page.
> >>
> >> Paul Bourque, N1SFE
> >> ARRL Contest Program Manager
> >>
> >> On Wed, Sep 27, 2023 at 4:44 PM JOHN GEIGER via CQ-Contest <
> >> cq-contest at contesting.com> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Isn't the MAR "section" still in play for the SS, with only PE split
> off
> >>> from it?
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> 73 John AF5CC
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Sent using {0}
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> ---- On Wed, 27 Sep 2023 13:07:10 -0500 Mike VE9AA ve9aa at nbnet.nb.ca <
> >>> ve9aa at nbnet.nb.ca> wrote ---
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Some of this is a little tongue-in-cheek or my weak attempt at humour
> >>> (it'll hopefully be obvious which parts) so try not to take everything
> >>> I've written below as too serious.
> >>> For those of you that are humour impaired, please look away....look
> away
> >>> now !
> >>>
> >>> A little unrelated to contesting, but did any of you ever watch the
> >>> Canadian Comedy TV show "Corner Gas" whereby when a neighbouring town
> >>> name was mentioned(normally Wullerton), all the residents of Dog River
> >>> present would spit (or fake spit) on the ground?
> >>> When I hear the acronym "MAR", that's me.  SOME of us guys out East (at
> >>> least me in particular) almost "hates" MAR (but hate is way too
> >>> strong......) Very much dislikes the "MAR" designation only as it
> >>> relates to contesting because I don't live in MAR<spit>, I live in New
> >>> Brunswick. (or Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island) etc. and MOST
> contests
> >>> have always permitted us to send the correct Provincial designation. In
> >>> the past I didn't always get to play for the home team! (Only SS, ARRL
> >>> 160, some Sprints and CQP are the ones that come to mind)
> >>> A few years ago the (various) Sprint folks were very kind to us VE9,
> VE1
> >>> and VY2 types and may have been among the first (of the last!) of
> >>> contests to let us send NB, NS and PE---so another thank you to those
> >>> movers and shakers !
> >>> Not long after (actually, Jan 1, 2023), RAC (It's kinda/sorta like the
> >>> VE version of the ARRL for those readers abroad) finally got rid of the
> >>> MAR designation (which has absolutely NOTHING to do with contests, I
> >>> should be careful to mention) and so the last few contests that I am
> >>> aware of have all adopted the NB, NS and PE designations for mults
> >>> (partially?) based on the RAC and ARRL finally no longer using
> >>> it....again MAR as it relates to RAC and ARRL has zero to do with
> >>> contesting !
> >>> (there is still some housekeeping work to be done @ ARRL fixing up
> >>> scores and records, but that's minor)
> >>> I believe (but stand to be corrected) that the CQP
> >>> <https://www.cqp.org/Rules.html> CQP Rules
> >>> which most of us love, was the very last holdout on the World stage to
> >>> get rid of it. (they called it MR) <spits on ground> :-)
> >>> Thank you to Chris/N6WM and all those folks in California who have
> >>> finally permitted us to send NB, NS and PE in your truly great QSO
> >>> party.
> >>> So anyways......I am rambling a little bit. I guess I don't have
> >>> anything left to complain about contesting wise--Geez-what
> >>> now?......maybe cut #'s in serial # contests? High K indices?
> >>> Perpetually losing the Poison d'Avril test?  or maybe everyone being
> >>> zero beat in a big EU pileup on 80m? (1rst World problems from here in
> >>> the Northeast?)
> >>> I wish to extend my thanks to all of you to have put up with my minor
> >>> moaning and groaning over the decades while I worked  (in tandem with
> >>> others to be sure) to help supply information and reasoning  to those
> >>> last small handful of contests to move us away from using "MAR" <spit>
> >>> as a mult.  In the end the situation mostly remedied itself and
> sponsors
> >>> like Sprint and CQP agreed to modify their rules on mults. based on
> what
> >>> RAC and the ARRL and a few others have done.
> >>> Now I really AM rambling.
> >>> Appreciation all around ! ! !
> >>> Mike VE9AA, current president Maritime Contest Club (MCC) (Is it Ironic
> >>> our contest club name has that word in it?) haha
> >>>
> >>>
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