[NCC] Fw: [CQ-Contest] making lemonade (was: ARRL report on line scores decision)

[Scott Detloff K8DX]

> Have you ever noticed that contest results take so long to appear in
> magazines that sometimes you can't remember whether or not you
> actually operated the particular contest you are reading about at the
> moment?
> 
> Many years ago I had a dream that we would be able to operate contests
> and then see the final results immediately after the events were over.
> This will not be achievable if we rely on QST as a delivery mechanism.
> 
> As you may be aware I have been doing some volunteer work for the
> League over the past few years to automate the log collecting and
> results tabulating process for ARRL contests.  Based on the current
> state of the art, here are the top three delay factors that keep us
> from publishing the results for the Sweepstakes in a timely fashion:
>    
>    1) 45 day lead time to publish articles in QST
>    2) 30 day log submission deadline
>    3) contest writeup and magazine article layout
> 
> If we eliminate #1 by publishing on the web and cut #2 from 30 to 15
> days, then I believe we can *tranquilly* release the complete final
> results of Sweepstakes within 30 days of the contest.  In fact, last
> year Tree N6TR advanced the log processing tools for Sweepstakes to
> the point that we are now capable of producing the complete set of
> line scores and top ten boxes and so forth within 30 minutes of the
> log deadline.  Why wait until June to read the magazine when you can
> see the results on the web in December?
> 
> Toward this end in November 2001 I introduced a propsal to the folks
> at ARRL HQ that the log submission deadline be cut from 30 days to 15
> days, effective with the contest season beginning with the 2002
> November Sweepstakes.  Let me explain how I decided on 15 days as a
> nice compromise between 10 minutes and 30 days.
> 
> Over the past couple of years I have noticed a trend in how contest
> logs are submitted.  There is one spike that occurs right after the
> contest and another spike the occurs right before the log submission
> deadline, and during the intervening weeks the robot becomes very
> quiet.  I believe the reason for this is that there is really very
> little work to be done to your logs anymore -- they are already duped
> and scored and everything right at the end of the contest!
> 
> Secondly, cutting the log submission deadline from 30 to 15 days gains
> us back 15 additional days to get the results published.  15 days is a
> lot when you are trying to meet a 30 day (or 15 day!) deadline for
> publishing the results.
> 
> Thirdly, I like 15 days because it gives everyone two complete
> weekends to deal with their logs (as if there is really anything that
> needs to be done with them).  This gives the guy who bolts off on a
> business trip on the Monday morning after the contest two weekends to
> do something.
> 
> Fourthly: submitting your log on time is part of the contest!
> 
> Additional data: over 90% of electronic SS logs were submitted in
> Cabrillo format last year.  The number of paper logs received is
> declining every year, and at this point all of them can be descibed
> more as "participant" class logs rather than "competitor" class logs.
> The beauty of the web results is that these logs can be added to the
> list as they dribble in if they are delayed by an anthrax scare or
> whatever.
> 
> Further data point: of the 1800 WPX SSB logs received thus far by
> N8BJQ, 1500 are in Cabrillo format.  Please note that unlike the ARRL,
> CQ does not *require* electronic logs to be submitted in Cabrillo
> format.  However, this is not stopping people from submitting Cabrillo
> logs anyways.
> 
> OK, so there you have the details of my proposal.  The purpose of this
> message is to solicit feedback from the contest community about how a
> 15 day log submission deadline would affect *you*.  Please feel free
> to write me privately, or to post back to the cq-contest list itself
> and make your opinion heard -- either way is fine with me.
> 
> Please limit your comments to how this change would have affected
> *you* personally in a contest during a recent year or how it might
> affect you in the future.  I am not interested in hearing hypothetical
> situations such as "but, but, but, what if someone operates the
> contest from the USVI, then goes on a 16 day Carnival Cruise
> immediately after the contest, and during the cruise an asteroid falls
> out of the sky and disables the communications system rendering the
> onboard internet cafe inoperable?"  I can think of plenty of
> hypothetical situations of this nature on my own, as well as plenty
> non-hypothetical ones.  Earlier this year I spent 42 days in VP8/F,
> VP8/Sand and VP8/G, and I can tell you that I could have beaten the 15
> day deadline from any of these places had it been necessary.  What I
> am looking for is *practical* feedback about problems that the 15 day
> deadline could possible create in your own personal situation.
> 
> Now is your chance to be heard!  Let's hear it!
> 
> One final comment: I know people are bumming about losing line scores
> in QST -- I'm a little sad too.  However, I'm really excited about the
> opportunity this gives us to make some lemonade out of the situation
> and make work towards the ultimate dream of realtime results at the
> end of the contest.
> 
> You can say what you want about about WRTC, whether it's fair or
> not, or whether the stations were equal or not, whether it proves
> anything or not, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah, but the OH boys
> were handing out the trophies the day after the contest, and in my
> book this is totally cool!
> 
> Thanks for listening, and feel free to repost this message to your
> local contest club mailing list.
> 
> --Trey, N5KO & HC8N