[SCCC] SCDXC

[Bill Kendrick]

I just read K0XP, Steve's email. First, SCDXC is not an organization that is
involved in contesting. It has been agreed for several years that all SCDXC
club members submit their contest logs under SCCC. That is how I submit my
contest logs. 
 
Next, SCDXC membership is still pretty big. We just don't have people
attending meetings and volunteering to be on the board or assist in any
projects. It has always been the 10/90 rule. It has been a handful of people
rotating through the ranks and, yes, they are burnt out. This is indicative
of a paradigm shift. Clubs have morphed into Zoom meetings. Live attendance
is no longer necessary. People have become more isolated and do not feel it
is necessary to volunteer to perpetuate the aspect of the hobby their club
is involved. This is not only true for amateur radio. Many organizations are
diminishing, not because of membership rather live participation.
Additionally, DXing and for the most part, contesting are solitary
endeavors. Hams who participate in these activities have been isolated for
years, only congregating for an occasional event.
 
The rub is that the way clubs are set up today they need live participation.
It is possible however that the new paradigm will not. That means most
hosted events will cease. SCDXC has two major events, the picnic and holiday
party. The picnic response was so low that it was called off. The holiday
party which once was pretty large will be less than 30, as it has for the
past 2 years. SCDXC also hosts the International DX Convention on even
years. Through COVID (2020, 2022) it was cancelled. In 2020, it was
mandatory. In 2022, it was due to a lack of attendance. In the past we have
had up to 1000 registered attendees, typically it has been between 500 -
600. In 2023 it was 487. This year it was 386 with 143 who attended in 2024
not returning. 
 
Yes, the demographic is aging and since COVID, many have packed it in. There
was not enough volunteers in SCDXC to fill the 2024 IDXC committee. We put
the call out to other clubs and the majority of the committee was filled by
them. This too is indicative. It seems that DXing and possibly contesting
will become a thing of the past. Most hams who are now entering into that
aspect of the hobby are ones who recently retired and have time and
resources to do what they dreamed of doing once retired. There are few
younger people. You can say that interest has diminished and possibly the
cost to put together a station is prohibitive. Now there are so many other
interests that are less costly, easier to be involved with, and more
interesting to them. This goes hand in hand with the lack of interest in
math and science. Even actively recruiting the youth does not yield a large
crop.
 
Our hobby may diminish to the point that only a few remain but that is a
natural response. Our world has become smaller, and more closely connected.
Gone are the romantic days of travelling to a far off place and operating.
It has become commonplace and automatic. The only prohibition these days are
access and cost. The appeal of DXing is a notion held mostly by us, the
nostalgic oldies.