[TOEC] SAC CW - Low Power and QRP results Europe (compared to HP Unassisted)

[Mats Strandberg]

Fellow Nordic contesters!

SAC 2011 was a fantastic success. Excellent organisation with focus on
marketing and quick log processing ambitions, relatively good conditions
and an increase with 350 logs compared to any previous year. This is great
news for the SAC-contest fans both in Scandinavian and outside Scandinavia.

It is indeed fantastic to have final results so quickly and this will
definitely spread a positive spirit for SAC around the contesting world.

However... and a BIG however...

The European Low Power results (Top-10) are really "fascinating" to study...


SAC 2011 - Final Score

Single Operator Multi-band LP

NrCall QSOQSO ScoreMultiplierTotal scoreOperators 1UX4U734734 170124.780UX4U2
R6YY651651 156101.556R6YY 3LZ2PS629629158 99.382LZ2PS4 UR5MM595595160 95.200
59A2AJ 58758715691.572 9A2AJ6OK1FPS 62962914490.576 OK1FPS7R3QA585 585149
87.165R3QA 8UU2CW559559 15486.086UU2CW 9UY2IG533533161 85.813
10 UT8EU581581145 84.245


Please compare with the same results for High Power Unassisted


SAC 2011 - Final Score

Single Operator Multi-band HP

NrCallQSOQSO ScoreMultiplierTotal scoreOperators1CR6K57957915891.482CT1ILT2
UA4PN57457414784.378UA4PN3RA1TU53653613773.432RA1TU4EI7KD54154112969.789
EI7KD5HG30LP48648613766.582Gulyas Róbert6RX3DBH48248213565.070
7YT1Q43543513759.595YT1Q8YQ6A39139114757.477YO6BHN9SP9LJD41541513656.440
SP9LJD10OM4J40540513353.865OM4JD

It does not require a degree in Rocket Science to make a quick analysis and
realize that many of the LP scores are unrealistically high both with
regards to QSOs and multipliers, compared to the same unassisted category
in High Power.

The contest committee was early given hints about this problem, but NOT ONE
SINGLE Low Power entry has been removed to High Power or has been DQ:d...

Perhaps I am the only one that thinks this is an issue of importance on
these two forums, because I am normally not working from Scandinavia, but
from Europe. I have quite good experience to know what it requires to get
these kind of high multiplier levels as many of the LP stations have got.
The conditions in the CW-section as definitely not extremely good. I would
say that they more or less were equal to the conditions of 2010, but with
the big difference that available QSOs were higher due to Finnnish
mobilization of forces.

However, the available  multiplier amount was not all that much higher.

Why on earth do I now bring this issue up???

Because I simply wish that SAC CC is not only a committee that checks QSOs
and make sure that serial numbers and call signs are correctly received.

I also want the SAC CC to have COURAGE and analytical ability enough to
make proper and fair judgement - not only based on easy parameters as
received serial numbers and call signs.

To be considered a professional Contest Committee, the SAC CC must also
expose themselves to the risk of being in the hot fire for making some
sensitive decisions of DQ or moving non-realistic entries to other
categories. This has NOT been the case with the SAC 2011 organization.

Despite attacking this complicated issue - SAC CC 2011 decided to close
their eyes and avoid touching this hot potatoe...

This is a problem and I want to have an open and constructive dialogue with
all active SAC-contesters, to ventilate this difficult problem.

Just because it is difficult to judge POWER CHEATING, does not mean that
one must decide to put the head into the sand and simply avaoid the problem.

I would suggest that the three power categories HP, LP and QRP will have
unassisted and assisted entry possibilities in order to avoid problems like
the one described, The HP categories seem to have been clean with the
logical huge difference in points and multipliers between HP Assisted and
HP Unassisted.

Let us hope that we will have the same Fair Play in LP and QRP categories
in SAC 2012...

73 de RA/SM6LRR, Mats