[UK-CONTEST] Continuing the debate

[Les Allwood]

Hi All

As usual, I've been following the debate about UK contests and the future. It seems that certain points come up from several contributors - 

1. the Jubilee Contest, fun as it was, is not a long-term "go-er" for a variety of reasons
2. the need for getting the 2s, M3s, M5s etc into the contesting fold
3. the need for any UK-focussed contest to have sufficient activity and multipliers to attract overseas participation
4. short, sharp contests for the oldies (include me there!!!)  or those with non-radio interests without hours of fruitless calling
5. a range of categories to allow those outside the "big gun" club to have a realistic chance

Now, to digress for a moment, I recall that some of the first contests that I participated in as an individual were the Worked All Britain events. In those halcyon days of the 1970s they were well supported and great fun. Sadly, these days they exist more in the calendar than on the bands - indeed I won the LF CW event a couple of years ago as the only entrant!!!

So why have I brought up the subject of WAB, anathema as it is to some operators? Simply because I believe that these contests could be resurrected into a useful part of the UK contest calendar.

So, my reasons -
1. WAB is a widely recognised award, perhaps currently in the doldrums, with thousands of award books distributed around the world. So, the latent interest is there - I am often asked for my WAB area during various contests, aren't you?
2. a quick listen around the recognised WAB net frequencies shows a significant level of interest amongst those very M3s etc who we wish to encourage
3. there are several thousand areas around the UK to use as multipliers - some are easy to get, others nearly impossible, but there is something rare to be activated near everybody
4. even casual "passers-by" in the contest will know their WAB area
5. it makes each and every UK station a potential multiplier, thus making everybody feel "included"

So, when would I envisage running these contests? Perhaps controversially, I would suggest that the SSB event runs coincident with the last four hours of CW NFD, whilst the CW event would run coincident with the last four hours of SSB FD. This would allow the newer licencees to have a "fun" event alongside the more serious field day, maybe utilising spare rigs or antennas already on-site. It might also stir up additional activity and/or participation in the main field day events. The timing, on a Sunday afternoon, would allow a civilised mini-expedition to be mounted by individual operators, whilst the duration would not tax anybody unduly. Obviously, if the event "took off", it could be extended in the future, but let's not rush!

I am well aware that the WAB concept is a jealously-guarded beast - rightly so. However, there is nothing wrong with a contest being organised by somebody other than a national society - the various CQ events being a prime example. The WAB group may feel that it wanted to share the burden with the HFCC, or indeed to franchise the concept in its entirety, but the options are there.

I can see various problems of a conceptual, organisational or quasi-political nature being raised, but I make these suggestions as a possible way forward. In case you wonder, I have NO connection with the WAB group other than as a bookholder/member, and I do not speak on their behalf.

So, I have raised my head above the parapet once again. Come on folks, what have I got wrong this time???

73 in trepidation
Les, G3VQO


--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
multipart/alternative
  text/plain (text body -- kept)
  text/html
---