[UK-CONTEST] Fw: RSGB contest programme.

[Jonathan G0DVJ]

On Monday, October 28, 2002, at 09:21  pm, G3SJJ wrote:

> It depends what you mean when you say FDs aren't broke. The statistics 
> say otherwise :
> FD  96   97  98  99  00 02   (Number of entrants)
> CW 80  70  62  60  54  42
> SB  44  38  38  39  40  32
> For CW FD, you can say that over the last 5 years the entry has halved 
> so in another 5
> years it will be around 21, or the rate of decline is averaging 6 per 
> year, therefore it
> will be around 7.
> For SB FD, again halved would be 16 or 20 at an average rate of decline 
> of 2.5 per year.

Statistics can say all sorts of things to different people of course!   
You can say that 2002 stats need to be discounted until we see the 
future trend as it was a "special" case after no events in 2001 (F&M) 
and plus it included the mixed mode Jubilee contest to complicate 
matters.   The looking at the rest ...

SSB has declined by less that 10% over 5 years - not soul destroying 
given the decline in many things.
In those 5 years the number of entries has decreased in consecutive 
years only once (96-97).

I accept that the CW figures are harder to defend in the same way 
although given the amount the mode is talked down these days and 
discussed as already abolished, never mind the ridiculous appreciation 
exercise the foundation licensees are subjected to, it is hardly 
surprising that many clubs find CW operators hard to come by.

On Tuesday, October 29, 2002, at 09:04  am, Dave Sergeant wrote:

> But perhaps a comparison of QSOs ...   I sense that
> even though the number of entries is declining the actual activity is
> actually still increasing.

Agreed.

> What might be a suggestion is to liaise with other national societies
> and try to combine some of the events.

Agreed again (think I mentioned this some time ago in another thread).  
Not so much about amalgamation - think of it as more of sharing the 
organisation and adjudication per country?

Jonathan G0DVJ
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