[UK-CONTEST] Planning for 2004 ?

[Donald Field]

I like Don's (G3BJ) approach.

Although the Jubilee was apparently fun for UK entrants, I get the
impression that non-UK participants soon ran out of UK stations to work, so
I suspect this format wouldn't fly year in and year out. Equally, I would be
against a UK-run "everyone can work everyone" contest. If every country
adopted this approach we'd have umpteen concurrent contests every weekend,
and the anti-contest brigade really would have grounds for complaint! Even
the ARRL stepped back after trying that approach with the ARRL DX contests.

But the ARRL event may be a pointer. The US (+ Canada) IS big enough to have
"rest of world works W/VE". I think we are being far too parochial if we try
to pretend there is enough UK activity to justify this approach purely for G
(it used to work for single-band events like 7MHz or 21/28, but even those
are dying on their feet or have already done so). Surely the answer is a
"proper" Europe vs. rest-of-world contest. Not WAE (QTCs are not to
eveyone's taste) but a major event, co-ordinated by, and promoted by, all EU
societies. Maybe then we could also drop some of the silly national contests
from obscure countries that still clutter up the calendar.

Failing that (and national radio societies seem to find it hard to
co-ordinate anything other than generating a multitude of "position papers")
Don's "contest within a contest" is probably worth pursuing.

On a completely different matter, Clive (POI) comments that with the
adoption of Cabrillo the HFCC should offer UBN reports. Clive - the two
things are by no means linked. I have offered this service each year since I
took on IOTA (2002 IOTA Contest Results are now ready and should soon be on
HFCC Web page; write-up has gone to RSGB and will be in April RadCom - sorry
for the delay; we got bogged down in computery this year; good news is that
this should speed things considerably for 2003 adjudication).

73 Don G3XTT

----- Original Message -----
From: "Don Beattie" <g3ozf at btinternet.com>
To: "Uk-Contest at Contesting.Com" <uk-contest at contesting.com>
Sent: Monday, February 10, 2003 2:01 PM
Subject: Re: [UK-CONTEST] Planning for 2004 ?


>
>
> > Chris Tran wrote:
> >
> > > My own feeling is that the one-off Jubilee event seemed to attract
quite
> > > a good  number of entries, and that an 'RSGB' HF contest (similar to
> last
> > > weekend's PACC etc..) would be viable. Whether the Commonwealth
> > > should be involved is open to debate.
> >
> I wonder if there is another way ?  Although the "everyone works the UK"
> approach is attractive, it has drawbacks. Most significant (as we have
seen
> with 7Mhz contest, for example) is lack of support. The contests that
really
> fly and make big noise are the big "global" contests (ARRL, CQ, IARU etc).
> But one reason that some do not enter these big events is the sheer
> endurance of a 48 hour contest (yes, I know CQWPX is 36 hours single op,
and
> IARU only 24), and the fact that a "modest" G station is up against the
best
> in Europe/the world and it's tough to get good placings.
>
> So this brings me to the point. Why does HFCC not run a "UK" contest
within
> each of these big tests. HFCC could set the ground rules (duration, power,
> bands etc) provided these don't conflict with the main contest (e.g. don't
> try to use SSB in CQWPX CW !). You could have a 24 hour event in CQWW,
where
> the listings are only UK stations. Entries could be optionally earmarked
to
> be forwarded from RSGB to the main contest organiser, so that one entry
puts
> you into two contest listings ! If it is a requirement that the times of
a,
> say, 24 hour contest need to be contiguous, then those who want to enter
the
> big contest could take the relevant  24 hours of their log for RSGB
purposes
> (there would need to be flexibility on where QSO number starts), and be
> listed amongst all other UK entrants, and the whole log could go to
CQ/ARRL
> as appropriate for that contest.
>
> Is this crazy, or could it:
>
> a) Generate some real competitive activity volume from the UK inside the
> envelope of the big contests ?
> b) Encourage "little pistols" to have a go, and draw them into the big
world
> events ?
> c) Even be saleable to the non-contesters as reducing the total number of
> contests ?
>
> 73,
>
> Don, G3BJ
>
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