[UK-CONTEST] Grumpy Old Contesters

[Simon Pearson, M0CLW]

Hello UK contesters,

> Then we have Clive GW3NJW returning to form and seeing the glass half empty:
>  >Frankly this contest is becoming a joke. Let us hope that the sponsors 
>  >are listening and can take some action.
> 
> As one of the founders of the EU Sprints I object to this sort of 
> throw-away comment about a contest which I and I2UIY, OK2FD, DL6RAI, 
> DL2NBU and others, including a new webmaster based in the UK who has 
> volunteered his services, have worked hard to promote. Just as the 
> contest is getting the critical mass of participants which starts to 
> make it really interesting, Clive slags it off. Thanks a bunch.

Personally, I love the EU Sprints. They are high fueled events, with
high rates and the need for good operating procedures. It gives those of
us with the 'average Joe' station a chance of doing well - I for one
only have a TS450 barefoot 100w and a G5RV at a ridiculously low level
of 20ft AGL. Unfortunately, this is somewhat out of my control -
'parental planning permission' as I call it!

> In the past I have taken note of specific rubber clocking incidents and 
> these QSOs have been penalised in the checking process. It's open to 
> anyone QRV at the time to note such incidents and report them, and they 
> will be taken note of and if confirmed, penalised. This time due to an 
> unavoidable family commitment I had to QRT at 17.37z, particualarly 
> galling as I seemed to be in the lead, with the possible exception of 
> DL5AXX. Therefore I was not able to observe any rubber clocking.

Rubber clocking surely isn't *too* much of an issue and why am I getting
the impression that this is being labeled an EU Sprint issue? Both logs
should reflect the QSO(s) being outside of the contest time period. If
one station alters their log so the time is shown within the contest
time period then the other log should show a different time (and thus
log cross checking will show a problem). This is of course assuming both
stations submit their log - however, there seems to be a large number of
logs submitted in the Sprints which is nice to see. Rubber clocking
isn't a problem unique to the Sprint contests, so surely this can't be
pinpointed as purely an EU Sprint issue?

> If you're an alligator (for whatever reason) in this contest you're not 
> going to do well. You've got to be able to dig out weak CQers as well as 
> hear those that call you. 

This just emphasises my above point of those of us with 'average Joe'
stations are able to compete effectively. No multipliers is a great idea
which means that working every station on-air will win the event for
you. Personally I love the QSY rule - it gives everyone a fair chance.

> Has anyone got any positive comments about the Eu Sprint or are we 
> wasting our time?

You are definitely not wasting your time.

Just changing the subject slightly: A big area of discussion nowadays
seems to be getting young people into the hobby of amateur radio - for
some reason (and I certainly am not complaining), contesting proves very
popular amongst young hams and the best example of this is the Worldwide
Young Contesters' club (see www.wwyc.net) and the EU Sprint is a *very*
popular contest amongst WWYC'ers. You may well have seen a number of
WWYC'ers in the Sprints (someone made the suggestion that WWYC'ers would
use the name 'LID' as part of the exchange) and the number of
participants will continue to increase.

Of course, my station is nowhere near 'contest grade' and I will not
have a contest grade station for a number of years to come! This is why
the EU Sprints appeal to me so much, and is probably why it proves so
popular amongst other WWYC'ers. I should think only about 10% of all
WWYC members (figure stands at 495 as I write this) have a contest grade
station; and that's probably as a direct result of a [wealthy] parent
who is also a licensed radio amateur. I have to thank my father (who is
licensed) for the set-up I have here. He's no longer active as I have
stolen all his equipment! I can't afford two FT-1000MP's for SO2R,
couple of Acom 2000's, switching, filtering etc... Towers, yagis,
rotators, hardline/coax - oh dear, the list goes on.

It also really amazes me just how difficult it is to find a station in
the UK to guest op from - certainly in comparison to the US. Personally,
I can't quite see how we can attract youngsters into the hobby with this
issue which is a shame because 'radiosport' does prove popular amongst
young ops. So watch out 'grumpy old contesters' - we're hot on ya heels!

This is just my 2p worth. Please don't grill me! Dave, keep up the good
work - you and the rest of the team have done a great job with the EU
Sprints. You can certainly pass on the remarks that the contest is very
popular amongst the WWYC'ers!

See you in the contests.

73,

-- 
Simon Pearson, M0CLW
Member - WWYC & CDXC
e: m0clw at yahoo.co.uk
t: +44  709 200 9999
f: +44  709 200 9999

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