[UK-CONTEST] EU Sprint - WSEM/JI-DX/DIG wipe-out

[Nigel G3TXF]

Hello Dave,

I was there at 16z all ready to do a full go at the EU-CW; I couldn't find 
anybody to work. OK there were a few, but it was hardly a buzzing contest. 
Loads of WSEM and also JI-DX and DIG Contesters but virtually nothing from 
the EU-CW Sprinters. After a only few minutes I was already thinking "I 
prefer the rough and tumble of the 80m CC's to this nonsense" and stopped 
looking for a seemingly barely existant contest! I went back to the (very 
good) EU-Sprint web-site several times saying to myself that I must have 
mis-read the dates. I hadn't!

Sorry for not having the patience to stick it out. Simon 2E0CVN seemed to be
doing OK though!

73 - Nigel G3TXF




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dave Lawley" <g4buo at compuserve.com>
To: "UK Contest Reflector" <uk-contest at contesting.com>
Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2007 8:01 PM
Subject: [UK-CONTEST] Eu Sprint - Apology


> This is an apology to any uk-contest reflectorites who I may have
> tempted to have a go in the Eu CW Sprint today.
>
> A few years ago we started getting QRM in the last two hours of the
> contest from the Russian WSEM contest. An approach to the Russians
> proved fruitless, so we decided for last year's contest to swap the
> spring phone and CW weekends. At the same time we moved the start time
> one hour later, to reduce the disadvantage suffered by those of us in
> western Europe. Before, when the contest finished we were still in
> daylight and this made 80m QSOs especially hard.
>
> Well, guess what? The Russians have gone and moved their damned WSEM
> contest a week early - it started an hour into the CW sprint today, and
> has totally trashed it. Complete waste of time.
>
> The North American sprints have a great level of activity and very high
> skill levels, with the leaders making up to 400 QSOs in the four-hour
> contest period. We're told that contesting is on the increase in Europe
> but we have never been able to achieve comparable levels of activity in
> the Eu sprint and I'm forced to the conclusion that, with some
> exceptions of course, Eu contesters cannot achieve the skill levels
> needed for sprint contesting, they seem to prefer just pushing F1 all
> day and if the cluster can find your mults for you, so much the better.
>
> Even though we don't get the same levels of activity in the Eu sprints
> that they get in North America, I usually enjoy the sprint but WSEM has
> completely ruined it this time.
>
> Dave G4BUO
>
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