[UK-CONTEST] Contesting + support

Thu Jul 17 17:39:15 EDT 2008

Hi all,

Also pleased to see some newer folk to contesting appearing on this  
list and making contributions.  It's great to hear about their  
enthusiasm and new found interest in contesting.

Personally, I get involved with a wide range of contest groups, some  
of which play for fun and to beat last year's score and others which  
aim to win at all costs.

I have recounted before that at the Harwich Amateur Radio Interest  
Group (HARIG) we have typically run contest events generally so that  
people can get acquainted with this aspect of the hobby.  We are a  
small group of no more than 20 members and so there is only a small  
core group who are keen contesters, but it does provide a relaxed  
environment in which the basic skills can be practised.

It became obvious that actually the contest interest is a rather  
polarised segment in many groups, and so we have been trying to  
organise collaborative contest efforts between a whole load of clubs  
in the local area.  HARIG now regularly joins with Ipswich,  
Colchester and folk from other clubs (e.g. Sudbury, Felixstowe, etc)  
to do larger events.  Colchester Club already has a Contest Group  
segment which has won VHF NFD for  4 years running now and yet this  
year I spent a good amount of time with a new M3 who had shown  
interest and came along, giving him his first chance to run a FD  
station on 70cms, but with the safety net of an experienced person  
sitting alongside, explaining some of the intricacies.

Also for some years now, having recognised that the Colchester Radio  
Rally (one of the few significant rallies that is still going strong)  
is organised each year on the same weekend as the IOTA contest, we  
have set up an IOTA contest station on the same site and encouraged  
club members and rally visitors alike to visit the station and see  
what a contest station set up is like.   Again, we don't expect to be  
competitive but it doesn't stop us putting on a decent station and  
some running some social activities on the Saturday evening.  It has  
brought a number of new folk into the group that enjoys contesting.   
And we have fun which is the key thing!   Please work us M5C this  
year (previously M4U).

Aside from the above, in the weeks in between VHF NFD and IOTA I was  
part of the GB7HQ team for the IARU HF championship contest.  So I  
just think it needs some flexibility by those that know how to assist  
with those that don't.  I am amazed how far folk will come to get  
involved with our smaller informal contest efforts - its sort of like  
Roger said about the contest clubs - except we have found we dont  
have or need the formality of the groups!   We just invite those from  
other clubs in the area to get involved with less high pressure  
contest events.

Like many groups, however, we have found it increasingly difficult to  
find enough operators to do HF CW NFD and have now stopped  
participating in this event.  I fear that the number of competent CW  
contest operators in 10 years time will be such that it will be very  
difficult to run many CW contests - something I would be sad to see.

73,
Jonathan G0DVJ
active with contest groups:
  M4U, G0RGH, G4IRC/p, M5C, G0VHF/p, M1CRO, M6T, G0KPW, GB5HQ, GB7HQ,  
3Z0I/1, SQ6W,...
--

On Jul 17, 2008, at 9:43 pm, Roger G3SXW wrote:

> Well said, Dominic.
>
> Maybe we could also look to other countries to understand where we  
> are going
> wrong. I've noticed in all my travels that the problem with an ageing
> population and with attracting new blood is really worst in West  
> Europe and
> maybe in North America. In East Europe, Asia and South America,  
> even in
> Scandinavia the hobby is flourishing with lots of new, young blood.  
> What are
> they doing that is so different? You guessed it: they encourage  
> contesting!
> They have contest clubs. Most countries have contest clubs. Why not  
> in UK?
> THAT is the solution! We know what happens when a young, thrusting  
> newcomer
> walks into a local club meeting and gets the cold shoulder. Shudder.
>
> So, let's develop a network of Contest Clubs. Even a dozen would  
> make a
> difference. Folks can travel 100 miles these days, just for a few  
> weekends a
> year.
>
> Maybe the bigger, active clubs like Norfolk, Torbay, Warrington,  
> Reading,
> Newbury, Shefford etc etc develop a Contest Section as a separate  
> entity
> that folks could join. Then (maybe even better) completely separate  
> clubs
> could be formed to cater for this need. Take the G6PZ model and add  
> just a
> little structure, membership and a bit of a programme, and bingo!
>
> It is the way forward for our hobby, one of the only ways in which  
> we can
> stave off a withering on the vine.
> 73 de Roger/G3SXW.
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <m0blf at domsmith.co.uk>
> To: <uk-contest at contesting.com>
> Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2008 8:59 PM
> Subject: Re: [UK-CONTEST] Contesting + support
>
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Interesting thread, and as Don has mentioned WWYC, I thought now
>> would be a good opportunity to add my 2p, as one of the younger
>> generation...
>>
>> Although I don't have any statistics to back this up, I think
>> contesting is a growth area among young amateurs, who are
>> attracted by the competitive nature of the events and the fact
>> that it is less time-consuming than other branches of the hobby.
>> (One can choose to give up a handful of weekends a year, and make
>> many hundreds or thousands of QSOs in that time, rather than
>> spending whole evenings on ragchewing or trying to break a DX
>> pile-up).  The efficient operating style involved is also
>> something where 'self-training' is still key in these days of
>> black box radios, and which can also be a useful skill in the
>> wider world (everything from accurate message handling to the
>> ability to type one thing while listening to another!).
>>
>> I think, however, that this thread has raised a couple of issues
>> which it is worth dwelling on:
>>
>> Firstly, that the current licensing system (which I generally see
>> as positive) probably requires us to be mentors as much as
>> instructors. I know that in the courses I have been involved in
>> running, we have in the past been content to get the candidates
>> their licences and then leave them to it. I have recently become
>> more concerned that we need to be following the tuition up and
>> developing a system more akin to the US 'elmers'.  Through this,
>> we can start looking at encouraging newly-licensed M6s and 2Es
>> into contesting.
>>
>> Linked to this, we need to be able to provide the opportunities
>> for new licensees in general, and youngsters in particular, to
>> start contesting. G6PZ deserves a mention for the excellent work
>> he has done in opening up his shack to many young contesters in
>> the UK (am I the only one who hasn't operated from there at some
>> point?!)  I have also said on this list before that at G6UW/M4A,
>> we take the view that our score even in the biggest contests (CQ
>> WW etc.) is often a secondary concern to getting newly-licensed
>> students into the shack for the contest.  This is partly why the
>> UBN I received today reveals a large penalty for violations of
>> the M/S band-change rule!
>>
>> In summary, I am sure that the enthusiasm is there. Yes, a
>> thorough 'how-to' article in RadCom could certainly help (My
>> first ever contest was the 1999 REF Union contest, which I was
>> inspired to do following an article in the now-defunct DIY Radio
>> magazine, the RSGB's magazine specifically designed for the
>> Novice licence. I needed that encouragement because when I started
>> the hobby, I too was influenced by local anti-contest opinions
>> which others have mentioned.) Beyond that, however, we need
>> contest stations to actively encourage new blood and regularly
>> advertise for new operators. In the last month alone, two young
>> amateurs have asked me if I knew of a place where they could
>> contest from, and I was sorry not to be able to give them
>> appropriate pointers.
>>
>> Sorry for the long message, 73,
>>
>> Dominic M0BLF
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>
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