[UK-CONTEST] the whole purpose of the RSGB (contest) programme ??

[Peter Hobbs]

I'm not sure a top-down approach to RSGB contest strategy is the ideal 
one, bearing in mind that, with the current structure (i.e. a company 
rather than a society or charity) Council is inevitably going to be 
motivated very much by the bottom line / maximising membership of the 
Society.  That said, we are fortunate in having some highly experienced 
contesters on Council at this particular juncture.  To date, I believe 
the strategy of the Contest Committee has been largely to take note of 
the opinions of those members who are interested in contesting and give 
them as far as possible what they want - OK, often a pretty thankless 
task, but at least one driven by democratic principles.  I wouldn't be 
happy to see any radical change to this approach.

73, Peter G3LET

John Warburton G4IRN wrote:

> Picking up on a comment made by Clive/GM3POI: "the whole purpose of 
> the RSGB programme should be to improve standards".........
>
> Having checked the CC web-site, I see NO documented purpose, 
> objectives or strategy of the Contest Committee whatsoever. So, how 
> exactly do decisions about contests and rules get made,
> without anyone knowing what is trying to be achieved?
>
> There will always be arguments (sorry, discussion!) over potential 
> contest rule changes whilst personal opinion and consensus of a vocal 
> minority might be driving the agenda. One of the problems here is that 
> there is no documented 'guiding light' or strategic roadmap for UK 
> Contesting - a set of aspirations and policy that the CC can use as a 
> framework for defining contest types and contest rules. This was 
> highlighted perfectly with the fiasco over the NFD rules earlier this 
> year -- I don't mean the timeliness issue, I mean the fabric of the 
> proposed rule changes that caused so much debate. Until a base-line 
> for decision making is in place, every potential rule-change will 
> provoke differences in opinion.
>
> It's simple: policy, the contest portfolio and rules should be based 
> on the strategic values of the society with some specific additions 
> for UK contesting. The Society has recently published a 'shared vision 
> for the future of the Society' 
> (http://rsgbdata.net/documents/pdf/governance-and-strategy.pdf) - this 
> vision should be used to drive policy and strategy at sub-committee 
> level and hence, the portfolio of contests and their associated rules. 
> Although some of the values therein may well remain aspirational at a 
> UK contest level, I do think the recognition of volunteers by the 
> society (and hence its membership) is important in this context -- the 
> CC members are volunteers and should be respected for their efforts. 
> Any tools given by the society to make their work easier, with 
> transparency, should be encouraged; a top-down strategic vision from 
> the Board Room should be viewed as such a tool.
>
>
> So how will those strategic views be translated into contests and 
> contest rules? I hope the CC is discussing that!Alongside (and aligned 
> with) the RSGB's strategic vision, my opinion is that UK contesting 
> should develop a framework where:
>
> a)UK contesting is accessible and encouraged for all-comers (including 
> overseas participants);
>
> b)New entrants are particularly encouraged to participate;
>
> c)Advances in technology /operating types are encouraged;
>
> d)Contesting is fun;
>
> e)Contesting is challenging for every participant, if that's what's 
> wanted;
>
> f)A set of UK contests are developed that can provide a feed of 
> quality participants to higher levels of European and world contesting 
> (possibly promoting membership of RSGB contest team, GR2HQ, as a goal 
> for aspiring participants).
>
>
> This should translate (depending on your view!) into the development 
> of rules that:
>
> ·Are simple;
>
> ·Are easy for the 'average station' to pitch an entry and 
> differentiate them from the top-guns;
>
> ·Promote self-improvement, contest by contest;
>
> ·Give opportunityto operate and compete at the bleeding edge of 
> technology/technique;
>
> ·Promote a high quality of operating standard.
>
> I'm sure there will be other opinions on the detail of this, however 
> my gist here is that the CC should decide what it wants to achieve 
> with UK contesting -- a set of base principals -- that contests and 
> contest rules are then based on.... It might then be easier to decide 
> if busted QSOs should lead to a penalty, or even if the RSGB 10/15 
> contest should be replaced by something more appropriate to drive 
> forward the development of the hobby and contest operating in the UK.
>
> At the moment I see no clear vision.
>
> John G4IRN.
>
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