[UK-CONTEST] Proposed new contest

[Don Field]

I have stayed in the sidelines to date in the debate about Clive and
Chris’s proposed contest, as it could be interpreted that I have an axe to
grind here, having been the one who (as I have been accused) was trying to
“kill off” the existing 21/28MHz.



But with the Convention approaching, when there will no doubt be
discussions in the bar and elsewhere, can I add a personal perspective (I
have not been involved in any Contest Committee discussions on this one – I
was not at the recent meeting where I know it was an agenda item and my
only remaining involvement with the Committee is the IOTA Contest which I
will, in any case, be stepping away from once this year’s job is finished).



There has been a lot of discussion about specific items within the rules
(Clive and Chris, welcome to the world of trying to run a contest!), but
not a lot about the underlying assumptions which I believe are somewhat
erroneous.



Firstly, there seems to be an assumption that the weekend is somehow the
RSGB’s to lose. This is simply not true. At one time there may have been an
understanding between IARU member societies that each respected the others’
contest weekends. But that is no longer the case – in any case, many
contests nowadays are organised by bodies other than IARU societies. If
there ever were any “gentleman’s agreements”, those days are long gone. As
was noted last weekend, there are now several significant contests running
that particular weekend. In any case, the 21/28MHz (which, itself, grew
from a 28MHz contest, when 10m alone was insufficient to generate a
critical mass of contacts) never put a stake in the ground for all bands
for 24 hours. Only for 12 hours for two bands, a very different kettle of
fish.



Yes, I did suggest some four years ago that this contest had had its day. I
still feel that; perhaps even more so now that the sunspots have returned
and activity hasn’t. I have operated the contest from one of the biggest
stations in ZS and it was dire (even though both bands were wide open to
the UK at the time) – a handful of UK “big guns” who were having fun, but
I’d worked them in the first hour. Why keep the contest going with all the
work that entails, just to satisfy a few egos? Sure, you can probably do
better from 5B4, 9H, etc. but that’s not enough swallows to make a summer.
It’s interesting that those who shouted the loudest to have it maintained
are now accepting that it has, indeed, had its day. As it happens, we (the
Committee of the time) agreed to keep it going to see what happened, so we
did listen to the customers. But the evidence is there. Some have said it
was neglected, with limited publicity. Actually, it got as much as most
RSGB contests – most of the adjudicators don’t have the time or the skills
to handle the publicity side (I would refer back to recent postings I made
about having tried to get a publicity person for contests and awards).



That said, I was also of the view that the Commonwealth Contest had had its
day. Thanks to the efforts of G3PJT and others, it has been revived, and no
one is more delighted than I am. But the PJT’s of this world are thin on
the ground – it usually requires someone who has not only the right
background and motivations, but is retired to boot!



I have been fortunate with the IOTA contest that it feeds off a hugely
successful awards programme, thanks to over 20 years of nearly full-time
effort by Roger G3KMA,, along with an international team of volunteers
(and, it has to be said, significant commercial sponsorship for much of
that time). There are other RSGB awards programmes (the Commonwealth
Awards, for example) that could perhaps have been as successful, but they
don’t have a G3KMA (Our hard-working awards manager John, G3LZQ, is in his
70s, handles all HF and VHF awards, and is checkpoint for a number of
overseas awards – he, quite rightly, doesn’t want to take on a publicity
role, too).



Having mentioned IOTA and the Commonwealth Contest, I would suggest that
the RSGB has enough flagship events. I personally don’t buy the thought
that there is nothing for UK contesters to progress to, when they have
tired of the 80m Club Championships. This should be when they move onto the
international stage – there are contests almost every weekend. Neither do I
buy the idea that every country should have its own “everyone work
everyone” contest, but extra points and/or bonuses for working “us”. It’s
like every country wanting its own airline. With a few exceptions, these
contests get little support. The one that does work is the ARRL
International DX Contest (work the US and Canada), but they have almost as
many contesters as the whole of Europe, so they really can generate enough
activity to fill all the bands for a full weekend (or most of it).
Personally, I would much prefer to see a similar “Work Europe” contest (no,
not WAE, which is somewhat specialist with its QTC format). Whether the
vested interests in the various European countries would ever agree a
format is another matter, unfortunately. But I do recall a chat with Randy
K5ZD (who has just taken over the CQWW mantle) who felt that many
contesters are now focusing on a few major events, rather than spread
themselves (and their families’ patience!) too thinly. I believe he has a
point. Yes, the Russian DX Contest is a great success, but has had a huge
amount of dedicated effort (and money) thrown at it – not something the
RSGB can manage with such a full calendar already.



Clive and Chris have, in a sense, set the Contest Committee up for a fall –
damned if it does, and damned if it doesn’t. I would suggest, though, that
the Committee has other priorities right now. Ed GW3SQX has indicated that
he will stand down at the end of this year (with 3 years under his belt).
So far there is no replacement in the offing. And I will hand over the
reins of the IOTA contest after 12 years on the job – volunteers step
forward please; it would be a shame if this one fell through the cracks.
And when I read comments like “why hasn’t the Committee done this, that or
whatever (that I just happen to have thought of)”, I do wonder. While
Chairman I set myself the priority of getting basic admin sorted – results
out more quickly, certificates actually mailed, etc. I believe, on the
whole, we achieved that. Ed set himself the task of building on that, by
reframing some of the events, and improving the various “Championships”.
Rome wasn’t built in a day and priorities have to be set, especially as
it’s all volunteer effort. The website is still untidy, for example, but it
would, again, be quite a commitment for someone to do a big reworking of it
and then keep it updated on a  daily basis.



I will, if I may, just make an aside about publicity, as it has been raised
a number of times on here of late (including criticism of one event not
having been listed in one particular overseas calendar – this could easily
have been dealt with by a mail to the Committee Chairman). In actual fact,
I believe a lot of progress has been made. While Chairman, I set up a
system with N0AX who produces the calendar for QST, whereby he copies us
his material before publication, for checking. This system works well. Pete
G4CLA, software expert, has set up a system of calendars and reminders
which regular entrants can opt in to. For the major overseas events, we
have gone a lot further – for IOTA, for example, the rules have been
translated into several of the major languages. This in itself raises a
problem, though, for any later “tweaking” of the rules – it usually takes
several years for them to percolate through to all the national sites,
translations, etc. So annual rules revisions are not a good idea – contest
sponsors take note!



I have no comment to make on the specific rules being proposed by Chris and
Clive. Many views have already been aired and simply go to show that you
cannot please all of the people all of the time. When I took on the IOTA
Contest, at the request of Justin G4TSH, who was HF Contest Committee
Chairman at the time, I specifically said I wanted to run it my way,
without Committee interference, never mind the wider public (how do you
consult several thousand people in many different countries, in any case?).
I said I would stand or fall by its continued success, or otherwise.
Rightly or wrongly, Justin agreed to thoser terms! I still believe that was
the right approach, even though benign dictatorship is frowned on in these
Internet days where everyone wants his or her say. But maybe I’m a
throwback to the past, and it’s time to step aside (which I need to do
anyway, for domestic reasons as well as radio ones).



For those of you who have got this far, I lay no claim to right or wrong,
but simply wanted to offer a slightly different perspective on the
discussion so far. While I have my opinions, they are no more or less valid
than those of others. I hope to see many of you at the weekend and maybe
discuss further over a bevy or two – this shouldn’t become personal, and
all views should be respected equally.



Regards


Don Field G3XTT