[VHFcontesting] A Modest Proposal - Eliminate Rover Category?

[James Duffey]

Has the time come to move past the rover category? With the ARRL  
contest hierarchy unable to effectively deal with the various  
controversies surrounding the rover category and categories over the  
last 17 years, and their apparent reluctance to deal with these issues  
in the future in mind, I make this modest proposal:

1. Eliminate the rover category in the August UHF and September VHF  
contest. Use distance based scoring similar to the 10 GHz contest,  
where there are no rovers. Calculate the score per band. Award winners  
by band and grid square, according to current categories.

2. Eliminate the rover category in the January Contest. Also,  
eliminate rule 1.2 of General Rule for Contests above 50 MHz, "1.2  
Individuals and stations are limited to one entry per contest." Let  
stations and operators submit as many entries as they wish. In  
addition to aligning VHF and HF contesting rules, this would allow  
stations who previously operated as rovers to submit a log in each  
grid they operate from in whatever category is appropriate: QRP  
Portable, Single Op, Multi Op, or Limited Multi Op. Stations formerly  
known as rovers could mix or match categories in the same contest.  
Stations would be eligible for multiple awards according to their  
entries. List entries by grids and make awards by grids.

3. Leave the June contest pretty much alone, or implement whatever  
compromise rover rule changes are the fashion of the day. Implement a  
minimum distance requirement for QSOs involving rovers, say 3.1416 km.  
Require convoy rovers, pack rovers, and grid circlers to enter the  
unlimited rover category. Revise the current rule discouraging captive  
rovers to actually prohibit captive rovers. Award a plaque for the  
rover who activates the most grids. Add a mobile category, single  
operator, where operation could be anywhere from within a grid square  
and the 500 meter rule eliminated for this class. Let any entry from  
any category be included in the club scores.

4. Leave the CQ VHF July contest alone. There appear to be no problems  
with rovers in that contest.

Only portions of this post are satirical.

Roving is fun no matter what the rules are. It is nice to be  
competitive as well though, and to some extent the rules determine who  
is competitive and who is not. This determination should not be made  
arbitrarily. - Duffey
--
KK6MC
James Duffey
Cedar Crest NM