> Finally, we believe it is time to be more definitive and state
> unequivocally that grid circling and captive roving are highly
> undesirable practices and that no rover station should engage in them.
I can't see how simply stating that practices are "undesireable"
accomplishes anything tangible. All these undesireable activities occur
in complete adherence to the rules. The California rovers even stated in
their recent write-up that they attempted to work anyone they could hear
because of concern about being labeled captive rovers. People who engage
in any serious competition (and it's clear that many are VERY serious)
want to have clear, precise rules. What if I happen to run into another
rover at a grid intersection and we both had the intention of activating
all 4 grids? Because grid circling is "discouraged", are we not allowed
to contact each other? Perhaps from just one grid? Two grids? Having
vagueries is guaranteed to create problems. What happens if the score
checkers discover what they deem to be grid circling? Do these rovers get
disqualified? Take a guess who won't be back for the next contest.
If the California guys want to invest the kind of time, money, and energy
into such an effort to set a record, God bless 'em. I think it's a bit
extreme if not silly, but who cares? I can't imagine doing every contest
in this manner would remain very entertaining for very long.
No matter what rules you make, serious contesters will figure out how to
best exploit these rules and win. I respect and admire such people, but
other folks will be grumpy because they didn't win or have the resources
to do it. So be it. It's the nature of competition.
Finally, I find it hard to believe that messing with the rules -
especially if they get more complicated - is going to significantly
throttle up participation. The implication is: Someone has been debating
whether or not to add a 70-cm yagi to the tower, "...but unless the
contest committee invokes a new distant grid multiplier, dammit, I'll
invest my money elsewhere and stay off UHF." People participate in spite
of the rules, not because of them!
There is always going to be inequity and only a few winners. I willingly
get clobbered every time out, but participate for the excitement and
challenge of the contest.
WB2FKO
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