Jeff and all,
The creation of new sections by ARRL (or RAC) is not driven by the contest
community. Usually it is driven by a desire of the broad membership to gain
better “localization” in the organization. A new mult for the contesters is
only a side effect.
Regarding the theme of “consistency”, every contest has different roots. SS
was created by traffic handlers. The exchange was modeled after the ARRL
message header which includes “Section of Origin”, thus SEC became the
multiplier. Regarding the mults in other ARRL contests, well, “on the other
hand you have different fingers” designing the competition.
Your comment about the size of the Minnesota section is interesting. At one
point there were 4 Sections in the Dakota Division. North Dakota, South
Dakota, Northern Minnesota, and Southern Minnesota. Some years ago, the two MN
sections were combined to a single MN section, and an SS multiplier was lost.
I don’t know the reason for that combining, but from time-to-time we hear
sentiment for splitting MINNESOTA into two sections, “Metro MN” and “Outstate
MN”, not for any reason that affects contesting directly, but because the
“outstate” general membership feels that Section policy is dominated by the
metro hams at the expense of rural hams.
Should that split ever occur, a byproduct would be that a ham in the little
town of Resume Speed, MN would be more popular than a guy in Minneapolis. So
goes it.
73, de Hans, KØHB
“Just a Boy and his Radio”
________________________________
From: ku8e <ku8e@ku8e.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 4, 2020 10:33 AM
To: Hans Brakob; CQ-Contest
Subject: RE: [CQ-Contest] Clean Sweep - a short history
Hans,
Something you left out is creating some of these new sections gives people who
reside there a competitive advantage. Take for example NNY. New York is one of
the most populous states in the country but that part of the state is less
populated which probably means less hams. If someone gets on from a section
like that they get big pileups of stations trying to work them. There are lots
of people whose only goal is to only work a sweep in Sweepstakes. So if you
live in a highly populated section like EPA or MDC those stations might not
work you.
Like many others mentioned the ARRL is very inconsistent how they choose
sections. I made an argument in another post that maybe Georgia, where I live,
should be split into two sections. We have the 8th largest population in the
US. Many might not realize that Georgia has the largest land mass of any state
east of the Mississippi. You could also make an argument for Minnesota, where
you live. Your number 21 in population but are 14th in land mass. That means MN
is bigger than states like WA, NY, MA, PA and NJ that have multiple sections.
Texas has only three sections and is the biggest state on the US mainland plus
number two in population. California in comparison has NINE sections. Florida
like Texas has three sections but it's population is almost 8 million less and
it's land mass is smaller. Just too many inconsistencies in my opinion
Jeff
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
-------- Original message --------
From: Hans Brakob <kzerohb@gmail.com>
Date: 1/4/20 10:16 AM (GMT-05:00)
To: CQ-Contest <cq-contest@contesting.com>
Subject: [CQ-Contest] Clean Sweep - a short history
There is discussion in another thread over a new Section in RAC which results
in a new mult in ARRL’s November SS weekends.
The reason for this linkage seems not well understood by some.
This linkage stems from the fact that Canada, up until about 40 years ago, was
a Division of ARRL, with a Division Director and was subdivided into Sections
just like other Divisions. Just like some USA sections sometimes do not
encompass a full state/territory (several states consist of more than one
section) or a single state/territory (PAC division consists of a state, a
territory, and some other possessions), not all Canadian sections are a
complete province (think ON) or encompass more than a single province/territory
(think VE8/VY1/Et al).
Since SS has always used Sections as mults, and since CRRL/RAC continues to be
organized by Section, then a new Section in either ARRL or in RAC will generate
a new mult in November SS.
And all of that aside, why would a contester have angst over more multipliers
and the obvious opportunity for higher scores?
73, de Hans, KØHB
“Just a Boy and his Radio”
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