This was recently posted on the CQ-Contest reflector. I think it
would be a great thing if the presidents (or even members) of VHF clubs
sent similar comments of support for contesting in to the ARRL BoD.
VHF contesters stand to lose as much or more than their HF brethren.
If you are going to comment, you need to do so _TODAY_.
----- Forwarded message from Jim Idelson <k1ir@designet.com> -----
> Fellow Contesters,
>
> The following letter went out on Tuesday for delivery to the ARRL BoD in time
> for consideration at their meeting on January 18. It was created by the
> presidents of many of the largest ARRL-affiliated contest clubs. Since we had
> so little advance notice of the issue prior to the BoD meeting, this Statement
> primarily represents the common views of the club presidents. While we have
> garnered the full support of the entire membership of some of the clubs, we do
> not yet have the unanimous support of the membership of every club. But, we
> wanted to send the League something indicative of the strength of feeling
> about
> this issue in the contest community. Our message is that the decision to cut
> QST pages is being made too quickly, and without sufficient creative thought
> about other potential solutions. And, that we really want to help them do a
> better job.
>
> We have delayed this posting a bit in order to permit the Directors enough
> time
> to absorb the Statement and prepare before hearing from their constituents.
>
> We all hope this is something you can stand up and support. A short, simple,
> friendly email note of support to your ARRL Division Director would not be out
> of order. You will find all the Directors' email addresses at the end of this
> message.
>
> For all the contest club presidents who put this together - 73!
>
> Jim Idelson K1IR
> President
> Yankee Clipper Contest Club
>
> ------------------------------ Text of Letter Follows
> ----------------------------------
>
> James S. Idelson
> 96 Morse Road
> Sudbury, MA 01776
> tel 978.443.5549 fax 978.443.2034
> email k1ir@designet.com
>
> January 15, 2002
>
> ARRL Board of Directors
>
> SUBJECT: JOINT STATEMENT AND REQUEST OF US CONTEST CLUBS ON THE PROPOSAL TO
> ELIMINATE DETAILED CONTEST RESULTS FROM QST
>
> To the Board of Directors:
>
> We, the presidents of the undersigned ARRL-affiliated contest clubs, wish to
> respectfully submit our unanimously held views on the current proposal to
> eliminate certain elements of contest coverage from QST in an effort to reduce
> cost. We are requesting that you defer this decision and accept our
> proposal to
> contribute resources and work with the ARRL to develop a more complete and
> effective solution to the problem.
>
> The presidents of the ARRL-affiliated contest clubs unanimously support the
> following Joint Statement and Request. In many cases, there has been
> sufficient
> time to gain the support of the membership, as well:
>
> 1. We, the undersigned, recognize and appreciate the work that the ARRL
> does in
> support of contesting, including sponsorship and administration of 15 ARRL
> contests plus the IARU contest, publishing rules, collecting logs, scoring the
> contests, providing awards, publishing results, maintaining the CAC, employing
> Dan Henderson and Kathy Allison. We support the Contest Robot, Cabrillo and
> Logbook of the World projects - all of which will benefit contesters.
>
> 2. We understand and support the League's goal of producing QST with
> ever-increasing quality, and to do so within certain financial constraints.
>
> 3. We feel that coverage of contesting in the printed format of QST is
> extremely important to the future of contesting as a mainstream amateur radio
> activity.
>
> 4. We feel that QST's printed line-by-line scores are extremely important at
> all levels of competition and participation. Although web-based results can
> serve the purpose of delivering the same information at a lower delivery cost,
> we feel that printed results serve a special purpose in promoting contesting.
> Printed results in the national magazine provide a unique sense of
> satisfaction
> and pride to participants; this cannot be duplicated with web-based results.
>
> 5. We are committed to assisting the League in finding solutions for complete
> contest coverage that can be delivered at lower cost using all forms of
> media -
> print and electronic, while at the same time making such coverage more
> attractive and interesting to a much wider audience than has been the case to
> date.
>
> 6. We ask the League to defer it's decision regarding elimination of detailed
> contest results from QST until we have had an opportunity to work together to
> craft a solution that meets the financial requirements while further enhancing
> the quality of the product that is delivered.
>
> 7. To move this process forward expeditiously, we are assembling a group of
> volunteers to participate in an ARRL Contest Coverage Working Group, whose
> goal
> is to assist the League in defining a cost-effective and pragmatic solution
> for
> outstanding coverage of ARRL contests - combining both QST and web-based
> delivery methods.
>
> ARRL Contest Coverage Working Group - Member Profiles
> - Long-time, experienced contesters
> - New, less-experienced contesters-in-training
> - Non-contesters
> - Business/marketing experts
> - Sports journalism/writing experts
> - Electronic delivery experts
>
> SIGNATURE TITLE ORGANIZATION DATE
> /s/ WILL ANGENENT President Southern California Contest Club
> January 15, 2002
> Will Angenent, K6NDV
>
> /s/ GARY BREED President South East Contest Club January 15, 2002
> Gary Breed, K9AY
>
> /s/ SCOTT DETLOFF President North Coast Contesters January 15,
> 2002
> Scott Detloff, K8DX
>
> /s/ AL DEWEY President Minnesota Wireless Association January 15,
> 2002
> Al Dewey, K0AD
>
> /s/ PAUL GENTRY President Society of Midwest Contesters January
> 15, 2002
> Paul Gentry, K9PG
>
> /s/ JAMES IDELSON President Yankee Clipper Contest Club January
> 15, 2002
> James Idelson, K1IR
>
> /s/ BRIAN MCGINNESS President Potomac Valley Radio Club January
> 15, 2002
> Brian McGinness, N3OC
>
> /s/ ROBERT NAUMANN President North Texas Contest Club January 15,
> 2002
> Robert Naumann, N5NJ
>
> /s/ DOUG PRIEST President Frankford Radio Club January 15, 2002
> Doug Priest, W3CF
>
> /s/ DAVID PRUETT President Mad River Radio Club January 15, 2002
> David Pruett, K8CC
>
> /s/ DANIEL SCAGGS President Tennessee Contest Group January 15,
> 2002
> Daniel Scaggs, N7DLS
>
> /s/ RICK TAVAN President Northern California Contest Club January
> 15, 2002
> Rick Tavan, N6XI
>
> Please contact me with any questions, comments or other communications
> regarding this Joint Statement and Request.
>
> Respectfully submitted,
>
> /s/ JAMES S. IDELSON
>
> James S. Idelson, K1IR
> President
> Yankee Clipper Contest Club
>
> ARRL Division Directors
> Atlantic Division: Bernie Fuller, N3EFN, n3efn@arrl.org Northwestern
> Division: Greg Milnes, W7OZ, w7oz@arrl.org
> Central Division: George R. Isely, W9GIG, w9gig@arrl.org Pacific
> Division:
> Jim Maxwell, W6CF, w6cf@arrl.org
> Dakota Division: Jay Bellows, K0QB, k0qb@arrl.org Roanoke Division:
> Dennis
> Bodson, W4PWF, w4pwf@arrl.org
> Delta Division: Rick Roderick, K5UR, k5ur@arrl.org Rocky Mountain
> Division: Walt Stinson, W0CP, w0cp@arrl.org
> Great Lakes Division: George Race, WB8BGY, wb8bgy@arrl.org Southeastern
> Division: Frank M. Butler Jr, W4RH, w4rh@arrl.org
> Hudson Division: Frank J. Fallon, N2FF, n2ff@arrl.org Southwestern
> Division: Art Goddard, W6XD, w6xd@arrl.org
> Midwest Division: Wade Walstrom, W0EJ, w0ej@arrl.org West Gulf Division:
> Coy C. Day, N5OK, n5ok@arrl.org
> New England Division: Tom Frenaye, K1KI, k1ki@arrl.org
>
>
> --
> CQ-Contest on WWW: http://lists.contesting.com/_cq-contest/
> Administrative requests: cq-contest-REQUEST@contesting.com
>
----- End forwarded message -----
--
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Kenneth E. Harker "Vox Clamantis in Deserto" kharker@cs.utexas.edu
University of Texas at Austin Amateur Radio Callsign: WM5R
Department of the Computer Sciences VP, Central Texas DX & Contest Club
Taylor Hall TAY 2.124 Maintainer of Linux on Laptops
Austin, TX 78712-1188 USA http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/kharker/
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