[VHFcontesting] Sports vs. Radiosports

[Ev Tupis <w2ev@arrl.net>]

Be willing to think unconventionally for a moment...

=== Sports ===
Ten people crouch at the starting line.  The referee's pistol is held in the air 
for a moment.  The trigger is squeezed and the runners bolt away.  The crowd 
roars as they watch the participants run the race.  The lead may change 
throughout the race, and so does the strategy of the participants as their goals 
change.  Along the way, there is subtle "trash talking" and cajoling...even 
between participants.

At the starting line, everyone thinks "gold".  Midway through the race, there 
are some that have decided that "bronze" is a worthwhile goal, while for others 
it is simply "not being last". :)

Within moments of the end of the event, everyone knows the result.  If this was 
a qualifying run, it allows "strategy tweaks" to be considered before the finals.

The result: participants learn from each other and everyone gets better over 
time (witness that records break every year...and many of today's last-place 
finishers do so with times that would have broken records 20-years ago).

=== Radio Contests Today ===
Participants build their stations with some sense of secrecy so as to not allow 
some "competative advantage" slip out to the general public.  No one knows how 
many people are participating, even through the course of the contest itself. 
When it's all over, we are given 30-days to "audit our logs".  The submission 
includes no information, other than "who" was contacted, "when" they were 
contacted and "on what frequency" they were contacted.

There is nothing motivating people to excel during the event other than the 
drive one normally has to make as many contacts as possible.  There is no 
good-natured "trash talking" (NOTE: unless you are a user of HamIM...then 
there's plenty of opportunity for that <smile>) and behind-the-scenes cajoling. 
 We "get better" by captivating rovers and finding loopholes in the rules 
rather than learning from those who succeed and finding a way to do so, too. 
(ok...that was a bit of a troll, but you generally know what I mean).

=== Radiosports: Breathing new Life ===
Rather that tell you what I envision at this point, maybe list members can take 
a moment to ponder what a new framework for radio-competition could look like, 
if we were unafraid to reinvent things for the better.

Ev, W2EV



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