>Though I've mocked it perhaps, or questioned it, I have no doubt of
>the importance of the "off-season" or between-contests "politics." If
>you act like a jerk to the 99% of the "regular guys" when you see them
>at Dayton, they may not go out of their way to make sure they give you
>a QSO next year. They probably won't forget how you treated them and
>may even exercise their prerogative to not give you a QSO next time.
Actually, I've always felt people are generally on good behavior at
Dayton - civil conversations can be had even with people I don't
particularly like (or don't like me, as a turnabout - no illusions...)
The "off-season" and "contest politics" are important if you feel that
one of the things that is necessary for contest success is the
admiration of the peer group. There are at least a couple of people
(not you, Rich) that I can think of who have exhibited bad behavior
during contests repeatedly, are obnoxious in real life, but post
consistently good scores. Are they successful? Yes. Do other
contesters tend to discount their contest abilities because of bad
behavior? Also yes.
Which leads me to what set this off - watching K1TO's Contest Hall of
Fame induction at Dayton this past year. It struck me that no matter
how good of an operator you are, no matter what you have achieved in
the hobby, if anyone has managed to piss people off along the way it's
unlikely they will receive the peer recognition that may be deserved.
Watching the procession of people on and off the dias talking about
having known 'TO since they were teenagers, all the help he had given
to others in the hobby in the NE and Florida, getting K1ZA licensed,
and the string of contest scores and WRTC wins - the contest scores and
WRTC wins alone are not going to get peer recognition for a lifetime
honor like the Contest Hall of Fame.
Rich, now that you've won High Power repeatedly from Puerto Rico,
wouldn't it be time to move on to another challenge? (Warning -
Blowing Own Horn Follows): After winning the QRP category in SS CW for
the second time in a row in '99, I started thinking about doing
something different. Low Power? Multi-op? But then I wanted to see
if I could do it a third time, and then a fourth - and I really didn't
even want to bother either the third or fourth time. I did it anyway,
but finally after '01 said, OK, enough already.
Rich, if you're returning to Puerto Rico for SS in 2004, why not go low
power or QRP and try to win both modes in one of those categories?
I doubt seriously that the QRP category has any special advantages from
the Caribbean for SS.
Scott W4PA
=====
"Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time." --
Bertrand Russell
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