CQWW Contest Committee updates

From Contesting

CQ WW Contest Committee Update August 17, 2009

Dear Contester,

The CQ WW Contest Committee (CQWWCC) wishes to announce the beginning of informational updates. We hope these periodic updates will serve to inform you of actions taken by the CQWWCC, behind the scenes committee work, history of the CQ WW and other topics. With this update, we will initiate regular communication with the contest community beginning later this week.

In spite of our reluctant sun to bring new sun spots into play, contest activity continues to grow at unparalleled rates. The 2008 CQ WW contests occurred with the solar flux about as low as it can get. In spite of challenging conditions, over 10,000 plus contesters submitted logs. The CQ WW is a fantastic competition which brings out the best in amateur radio: team work, station construction, antenna design, propagation knowledge and operating skills. Just turn on your radio during the 2009 CQ WW and you can join in the fun. Once you listen to the bands during the CQ WW, you will be hooked and guaranteed to have a good time. The CQ WW is a celebration of ham radio skill and effort. If you want to know how long it is until the 2009 CQ WW SSB test check out the website of OT5A: http://www.on7lr.org.

The full 2009 CQ WW rules can be found at cqww.com.

We look forward to providing more updates in the future. In the meantime, if you have any questions, such as translation of any update into your language, please contact questions@cqww.com .

CQ WW Contest Committee Update August 20, 2009

In 2008 the CQ WW contest received the largest number of submitted logs in its history with over 10,000 entrants submitting electronic logs. The continued growth of the contest depends on many critical factors. Of particular note is the need for an honest effort by each entrant.

The committee is aware there are a few entrants who feel the need to win using any available method. Fortunately, these individuals are a mere handful of the contest’s total entries. During the 2008 contest, for example, we estimate that approximately 25 entrants, whose score would have placed in the top score box, required close scrutiny. This number is very small when compared against the logs received (0.25%). Unfortunately, those competitors choosing to violate the rules are vying for high profile positions in the contest and they receive high publicity. In 2008 the CQ WW Contest Committee brought new tools to bear on these suspected logs. We uncovered the use of two operators working contacts, multiple support operators filling a band map on the non-run band, and the use of a DX spotting system, all while claiming single operator unassisted. For several multi-single competitors, we discovered times had been altered within the log to give the appearance of complying with the ten-minute rule.

You should be aware that the CQ WW Contest Committee receives input each year from outside the committee. These individuals provide a valuable service to the contest community by alerting us to possible problem logs. In certain cases, these individuals have performed their own analysis and are convinced they are right in their assessment. We take their analysis and study it for veracity. In other words, we accept their input as a flag but do not rely on outside analyses for a disqualification decision. We have established a rather high bar for disqualification. For example, submitting simple associations between a given QSO and a DX cluster spot alone is not adequate; such an association does not necessarily meet the statistical validity we require. Several critics of our methods, while very vocal, have been silent when it comes to providing “proof.”

In an effort to confirm the outstanding efforts of potential trophy winners, we have created a new rule involving the possibility of site inspections for the upcoming 2009 CQ WW contest. As you can imagine from a practical point of view, the new rule engages only the very top contenders in multiple categories. They could be visited by a CQ WW contest committee observer during the contest. By having an observer assigned to a station, we are not automatically implying that there has been illicit behavior by that entrant. Rather, it simply suggests that they are a word-class contender and we want to allay any questions other contenders might raise about the operation.

The full 2009 CQ WW rules can be found at the CQ WorldWide contest website. We will issue more updates in the future. If you have any questions, please contact questions@cqww.com.

CQWW Contest Committee Update October 10, 2009

Fellow Contesters,

The CQ WW DX contest is coming soon. Many DXpeditions are planned and the anticipation of fall conditions fills the air. This weekend the CQ WW will participate in a Webinar sponsored by the Potomac Valley Radio Club. We hope to introduce the CQ WW to many. This Webinar will be the first of what we hope will be a series of educational interactions between you and us. If you miss the presentation you can see it archived on the P.V.R.C. site.

We are looking for* volunteers* who will help translate the rules and other bulletins issued by the CQWWCC. If you can help in a language *other than *French, German, Russian, Japanese, Spainish, Finnish, Portuguese and Slovenian, please contact questions@cqww.com. We are especially looking for someone to help with Chinese, Indonesian, Indian, Arabic, Polish, Czech, Hungarian and Greek.

We would like to take this opportunity to inform you of a change to rule XII of the CQ WW DX contest. This rule deals with disqualification. The statement below is to be substituted for rule XII published in the September issue of CQ magazine. The new XII we be in effect for the 2009 CQ WW contests. The new rule will have *no effect on 99+% of contesters*. If you stay within the category you have chosen and obey its limitations, rule XII will not affect you. The new rule below replaces rule XII of the 2009 CQ WW DX Contest rules. It is also available at cqww.com along with the full rules, top tab rules.

XII. Actions of the CQ WW Contest Committee

YELLOW card = Not eligible for an award in the entered contest. An entrant or operator issued a yellow card will be listed in the published results with a number symbol (#) before their call.

Two yellow cards: An entrant or operator receiving two yellow cards in three consecutive CQ WW DX contests will be ineligible for any CQ –sponsored contest award for a period of two years beginning with the publication of the second violation in CQ magazine. If the entrant is in a multi-operator category, all listed operators are so affected.

RED card = Full Disqualification (DQ). Submitted log is rejected. Entrants receiving a red card will be listed at the end of the published results. An entrant or operator receiving a red card will be ineligible for any CQ-sponsored contest award for a period of one year beginning with the publication of the violation in CQ magazine.

Two red cards: An entry or operator receiving two red cards within five consecutive CQ WW DX contests will be ineligible for any CQ –sponsored contest award for a period of three years beginning with the month of publication of the second violation in CQ magazine. If the entrant is in a multi-operator category, all listed operators are so affected.

1. The CQ WW Contest Committee reserves the right to accept or reject any entry. 2. Violation of the rules of the contest or country of operation makes the entrant subject to either a red or yellow card at the discretion of the CQ WW Contest Committee. Reclassification to a category other than that submitted will result in an automatic yellow card. 3. Unsportsmanlike conduct can be grounds for either a red or yellow card at the discretion of the CQ WW Contest Committee. Unsportsmanlike conduct includes but is not limited to ANY use by an entrant of any non-amateur means in the contest including, but not limited to, telephones, Internet, instant messaging, chat rooms, VoIP, or the use of any DX cluster/reflector to SOLICIT, ARRANGE, or CONFIRM any contacts during the contest (exception see Xtreme category rules). 4. Taking credit for excessive unverifiable QSOs or unverifiable multipliers may result in a yellow card. 5. An entrant is free to withdraw his/her submitted log for any reason prior to receiving an official letter from the CQ WW Contest Committee. The log will then be handled per the entrant’s request. If after receiving an official letter from the CQ WW Contest Committee, an entrant chooses to withdraw their log, the entrant’s call will be listed at end of the results showing their log as having been withdrawn. 6. By submitting a CQ WW DX contest log, an entrant agrees that the use of red cards, yellow cards, log withdrawal and other decisions of the CQ WW Contest Committee are official and final.

73 and have fun this fall! Bob, K3EST Director CQ WW Contest Committee

CQ WW Contest Committee

These updates are republished from the CQ-Contest reflector, by permission of the CQWW Contest Committee. – Editor