ARRL Field Day: Is it a Contest or Not? The Contest Crew Opines

Field Day is a simulated event,
a learning experience for new hams (opportunity to teach),
a social event for most Amatuer Radio clubs,
a proving ground for receiver and band pass filters,
an operating event,
a contest,
it is whatever you want it to be. Your decision. Have fun, though, and don't worry about such details. There are plenty of REAL contests to participate in. Thanks for posting! Cheers.

 

Alright I'll say it. Field Day is a great way to break up an amateur radio club. Sure, there is comradery in setting up, cooking, eating, etc.....but then there's the on the air activities. Every club has contesters who will get most of the air time. Everyone else takes a back seat, and is often ridiculed for not catching a call sign or not pulling up a log entry fast enough. If FD is not a contest, then contesters should not be allowed to operate. Otherwise, if you have contesters at the control point, it's a contest.

FWIW, I have never been to a FD that has not resulted in a few members quitting because of how they were treated by the OPs. Your results may vary.

 

Interesting. We usually have the exact opposite at our field day event. Seems everyone wants to be involved and comes to the event, but we end up with only a handful of people actually operating the radios. Seems everyone gets "mic fright" and only a few people want to get on the air. Even licensed hams who I regularly hear on the air, tend to not want to actually operate the radio at field day. They will help log contacts, fill the generator with gas but not get on the radio. Our Field day site the last couple of years has been the opposite as far as people quitting the club. Our field day event isn't officially associated with the local club but a few new hams got licensed due to having fun at Field day and some of them even joined the local club.

 

I'm happy to hear that. As I said, your results may vary. Sadly the idea of a radio club is going the way of the dinosaur now that everything can be done online. The social aspect is dying out, so I can how FD would actually bring people closer these days. I must admit, it's been years since I've participated in FD. It was a different place and time all together. Thanks for sharing your experience.....it gives me hope.

 

field day is field day.
just have fun

 

To be or not to be...that is the question, is it more noble to participate in a positive manner than to question its moral or ethical reasons.....if it brings people together regardless of it's "true" purpose.
I for one enjoy going out in nature instead of staring at the same four walls in the ham shack/ham cave...it is good to get out and go beyond your comfort zone......if it is fun then count me in.

 

Like many things in Ham Radio, FD has changed as well. It is now by edict of the ARRL a 'Public Relations Event' vs a contest. No multipliers for 'Sections' and bonus points for all sorts of PR activities. Kind of gives me the feeling of 'going commercial' as opposed to a technical deployment exercise. What is still there the opportunity to learn new things(anyone not learning something isn't trying) and of course having a great time with our radio/club buddies is a big part of it. Yes there is competition but ofter the competition is to just outdo last year's effort. Most of all, it is a great experience that you'll talk about all next year and often years to come.

72 to all,

K3FHP
AKA QRPDave

p.s. As previously mentioned, wondering if the 160M long wire makes it NOT a contest?

 

All true!

But the point I was making is this:

I frequently see the claims about "the original purpose of Field Day". Yet when you look at the announcement of the very first Field Day, the word "contest" is front and center.

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While there are no multipliers for sections, there are multipliers for power and mode. There are other contests with no multipliers for sections, too.

73 de Jim, N2EY

 

why does everything have to be a contest!!
are we that competitive that we have taken the fun out of the equation

 

IMO (however that means anything), I'd call Field Day a "quasi-contest". But more of an "event", where folks get together in the field, play some radio, socialize, eat, show/promote ham radio to outsiders, and generally have fun. Mostly leisure activity, but some clubs take it more seriously (at least they used to 'back in the day'). Really no more or less than SOTA, POTA, or any other xOTA's these days where operations are out in the field.

More structured, actual contests are operated from a fixed location (home or remote), and participants generally have a specific operating goal in mind, personal and/or club oriented.

But Field Day does help to inspire those (young or old) who find rapid-fire QSO's appealing enough to try contesting as another facet of their home operations to improve their operating skills and have fun. Although some on these forums would frown on that.

 

Given the title of the thread and the composition of “the panel” there is some obvious bias…

Doesn’t mean they’re wrong, though.

 

When contacts equal points, and the standings are listed in QST, IT'S A CONTEST !!!!!

 

Old Saturday Night Live skit:

“It’s a desert topping! No, it’s a floor wax! Wait, folks, it’s a desert topping AND a floor wax!”.

Field Day is a contest! No, It’s not a contest! Wait, Field Day is a contest AND not a contest!

Hope this clears things up.

 

Itza CONTEST where everyone wins

 

....And gets a "Participation Trophy".