Tom Baugh

Contest Philosophy

Contest Philosophy: 1.The principles one uses While struggling for superiority or victory between rivals

While I'm as competitive as almost any other ham radio operator, I believe that there is a competitive rule of ethics for anyone who has ever reached the pinnacle of their "profession" My goal is to clearly define what I mean and how I personally approach competitions. There are several areas which consistently arise within almost any competition. First; what are the rules are they clearly defined and are they enforceable? Second; what are the rewards which will be earned by winning contestant? Third; What are the consequences of non compliance with the rules?
RULES: While any set of rules in any sport may have loopholes in them, it is relatively practical to close those loopholes over time to provide a set of rules which all contestants can agree are fair. In most sporting events the rules are clearly written, typically in one language, and interpreted by a group of contestants who are coached to follow the rules. Top participants are usually very familiar with the intricacies of the rules and understand even within the individual event how any particular aspect of the rules is being judged on a given day. Example: In the NFL Holding is not permitted for an offensive lineman. Holding id clearly defined as grabbing part of the clothing or body in such a way as to prevent the opponent from freely releasing to perform their duty. However it is also known that holding "within the framework of the opponents body" is usually allowed and in fact a sign of good technique and superior performance. In any given competition the judges (referees) may or may not call you for the offense of holding based on 1. if they were watching when you held 2. If your holding had a significant effect on the play 3. If you had personal relations with the official or better yet if the opposition was being a pain in the butt to the official. In any case Rules are not always set in stone and even when they are, the interpretation and officiating may be different from one day to the next and one participant to another. This may not be fair, this may not be within the structure of the competition but it tends to be realistic. REWARDS: The larger the reward, the larger the incentive to try to win. In professional sports the incentive (Millions of dollars) is so great to make a team that many people cheat along the way to try to get there. More people are apt to try to succeed through any means when the reward is very high. In fact many parents (in America) push their children to become athletes to try to reach for these goals in such a way as to be a detriment to the children themselves. In general the less the extrinsic reward, the more the intrinsic value. However, even with an award certificate or plaque and maybe without any extrinsic reward there are some people who will try to win while cheating. Such is the case in Amateur radio. Although the rewards are minimal, there are still individuals and teams of individuals that choose to "bend the rules" for the chance at a victory, a certificate, a plaque or their names in a magazine. A question arises as to whether cheating would occur if there were no rewards? Could there even be a competition without rewards? Would people participate in an event that had no results? Could we run a ham radio contest (for the practice of operating) without posting results anywhere, without awarding certificates or plaques? Maybe just a list of participants! I don't think so..  So, while we may not like the reality of competing again others who may chose to cheat for their opportunity in the spotlight. The reason people cheat is because of the reward.. however small, however insignificant, without and reward there would be no cheating, but there would also be no contest. CONSEQUENCES: play a discouraging role in competitions. If he negative consequences of your actions to surpass the rules in a competition are great enough then you will be discouraged form attempting to surpass the rules. If the consequences for holding in the NFL were that you had a hand chopped off, there would be a lot less holding. Because it is only a game, there is a penalty (or consequence) which is proportionate to the offense. These penalties are clearly defined in the rules and enforced immediately during the contest. There are judges on the field of play and their (paid) job is to enforce the rules. In ham radio contesting there is only one event which has judges. WRTC. The judges otherwise are a committee of people comprising the body of the contest community and influenced by their affiliations with friends and fellow contesters. The social fabric of the amateur community itself is woven into an international fellowship which would like to consider itself honorable and in most cases is just that. To indict a fellow amateur is to call ones own brother to the judiciary. While the consequences of cheating in amateur radio includes not being able to participate in the following year's competition, the greater embarrassment of your name being discussed as unethical is a far greater punishment for most amateurs. While one may consider "bending the rules", a truly honorable amateur would not jeopardize their reputation within the Amateur ranks if they considered these consequences and the affects they would have on their long term plans. MY PHILOSOPHY: While I enjoy competition in many things, I have learned through trial and error (yes I have cheated) that the personal satisfaction gained by winning is minimized when you know that it was not gained fairly. Although I may have reasonable suspicion that my competitor is doing the very same thing that I am in cheating to gain an advantage (thereby leveling the playing field), I can not realize true satisfaction in victory unless I know, when I look in the mirror, that I have done everything with the rules and complied with all standards to achieve success against all other opponents. There is little satisfaction in winning while cheating. There is great satisfaction in winning while NOT cheating. There is even great satisfaction in performing your best while not winning. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not an advocate for "everyone gets a certificate for being wonderful". I believe that competition is good. I believe that competition brings out the best (and worst) in people. But I personally find most satisfaction in trying like hell to beat my opponent and when it is all finished knowing that I have tried my best (win or lose). Accordingly, I also find it most rewarding when my opponent tries his best. there is little reward in a great effort against someone who is ill or someone who has inferior skills or equipment. While our hobby rewards the winners, it is YOU (the individual contester) who must compare yourself with other like contesters and see where you rank. Compare yourself to those you compete against and find satisfaction in the EFFORT not the results.
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