PNWVHFS Club Territory and Club Scoring Explanation

A message from the PNWVHFS Secretary, W7DHC:

As you know from the recent posts regarding CLUB COMPETITION issues, the Pacific Northwest VHF Society must define a "club territory" per Section 8.4.1.3 of the ARRL General Rules for All Contests.

Before going any further, let me make it clear that this issue HAS ABSOLUTELY NO EFFECT ON INDIVIDUAL CONTEST SCORES. Individual scores CAN AND SHOULD BE SUBMITTED BY ALL MEMBERS. Only by showing the level of activity in the Pacific Northwest can we have an impact on future rule changes that will allow all members to be included in the club competition.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

For club competition purposes, only members OPERATING FROM WITHIN the defined club territory can have their individual scores ALSO count cumulatively toward a club score. Rover stations that operate from OUTSIDE the club territory during any part of the contest must submit a separate log for the club competition score, showing contacts made only while they were INSIDE the club territory.

CLUB TERRITORY

In defining the club territory, we had a choice of using either "one ARRL section" or a "175- mile radius circle." Obviously, the 175-mile radius circle is the better choice. I spent many hours plotting various 175-mile radius circles, attempting to include as many members as possible from our stated club area (BC, EWA, ID, OR and WWA RAC/ARRL sections).

The best I could come up with is a circle that includes 137 of the 163 members who reside in our primary focus area. This circle passes clockwise through or near the following cities: Bellingham, Oroville, Spokane, Pullman (just East of), Clarkston, Wallowa (just East of), Bend, Lebanon, Albany and Netarts Bay. It also includes the very Southeastern tip of Vancouver Island. This circle has a center point at North 46 degrees, 33 minutes and West 120 degrees, 43 minutes...roughly between Mount Rainier and Yakima. A graphic showing the Pacific Northwest VHF Society official "club territory" is located here.

Unfortunately, this "club territory" does not include members in the BC or ID sections, or those in the southern portion of the Oregon section. I am not at all happy with that result; however, every time I moved the circle
to include members in any of those areas, a greater number of members were excluded in other areas.

I submitted a recommended club territory definition to the board of directors for approval and have received comments back indicating that while no one is pleased that some members will be excluded from the club competition portion of the contest, this "club territory" seems to be the best we can do under the current rules. As a result, I will be submitting to the ARRL a list of members residing within our "club territory" as required by the contest rules. We will continue to explore this issue with the ARRL Contest Advisory Committee.

HOW TO GET YOUR SCORE INCLUDED

For those who are eligible to submit club competition scores, please be sure to include the FULL CLUB NAME ("Pacific Northwest VHF Society") on your summary sheet. Please DO NOT USE ABBREVIATIONS such as PNWVHFS or PNW VHF Society as your entry may not be counted toward the club score.

QUESTIONS?

If you have questions regarding whether you are eligible to have your individual contest score counted toward the club competition, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].

Jim Aguirre
Secretary-Treasurer