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After controversy erupted this Summer over the judging of the 2008 CQ WW DX Contests, three top members of the CQ WW Contest Committee will discuss what lies ahead in the 2009 SSB and CW contests in a special webinar sponsored by the Potomac Valley Radio Club.
PVRC President Ken Claerbout K4ZW told radio-sport.net that the two hour webinar will start at 2200 GMT October 11 (6pm EDT in the United States.)
"CQ WW DX Contest Director Bob Cox K3EST, Committee members John Dorr K1AR and Doug Zwiebel KR2Q take a look at the upcoming 2009 CQWW DX Contest," said the formal announcement.
"A Q&A session will follow the presentation."
Depending on what is covered in the webinar and what is asked in the Q&A, there could be some interesting items discussed in this unique, on-line meeting.
K3EST and the entire CQ WW Contest Committee have given little public explanation for quiet, last minute rule changes made for this year, questions about "private DQ's" and "disappearing" logs in the 2008 contests, as well as a series of high profile disqualifications from 2008.
The CQ WW group seems likely to focus partly on a new category that has been announced for 2009, the "Xtreme" competition, which CQ Magazine describes as "exciting."
CQ Magazine said "this new category has been established to allow amateurs to participate in the CQ WW Contest while experimenting creatively with Internet-linked stations and other new technologies that currently are not permitted in any of the contest categories."
The CQ WW Webinar is part of a series of online chats being hosted by PVRC (see more at right.)
As for the CQ WW chat, along with the Xtreme Category, it seems likely that the CQ WW team could address a controversial new rule that raises the specter of on-site visits for some hams during a contest, all part of a crackdown on cheating by CQ WW.
The PVRC announcement says that space is limited for this event. Click here to register for the event.
For several months now, the Potomac Valley Radio Club has been quietly expanding its reach via the internet, conducting a series of contest related webinars for hams around the world.
In addition to the CQ WW DX Contest webinar on October 11, PVRC Club President Ken Claerbout sent on to radio-sport.net the dates and times of two other events that will take place before the 2009 CQ WW DX SSB Contest:
"A look at the LZ9W Contest Station presented by Wally Stefanov LZ2CJ" will take place on Saturday, October 17 at 22:00 UTC (6 PM EDT).
Just a few days before CQ WW SSB, another webinar will give contesters an inside look at what kind of conditions to expect:
"Propagation Prediction Programs: Their Development and Use by Carl Luetzelschwab K9LA Tuesday, October 20 at 9 PM EDT (October 21 - 01:00 UTC)."
Click here to register for the LZ9W event, and here for the K9LA propagation preview for CQ WW SSB.
The PVRC President has been enthusiastic about the webinars, which began earlier this year, saying it's most certainly a way to spread the word about the ham radio contest hobby.
"As one of the leading contest clubs, I believe we have a responsibility to support the contest community at large, and promote our sport and Amateur Radio in general," Claerbout said back in May.
"This is a tool that can be used to extend coverage of contest topics to a much broader audience," he told radio-sport.net.
At this writing, there are a half dozen PVRC webinars from this year that are available for review by anyone.
You can find those by clicking on the PVRC webinar link on the club home page at www.pvrc.org.
Drop us a line here at radio-sport.net to help us figure out what best to send on to K3EST, K1AR and KR2Q.
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