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In one of the most sweeping series of DQ decisions ever issued for a CQ WW DX contest, five multi-ops were disqualified from the 2008 CQ WW DX SSB Contest according to published results sent to radio-sport.net.
Sources have also indicated to radio-sport.net that other disqualifications are expected in the CQ WW CW contest results as well.
"Disqualified: D4C, E7DX, 9A1P, 9A7A, UU7J. Altering of QSL log times to conform with the 10-minute rule," said the terse note at the end of the results printed in the September 2009 issue of CQ Radio Amateur, the Spanish language version of CQ Magazine.
As for the operators who were part of the disqualified stations:
Also DQ'd was the entry of UU7J, which was operated by Andy Kazantsev UU0JM. On the CQ WW Logs Received Page, UU7J is listed as a Multi-op.
Originally, the link to the 2008 UU7J log showed a Single Op Assisted entry, but as readers pointed out, that was actually the UU7J log from 2007.
In a 3830 posting from October 28, 2008, the ops listed for UU7J are UT5UGR, UU1AZ, UU4JDD, UU4JMG, UU5MAF, UU8JK and UU0JM.
After this story was first published, CQ WW changed the link address for the UU7J log, which confirmed the 3830 listing of the UU7J ops.
Not part of the printed results was the score of Dimitry Kryukov RA3CO, whose entry from HK3RA in Colombia was blocked by the CQ WW Contest Committee, as reported earlier this year by radio-sport.net, for failure to have a legitimate license to operate from HK.
"We were accused of rubberclocking, which is partially true," said Davor Kucelin 9A1UN, who led the 9A1P multi-op.
"When I was checking the log I found 12 QSOs not conforming to the 10 minute rule, said Kucelin, who argued the DQ seemed excessive.
"I would accept without problems to be reclassified as Multi-Multi," he told radio-sport.net, though he admitted he had changed the times of those dozen contacts.
At D4C, the number of questionable contacts was 31 of more than 8k.
"Even we didn't expect this decision," said Fabio Schettino I4UFH, the team leader for D4C's CQ WW SSB effort.
"The committee decision is final, and if errors were committed, this is the right time to learn from then and not do it ever again," Schettino told radio-sport.net
The news leaked out on the internet last week, partly on the website of the Croatian Amateur Radio Association, as word came of two DQ'd multis in their country.
"9A1P i 9A7A diskvalificirani u CQWW SSB 2008?!" read the headline.
As for the reviews given to the stations by the committee, Kucelin 9A1UN was angered by the comment of one CQ log checker from the US, who first noted the "rubber clock" violation and and then added on an extra jab of his own, which was sent to Kucelin.
"Because of his QSO #506, he could not change mult bands until 0246z. But he worked 6Y1V at 0243z, a violation, so he changed the time. What a jerk, like 6Y1V wouldn't be around the entire contest," said the review, which was provided to radio-sport.net by Kucelin.
"I think ('what a jerk') is not the appropriate way," said Kucelin. "Of course we can work 6Y1V on 40 meters anytime in the contest."
"We have learned the lesson but DQ is too much I think," he added.
The Russian rules for 2010 clearly state that anyone DQ'd in a WRTC qualifying contest like CQ WW will not be allowed to apply for the WRTC.
Topping that list is Andy Kotovsky UU4JMG, who was part of the UU7J contest team. Kotovsky is in 5th place in the EU #4 division and seemed headed for WRTC 2010.
"We have learned the lesson," said Davor Kucelin 9A1UN, the head of the 9A1P multi-op in Croatia, who knew was the DQ really meant to him.
"I lose the chance to qualify for WRTC."
Kucelin was on the edge of having a chance to qualify, as he currently rests in 11th place overall in the EU #4 qualifying region from Europe.
Also dropping away will be Darko Martincevi 9A5X, who was in 6th place in the EU #4 regional.
One other op who was disqualified was Braco Memic E77DX, who goes by OE1EMS in the EU #2 regional. Memic was in 7th place with an outside chance to qualify for Russia.
Over 30 ops have now been disqualified from WRTC qualifiers, but only one has been hit with that penalty twice, as now Andy Kazantsev UU0JM, becomes the first double DQ.
With that, comes an even stronger penalty from the family of CQ Magazine contests, since Kazantsev was also disqualified from the 2007 CQ WPX CW contest.
CQ Magazine contest rules state that if an operator is disqualified twice in a five year period, "he or she will be ineligible for any CQ contest awards for three years," which now would apply to UU0JM.
The aggressive actions on cheating had been telegraphed by the CQ WW Contest Committee for months, as one member had predicted "several high profile DQ's" earlier this year.
