[Fists] Re: Sprint

[ATanner283@aol.com]

I have watched this thread with some humor and sadness also. During the few 
years that I was the SPRINT coordinator/person/peeon I was constantly 
inundated with emails from members/nonmembers with suggestions as to all the 
great and wonderful things I should do to make the SPRINT better. A good many 
of these were pretty good, but just as many were not. Especially since I 
alone was doing the work. Recently I posted a question about the validity of 
using a club call involving ops at different locations. Could they all 
contribute their score to the "one." I rcvd many answers, one of which was 
that "the SPRINT is not a contest." Why do we keep score then? 
The pressure used to be on constantly to make the SPRINT longer, have MORE 
SPRINTS, create a club category, allow the use of email logs, bar "multi op" 
stations from competing, split the QRO into two different categories, make 
two categories for QRP and QRP/QRP, change the times to Sundays, change the 
times to morning, change the times to evening, shorten the exchange, include 
the CC number in the exchange, and on and on. A good many of the same names 
came up over and over. I think it's time to give some thought to what we HAVE 
got. Above all we HAVE a great club that stepped in to take over the SPRINTS 
when my job changed. The log biz is NOT an easy one. We HAVE a fine CW 
club/group whatever, we HAVE more SPRINTS, we HAVE a club class, the new 
"oversee-er" has agreed to accept e-mail logs so now we HAVE that. Perhaps 
it's time to stop this petty crap and enjoy CW, the SPRINT, and CW operators 
the way it was meant to be from the beginning. There are no "big prizes" to 
be won. Only the fun of operating a mode that others enjoy also, sharing 
numbers and info regardless of skill level. I can assure you all with the 
utmost confidence, that the big prize that was supposed to be a trip to the 
Bahamas was never forth coming. W5YI had promised us this if we didn't send 
Nancy to debate him in public again.....but he never came across. We had 
better work together, or FISTS will slowly fragment and die because others 
will not want to join a group who can't get along. Take a look at the other 
reflectors also. The CW reflector, Heath, the Collins Hoarders. All these 
groups are in constant turmoil. I don't want to see that happen to us over 
petty stuff..............now back to the key......I hate this 
thing............Al/W8FAX      heavy/heavy(too many boatanchors...house 
sinking)