Editor’s Note: OnAllBands is pleased to post a series of articles written by accomplished amateur radio contester and DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist Kirk Pickering, K4RO. The articles, originally published in the National Contest Journal from 2008-2011 and updated with current information, offer valuable insights for both contesters new and old.
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A letter I received from an avid contester asked the following question:
“How about an article on how to start a contest club. Mainly what rules/obligations are needed to be met so that the club is recognized for contests. For example, I have heard that the members must live within 50 miles, etc. And how it all works in general. Or where can I find this info?”
While I mentioned the importance of joining a contesting club in a previous article, these questions seemed very important to address. Not everyone has a contesting club available in their local area. Sometimes the only way to join a contesting club is to form one! I decided to ask some of the folks who were instrumental in starting the Tennessee Contest Group (TCG) to share their thoughts for the article. Mark, K0EJ, and Ric, WO4O, both played crucial roles in the formation of the TCG, and their comments are sprinkled throughout the article.
While some of this information is specific to the origins of the TCG, the general principles should apply to any group considering forming a formal club.
Start With the Operators
K0EJ reflects on the early days of the TCG: “I think the start was building on a core group of operators who wanted to play in the NAQP contests.”
There were folks in the Nashville area operating the NCJ contests who became aware of the team competition. A few of them decided to form a team and submit a score together for one of the NAQP contests. A contest club can start that simply!
After winning the team competition for that event, the operators decided to try it again. Even more importantly, they decided to invite others to participate along with them. I remember receiving a “cold call” from Ric WO4O (then WA6KUI) one evening, asking if I would like to join the newly forming Tennessee Contest Group. Ric, Mark, and others took the time to call and write active operators whom they heard on the air. Note that this was all before email and the internet. Those attempts at personally contacting hams were likely the single most important step in forming a new contest club.
In this day and age of the internet, that task is probably even easier to do. WO4O found operators by scanning the contest results. When Ric saw a call sign from Tennessee that he didn’t recognize in the contest results, he made an effort to contact that ham. Field Day was also a recruiting ground.
- WO4O: Invite those that share a common interest and purpose to join your club. Search the published contest results for call signs of contest stations and operators in your area. Create a database from which to begin recruiting members. Send out invitations to join the club via QSL postcards and emails. Make eyeball QSOs at hamfests and invite prospective members. Members are constantly recruiting new members. Our club cannot have too many club members. The more, the merrier.
- K0EJ: As we decided to expand from our humble start, Ric was really good at looking at logs and contest results to see who was already playing. People like to be noticed for their efforts. It was just a matter of asking if they wanted to play with us. We still compare notes about who we worked in Tennessee during 160M/SS/etc.
Meetings
At the time our club was forming, there was virtually no structure, no leader, and no formal organization. We simply met for breakfast once a month and talked contesting. Mark notes that those early days over coffee allowed us to build a bond. Being new to contesting at the time, I remember those early meetings with great fondness. There seemed to be unlimited enthusiasm and a lot of camaraderie. It was one of the things that got me hooked on contesting.
After competing in several NAQP events, we wanted to try competing as a club in ARRL-sponsored events like the Sweepstakes and 10-meter contests. The ARRL required that clubs have a formal constitution and roster and hold regular meetings. We were making the meeting requirements, but we had no formal organization or roster.
- WO4O: As an ARRL-affiliated club, the TCG was obligated to meet the monthly “Eyeball QSO” requirements, which was really a benefit insofar as this solidified many relationships that continue through today. Later, our club also began meeting at the QTH of different TCG members for Show & Tell and to conduct official business. This was a more intimate setting, and touring the different contest stations was a valuable learning experience.
- K0EJ: Meetings are now random events. Two things come to mind. Having a means to communicate/share ideas is truly a crucial part of a vibrant club. Even though we are now a “virtual meeting club,” the local clusters still meet at random intervals. Having someone that can create that comm-link, whether it’s a reflector, a group e-mail address, or even a phone tree is crucial to keeping the club alive. Secondly, we have minimal official infrastructure—truly a KISS-principle. We do request/accept/whatever when someone wants to fill a niche. We still have “meetings of opportunity” but mostly for the social aspects. We don’t do “business” at these events.
I’ve come to believe that eyeball meetings are very important to any club. Several years ago, the ARRL dropped the meeting requirements, and the TCG moved toward the internet as a means of keeping in touch and conducting business. It was an era when fewer folks seemed to have the time for meetings, and before long, all of our interaction was conducted online.
While I have played a big role in moving the TCG online, I feel that something very important was lost when we quit having regular eyeball meetings. There is a human factor that simply does not come across on the internet. If you can find a way to keep having face-to-face meetings, I strongly recommend it.
A Club Needs a Name
By this time we had begun calling ourselves the “Tennessee Contest Group,” which was the name coined by Jim, K4AMC. A name is important to help establish an identity for the club. Eventually, we adopted an eye-catching club logo, which we try to spread around whenever the opportunity arises. There is a similarity to marketing a “brand” in business. It takes time, but eventually the brand starts to become recognized with perseverance.
Organization
- WO4O: Establish a “government” in your club. You’ll need: a leader (president), a deputy leader who’s in charge when the leader cannot make it (vice president), perhaps a secretary, and, if you’ll be collecting “dues” (donations from the members that go toward the club in some way), a treasurer. The TCG opted to name our primary leader as “Facilitator” and…
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- (Image/Tennessee Contest Group)
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