British Columbia QSO Party

The BC QSO party will take place on Feb 04th 2012 and lasts for 12 hours.

Hi
My name is Rebecca, VA7BEC and I’m the contest coordinator for the British Columbia QSO Party.

I am contacting amateur radio groups throughout BC with an enthusiastic invitation to join Orca DX and Contest Club -- the new sponsor of the BC QSO Party -- in this annual event to promote on-air activity in our great province.

Please find attached the official announcement. Feel free to print it out to pass around at your next meeting, or post it on your website for easy access by members of your group.

The most important thing to know is the date and time of the 2012 event: February 4, local time, 8am to 8pm. (1600z Feb 4 to 0400z Feb 5)

Other details, including rules, exchange and multipliers, are posted on the BCQP pages of the Orca DXCC website. Visit http://orcadxcc.org/bcqp.html.

While the sponsor is new, the objective remains the same. BC stations can work anyone anywhere, and stations outside BC have to work VE7/VA7s.

Because of the BC focus, the participation of operators in BC is crucial to the success of this event.

I realize that contesting is not everyone’s cup of tea, and that even among contesters, QSO parties are often overlooked as not competitive enough. But when you present this email and/or the announcement, please mention that the casual and friendly atmosphere of the BCQP presents certain advantages that the high-stakes contests cannot.

Namely,

The slower pace allows newcomers to ease into the world of contesting and try out contesting strategies without irritating operators who are only interested in a high score. This is great practice for Field Day or a RAC contest.

It’s great for practicing different modes without the pressure of an impatient pileup and for acquiring familiarity with new logging software or remote operations.

It’s an excellent opportunity to hone operating and elmering skills.

In addition, the QSO party format is more relaxed, allowing for a bit of chit-chat along with the exchange for people who don't particularly like contests. The BCQP can be a really fun event, and the more participation there is, the more fun it will be.

As an aside, I ran with the previous sponsor's call sign last year and made 400 Qs in 12 hours -- not bad for a QSO party, in contesting terms -- plus I had some nice chats with operators in other QSO parties and attracted some surprise DX (South Africa, Brazil and Antarctica!!). The day was much more enjoyable than I thought it would be.

I hope members of the Nanaimo Amateur Radio Association will join Orca DXCC in BCQP 2012. We’ll have a whale of a good time.

73,

Rebecca VA7BEC