Terms of Reference

Contest Support Committee Terms of Reference

The Committee comprises maximum of 20 members in addition to the Chair.

As much committee business as possible will be conducted electronically.

At their discretion, the Chair may, call two face to face meetings of the CSC in addition to the combined contest committees meeting.

The Terms of Reference of the Committee are as follows;

  1. Facilitate amateur radio contesting on behalf of both the HF Contest Committee (HFCC) and the VHF Contest Committee (VHFCC)
  2. Support the HFCC and VHFCC in their engagement with the contesting community, and to engage with the RSGB’s contest community on the user-facing services provided by the Contest Support Committee (CSC)
  3. Liaise with the HFCC and VHFCC to ensure the CSC is able to resource the planned contests and support contest-specific adjudication requirements
  4. Provide the technical support needed to evaluate the effectiveness of all contests against their objectives on an annual basis
  5. Develop or upgrade software for the management of contests. Software should be written in such a way, where appropriate, as to maximise the speed of delivering results whilst minimising the need for adjudicator intervention and discretion in arriving at a contest result
  6. Adjudication of each contest shall be undertaken in a fair and nonpartisan manner. In the event of an uncertainty in the contest rules to consult with the responsible RSGB contest committee to seek clarification
  7. Resolve minor matter of dispute with the adjudication of a contest. Where the matter is not resolved to the mutual satisfaction of both the contestant and the adjudicator, or the CSC chair deems it necessary, the matter is to be passed to the relevant spectrum committee for resolution. If, on closer inspection, the matter involves a question of policy the matter should be passed to the relevant spectrum committee
  8. In the case of a CSC member entering a contest that he or she is due to adjudicate and being placed in an award winning position, or being part of a team in an award winning position, the entry shall be reviewed by a subcommittee of the Contest Committee
  9. To support the HFCC and VHFCC in the handling of any cases of dispute in relation to the contests that it has adjudicated
  10. Publish on the Contest Committee’s website in a timely manner the results of all Society contests and submit leading contest results to the news bulletin editor for transmission over GB2RS, together with feature articles on relevant contests—e.g. HF NFD, VHF NFD and IOTA—in RadCom
  11. Manage the issuing of certificates in accordance with the rules together with provision of relevant information for trophies to RSGB HQ
  12. Provide such technical assistance as is needed to support the necessary cooperation with IARU Region 1 national societies in all relevant contest-related matters
  13. Provide such technical assistance is needed to work with the Spectrum Managers and the Spectrum Forum on contest-related matters, including the preparation of papers for IARU meetings
  14. Work with the HF and VHF Managers, the Spectrum Forum and the IARU Committee on the technical aspects of contest-related matters, including the preparation of papers for IARU meetings
  15. Assist Ofcom in the management the allocation and administration of Special Contest Calls.

Terms of Reference Common to all three RSGB Contest Committees

  1. The Chair of each committee shall be appointed by the Board. A Board Member will be appointed as a Liaison Member of each committee. The role of the Liaison Member is to provide Board-level oversight of the work of the Committee
  2. The appointment of the chair will be reviewed annually by the Board.
  3. Each Committee Chair will be responsible for the appointment of committee members other than ex-officio members, and for terminating their membership. The appointment will be for an initial term specified by the chair, and may, after review be renewed for a further term determined by the chair. Succession planning is important and it is a role of the chair to encourage new recruits, as is the need for balanced geographic input and representation. To ensure continuity the chair may vary the length of any appointment term. Members selected for a shorter initial term than their peers, or not reselected for a further term, should recognise that this is a normal process and, as such, is not a reflection on them or their abilities
  4. A quorum shall comprise one half of the number of full members of the committee rounded down to a whole number. Only full members have formal voting rights. The chair has a casting vote
  5. The three Contest Committee Chairs are to work as a team in all matters related to RSGB Contest matters. Matters that overlap the committees should be resolved between them, and only exceptionally should they be raised to the RSGB Board via the responsible Board member. Where a chair has a conflict of interest in any matter within their purview, the matter should be deferred to another contest committee chair. Exceptionally the matter may be deferred to the responsible Board member
  6. The three committees shall work cooperatively to maintain an RSGB contesting vision and strategy against which annual objectives are set as a part of the annual RSGB Operational Plan, with execution monitored during the year
  7. The three committees need to continue to develop a transparent operation and communications with the contest community by maintaining an up-to-date website as well as other channels such as social media and internet reflectors
  8. In order to promote co-operation between the three contest committees it is recommended that the combined committees meet face to face twice per year. The three contest committee chairs shall agree amongst themselves the meeting arrangements, agenda and chairing of the agenda items
  9. In addition to such other reports and consultations necessary for the conduct of the business of their committee, the chair—or their nominee—of each committee will provide an annual opportunity for face to face discussion with the contest community on matters relevant to the work of their committee
  10. One chair should represent the contest matters on the IARU Committee. The chairs should elect one of their number to be the representative
  11. Where a matter essential to the running of RSGB contests has not been specified in one of the contest committee ToRs, the three chairs shall jointly agree which committee will take initial responsibility for the matter prior to formal amendment to the appropriate ToR