6. Scoring and Adjudication

Each RSGB contest has a designated adjudicator whose name and contact details are printed at the foot of each set of contest rules. It is the adjudicator’s job to score the contest and publish the results.

When the closing date and time for the contest has passed, the adjudicator will download and analyse all the logs received. Most of this task is performed automatically by a bespoke software programme. However, human intervention is needed to examine and resolve anomalies, a task that can take many hours. The objective is to publish the results as soon as possible but please note that all the adjudicators are volunteers, many of whom have “day jobs!”

The adjudicator may contact you by email if there are problems with your log or they have any questions about your entry. Equally, if you encounter any difficulty with compiling or submitting your entry (particularly if you need more time to complete the process) please contact the adjudicator as soon as possible. They are all very approachable and will be only too pleased to help. Please note that amended entries can be re-submitted at any time before the closing date.

The objective of your first contests will be to make as many contacts as possible within the allotted time and to record them accurately in your log. As described in section 3, a valid contact is one in which both parties exchange an agreed set of data. The adjudication process compares what you have recorded in your log as having been sent and received to the information in the log of the other person. If the two logs are not identical the QSO will not be counted and one or both parties may lose additional QSO points by way of a penalty. A detailed explanation of how discrepancies are treated is available here.

Making lots of errors can seriously affect your final score and the number of errors can sometimes make the difference between winning or not, so it pays to be as accurate as possible.