Terms of Reference

HF Contest Committee Terms of Reference

Comprises a maximum of 10 members in addition to the chair.

It is recommended that that as much committee business as possible be conducted electronically.

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

The Terms of Reference of the Committee are as follows:

  1. To promote and organize amateur radio contesting on frequencies below 30MHz for RSGB Members and RSGB Affiliated Societies as an entertaining means of boosting technical knowledge and improving operating skills
  2. To engage in consultation and dialogue with the HF contesting community in the UK and the Crown Dependencies—The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands—so that rules and adjudication mechanisms have general support
  3. Decisions of the Committee shall be transparent and distributed through various channels—e.g. social media and web, monthly Contest Committee newsletter, GB2RS, RadCom) including the publication of minutes of meetings in accordance to RSGB Bylaw 11
  4. To develop a year-round plan for contests on bands below 30 MHz taking into account IARU guidelines in liaison—where appropriate—with other individuals and bodies including the HF Manager, and the Spectrum Forum, and in open consultation with the contesting community. This will include consideration of the contest’s fit to the RSGB contesting strategy and the objectives for each contest
  5. Liaise with the RSGB VHF Contest Committee to ensure that contests do not unduly conflict
  6. Liaise with the RSGB Contest Support Committee (CSC) to ensure that the CSC is able to resource the planned contests and support the contest specific adjudication requirements
  7. To evaluate the effectiveness of all contests against their objectives on an annual basis, taking action where the contests fail to deliver on the objectives
  8. When developing the rules and adjudication principles for contests, due consideration should be given to the complexity of the software that the CSC need to develop in support of those contests, and the dual goal of speeding up the delivery of results as well as minimising the need for adjudicator intervention in arriving at the contest result
  9. To support the CSC in its adjudication duties by providing any required clarification of the rules of contests and adjudication principles for which it is responsible
  10. Shall, with the support of the CSC, handle any cases of dispute in relation to the contests for which it is responsible via an agreed appeals process
  11. The HFCC may require that in the case of a dispute in relation to a contest for which it is responsible, the matter be transferred from the CSC to the HFCC for resolution
  12. To cooperate as necessary with IARU Region 1 national societies in all relevant contest-related matters
  13. To work with the HF Manager, the Spectrum Forum and IARU Committee on contest-related matters, including the preparation of papers for IARU meetings

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