[MiQP-Mail] 2017 MiQP Date

David Pruett k8cc at comcast.net
Sat Feb 25 12:01:44 CST 2017


MiQPers:

The 2017 Michigan QSO Party is just seven weeks away, April 15-16, 
2017.  We hope everyone is making plans for get on the air for this 
years' event.

One of the challenges which comes with holding an event in the Spring 
(and particularly in April) is the possibility that Easter will fall on 
the same weekend.  The date of the Easter holiday shifts from year to 
year based on factors not immediately obvious to the casual observer 
(like me).

These are the circumstances for 2017.  Easter is the day after MiQP.  
Historically, this has had an impact on MiQP by lowering participation.

This situation for 2017 was pointed out to the MiQP chairman and 
organizing committee late last summer, and it was suggested to shift the 
date of the 2017 MiQP.  April has five weekends in 2017, and it was 
reported that the 2017 Florida QSO Party (which typically is held on the 
weekend following MiQP) would occur a week later, creating an open 
weekend (at least for 2017) after the regular MiQP date on the third 
weekend in April.

The chairman polled the members of the committee and certain other MiQP 
participants and observers (a total of 12 people in all) as to whether 
the date of the 2017 MiQP should be shifted to avoid Easter.  The 
results of this informal poll were 3:1 in favor of keeping the regular 
date for 2017, with most respondents expressing the opinion that keeping 
the "regular" weekend, serving to "keep our spot", was more beneficial 
than the potentially small boost for 2017.

The chairman also did a little research, examining the MiQP results from 
recent years in which MiQP and Easter fell on the same weekend vs. 
"normal" years.  The results of this research were a little 
surprising.   While the number of MiQP entries received in a year where 
MiQP and Easter fell on the same weekend were reduced significantly, the 
negative effect on the number of QSOs made by those MiQPers who DID get 
on the air was much less.  Using the most recent MiQP/Easter convergence 
(2014) and the years before and after for comparison:

                     2013        2014        2015

# of entries        294         190         194

avg QSOs made       153         126         131

avg operating time5:08        4:59        5:03

So, from the pre-Easter year to an Easter year. the number of entries 
dropped 35.4% while the average number of QSOs made dropped 16.4%.  
Average time spent on the air in the contest dropped only 3%.

So while Easter does have an impact on MiQP, the effects do not ruin the 
contest significantly for those participants who DO choose to get on the 
air.  For all of these reasons, the MiQP Committee decided that the 2017 
MiQP would remain on it's "regular" weekend, April 15-16, 2017, and this 
date has been posted on the MiQP home page since last fall.

We recognize that Easter means different things to different people.  
With Good Friday on Friday, and Easter on Sunday, it makes a busy 
weekend depending how you choose to celebrate it. But MiQP is Saturday 
only, so it IS possible to operate MiQP without interfering with the 
holiday weekend if you so choose. It is our hope that by bringing this 
to everyone's attention seven weeks before the contest, more people will 
find a way to fit MiQP into their plans for the holiday weekend.  We 
hope everyone will get on the air on April 15 and make some QSOs in the 
2017 Michigan QSO Party.

73,
Dave Pruett, K8CC
Chairman, Michigan QSO Party
k8cc at comcast.net





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