PRESENTER OPINION : Contests and award schemes - what is the difference?

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Up until lately, in general terms, these two activities had their boundaries, defined something like this:

AWARD SCHEMES

Have no end date, activators and chasers may join or leave the scheme at any time.

There can be different sections, but an operator works to his or her target level.

Within the scheme itself, there is no "best operator".

Activity can be on any amateur band and on any day of the week.

CONTESTS

Are for a set period of time 4,6,8 hours, 1 day or a weekend(2 days) are common periods.

Any part of the contest more than a 4 hour sprint (which is often on a weekday evening), are at the weekends.

ONLY the ITU-defined contest bands and ideally the areas defined within those bands for contests by the IARU should be used.

There can be sections (for example, based on power), but within each section, the aim is to find the "best operator/station" based on points earned.

Of late, it seems to me that some contest organisers are calling their contests "Awards" in order to be able to operate on the WARC bands every day of the week.

I find this a little worrying as the ITU is the one who defines that the contests take place only on certain bands (often those where Amateur radio is the primary user), and if they perceive that this ruling is being abused, they may take action against amateur radio in general, not the contest/award organisers.

There is a good example of where one organisation covers both a "true" award scheme and also run a contest, which can provide points for the award scheme but is separate from it and only runs on a weekend and not on the WARC bands - that is IOTA.

What do you think? Please add comments in the comments box below.

PRESENTER OPINION: Amateur radio and RVing are great together→

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PRESENTER OPINION: Amateur radio and RVing are great together

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PRESENTER OPINION : When the Internet Goes Dark: What “Agent Sonya” Teaches Content Creators About Resilient Communications

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PRESENTER OPINION : When the Internet Goes Dark: What “Agent Sonya” Teaches Content Creators About Resilient Communications

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For a generation raised on always-on connectivity, the proposed solution is often more connectivity—satellite internet services such as Starlink. These platforms undeniably provide critical lifelines for journalists and NGOs operating in hostile environments. But from a systems engineering perspective, they introduce a familiar risk: centralisation. No matter how advanced, any network dependent on a relatively small number of ground stations, satellites, or control systems represents a potential single point of failure—whether through technical disruption, regulatory pressure, or direct attack.

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