Three Lost Events...

It seems every time I turn on the computer lately yet another thing has disappeared from the ham radio world. Last week it was CANParks, only 2 weeks after it had been started, it quietly closed down. CANParks, in those two weeks had gained 500 operators, all sending in logs, and enjoying the idea that anything called a "Park" could be assigned a park number and activated.

Yesterday I discovered that both QRP Afield and QRP to the Field had decided to stop their contests. To show you how quietly these shut down, QRP Afield didn't even post a comment on the fact there would be no further contests until after the 2025 event when hams sent in logs, only to be told there was no contest that year and wouldn't be any in the future. I was told the uploaded logs simply went into the garbage can.

QRP to the Field at least posted after the 2026 contest that this would be the last year the contest would be held. Low participation numbers was one of the excuses mentioned, as well as the proliferation of POTA and State/Provincial QSO Parties which now offered a QRP category.

I think the issue here is the fact that neither QRP Afield, or QRP to the Field, had any social media footprint. No Facebook, YouTube Channel, Twitter account, Instagram, or even a Groups.io site. How do you let hams know these niche contests exist if there is no way of getting the word out, other than a couple of very tired looking websites that maybe get updated every third year or so?

I'm equally surprised that no other QRP Club has stepped forward and offered to take over these two contests. With a good, solid, social media presence and a modern website, those two events could be made to be viable again. One only has to look at the way Winter Field Day took off after their modern website was built, and they added a Facebook site as well. 

Any Takers??

Stay Safe Out There!!