This was my first attempt at a contest since getting my general license last August. Never thought contesting would be so much fun! I made quite a few contacts and logged quite a few states that I can use toward WAS. Most importantly for me, I learned a lot about operating techniques, which I think is one of the goals of contesting in general.

But though I had fun, and though I'm glad I participated, I must say that I was completely surprised by how badly ARRL bungled the scoring. This event was advertised for at least several months, and ARRL is a national, well-established organization. How could ARRL roll out a new contest using a completely new scoring methodology without having it completely vetted? And what would have been so hard about using the tried-and-true methods used in every other contest? If the idea was for rookies to get immediate feedback, I, for one, would have preferred waiting the normal amount of time and having the knowledge that my scores would be counted.

Anyway, I'm glad I participated, and I intend to enter more contests in the future, and so I guess the contest served its intended purpose -- for me, at least.

Jim