First summit activation after 5 years???

I wish to draw all of attention on this question.

There is a list of the summit in SOTA website. Typical sample is those below
https://summits.sota.org.uk/summit/JA/SO-027
It shows “First Activation” in right side as shown like below

This gives me a great motivation for first activation. Actually I have several first activation records.

But recently my friends got back-dated SOTA activation reports by others and his first activation record has been swapped by this back dated reports. It was more than 5 years retro-record and surely it might not be activated as SOTA program. This makes my friend very disappointed.

Then I thought this may happen for everyone. The reason of this back dated report may come from this “First activation” record in each summits list and looks like very honorable work. Some SOTA activation in high peak or dangerous peak, yes it is very honorable but is this “First Activation” indication is really need?

First activation is easily made for old man like me who joined SOTA program from very beginning. But it is not easy for young activators. SOTA Japan wish to invite many young stars in the program and it is a little dint in the program for them.

I actually got First Activation record and was my big motivation but now I’m wondering if this is really required to show in each summits list.

This may affect first activator record holders, actually me too, but we need to think about the case like this 5 years back-dated reporting and how young stars see this First activation in SOTA program. I simply don’t want people to get compete mind by this indication.

Toru K JH0CJH / JA1CTV SOTA MT, SOTA Japan AM

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Toru,

I totally agree with you.
But I appreciate how the system is set up at the moment.
The first activation record is just for statistics. There is no official competition. And this is for a good reason: Do not let activators take risk for irresponsible and dangerous expeditions.
If we leave out this record, nothing will change. There still will be a list of summits with “not activated yet” record. This will be motivation enough, even it is not documented anywhere.
Taking the risk for a first activation is a private matter, nothing to do with sota program.
…just my personal opinion

vy 73 Martin

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Toru,
If the dates of activation were not shown and if the activating calls listed in alphabetical order no one would know who the first activator was once a second person activated it.

However I don’t think that the listing of the first to activate should be a disincentive. Less than 5% of my activations have been first activations.

73
Ron
VK3AFW

In my opinion, it’s very interesting to have the information of the first activator, callsign and date and I don’t think this should discourage any of the newer participants in the SOTA programme.

Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the very first mountaineers to conquer the Everest on May 29th, 1953 and so it will remain forever without discouraging anybody from trying to conquer that summit as well.

Anyone joining the SOTA programme now shall understand that many of the listed summits were already activated by those joining the SOTA programme earlier and I don’t think this shall discourage anyone from willing to hike and activate them.

With over 160 summits listed in my region EA2/NV, when I joined the SOTA programme, I found a few of them never activated, so I had the pleasure and the privilege of activating some of them for the first time. But there are still many summits that I have never activated in my region and I very much want to. All the summits I still have to activate in EA2/NV have already been activated, but this doesn’t discourage me at all from willing to explore and activate them whenever possible.

I find highly interesting to know who activated a summit first and when was that, also who and how many have activated it later and when, as well as on which bands/modes.

73,

Guru

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