I recently heard that a hard-working GMA activator is being banned from Sota?!
I don’t want to interfere, but what could be the reason?
An S2S call from a GMA summit? Factually correct, but frowned upon?
An activator that is finally reached in the pile up and then “only” passes a GMA reference. What a disappointment!
Reasons for exclusion? Never.
73 Chris
Well don’t then.
Don’t believe everything you hear, Chris. Speculating on a rumour is pointless.
I am always happy to call a GMA activation, GMA and SOTA are not in competition, they are companions in the fellowship of the mountains.
I may have led a sheltered life but I had no notion what you’re all talking about and had to google the term.
At a quick glance it looks like Global Mountain Activity is a complete rip-off of SOTA and uses the same terminology (activator, chaser, summit-to-summit, etc) and piggy-backs on SOTA and other similar schemes. I can’t see that it adds anything other than for those who like to get all their points in one pot.
Their website says Mountain radio without if’s and buts and then invites you to download pages of “rules” [their word!].
Is it really necessary to dive in and criticise like this?
Someone has been accused of seriously breaking the SOTA rules. Nothing yet has been proven beyond doubt. Evidence from the person accused has been received and evidence from the accuser. The accused has had their SOTAwacth/Database access temporarily disabled. That is so that IF they are guilty they don’t go and edit their log submissions etc. IF they are innocent then it is annoying. They can still activate and chase.
However, until all the evidence is viewed and considered, the accused is entitled to privacy. The MT are spread around the world so it takes time for everyone to view and consider the evidence etc.
As the person accused is currently considered innocent, identifying them, speculating what they have done will not help them and may lead to people guessing who that person is and publicising that name/call. What if the wrong name/call is published. And when it turns out they are innocent and have been publicly named and shamed?
There is more to life than SOTA LOL…
73 Phil
No, its rules defining summits are different, as are the rules for allocating points. A significant difference is that a GMA summit must have a name, SOTA summits named by a summit height do not count for GMA. It is a distinct award and there is no reason why it cannot co-exist happily with SOTA.
But unfortunately, for many, SOTA is the only way to get noticed or even praised by others …
If that’s what floats their boat, why not? Let’s not be judgemental!
Do you have a reference for that? I can find no reference to it in the GMA rules.
I do vaguely remember something about “any named (on a map) summit” can be activated for GMA. I’m not sure if the converse is true though - ie that if it isn’t named, it can’t be valid.
Its in the section “GMA Rules in a nutshell”.
You need to scroll down to “definition of summits”, there you find it under 2.).
However, I would not reduce GMA to a mountain programme anymore. It has meanwhile grown to an embracing platform for many more outdoor activities.
Perhaps you should have had more than a quick glance then. I’ve worked a few GMA activators from summits when they’ve called in. I’m surprised you haven’t too.
SOTA/GMA or POTA/WWFF, it’s all a bit Life of Brian…
Rather than worry about if I should join the ‘people’s mountain operators’ or the ‘popular operators of mountains’ clubs I think I’ll just look on the bright side and enjoy my radio, and dabble a bit in whatever takes my fancy.
Maybe someone is just “a very naughty boy”. Or not.
It’s not very obvious from that but the GMA Rules in a Nutshell section on the website makes it much clearer.
It adds the ability to take part in a contest, which SOTA does not.
I know contests are not everyones idea of fun, but some of us do enjoy the added contacts and chance of S2S that a contest may give.