I notice a couple of spots for activations in the new Italian association this morning. However, the activation spotted appears not to be valid for SOTA. Unfortunately, the long-running unofficial scheme in Italy uses a similar reference system to SOTA. The summit that is MC-005 in the unofficial scheme is not a currently valid SOTA summit.
Chasers are advised to check spots and heard references against information on http://sota-italia.org which is the unofficial scheme in Italy, and SOTAwatch Summits pages / the SOTA Database, which both have the correct information for the approved I SOTA association.
I did this with the spotted activation, and was able to quickly determine that the summit being activated in Italy this morning does not exist in the I SOTA ARM. Activator and chaser logs for summits in the unofficial scheme only cannot be accepted in claims for SOTA awards.
In reply to GW7AAV:
Not being ignorant still trying to get my head around the ins and outs of sota ive got this summit has san vito i take it i have got to now remove this summit from my log any help appreciated on this subject
Yes, sadly you do. The unofficial SOTA group in Italy use the same reference number as we do. The pragmatic approach would be for us to use a different reference but then we end up with the tail wagging the dog.
In reply to G4WSX:
I just had a quick look at the SOTA Database and there no I-stations listed as having made any claim as SOTA activator. There are 3 I-stations listed as having made Chaser claims.
73 de Ken
Does Vesuvius have a number? My Italian geography is poor but I reckon it’s in Campania (CA)but I can’t see it there. Does it have another name (I thought it was called Monte Vesuvio)
SWMBO has banned me from going up it but I’m tempted to disobey.
Does Vesuvius have a number? My Italian geography is poor but I reckon
it’s in Campania (CA)but I can’t see it there. Does it have another
name (I thought it was called Monte Vesuvio)
SWMBO has banned me from going up it but I’m tempted to disobey.
Cheers
Mick M0XMC
Excuse Mick M0XMC but your message is rather cryptic, could you explain better the question or its a joke?
No, nothing cryptic or joking in there, just puzzled why it doesn’t have a SOTA number (and showing my ignorance of Italian geography). It looks big enough.
I don’t think any of the active volcanoes are included at present, perhaps access is limited or controlled? No Etna, Stromboli, or even Volcano itself and the other Lipari islands, but perhaps they might be added at a later date as few associations begin with a complete list.
It’s very strange that the italian SOTA manager don’t give information about references. Probably he’s fighting with the other Italian group that was strangely excluded from SOTA UK, but continues to do radio in the mountains.
My Italian is limited to the words that you might find at the top of a page of music!
I didn’t deal with this matter, but as I remember it the main differences lie in the winter bonus rules and I seem to remember something about the activation zone, too. Perhaps Tom can tell you more.
The long-time reason that the Italian programme was not accepted by SOTA was that it had its own rules - bonus points for difficult ascents, poor weather etc, that were incompatible with the SOTA General Rules.
In late 2010, there were moves for the Italian programme to join SOTA. This time, the stumbling block was the expectation that the activators should keep all their points and records from the previous 8 years in a non-SOTA programme. But then we heard nothing more from them.
In the meantime, Carlo IW1ARE contacted us with proposals for an Italian SOTA association, with full alignment with SOTA General Rules without demand for previous credit in the non-SOTA programme to be counted. This was exactly what we had been waiting for, so worked began with Carlo immediately. At this stage, the SOTA MT did not know that Carlo had split from the other Italian group.
Carlo’s work was excellent and efficient, and thanks to him, we were able to launch SOTA in Italy (I) and Sardinia (IS0) on 15th March 2011. We are aware that some of the summit coordinates need to be more accurate, but we are working on that with Carlo. It is not unusual for fine-tuning to be necessary on the data for a new association shortly after launch.
It is regrettable that there is inevitable confusion between the SOTA references of the official SOTA Italy association and the unofficial programme. But it should be pointed out that the unofficial programme uses the name ‘SOTA’ and the SOTA logo without permission, and has copied the format of SOTA references.
