If you never thought about Amateur Radio and sports being used together, then think again. There are many ways you can incorporate ham activities with your other favorite pastimes. All it takes is a little imagination, a few friends, a ball or two and a radio!

Being a member of the OH-KY-IN Amateur Radio Society out of Cincinnati, Ohio, is a very rewarding facet of the hobby for me. Comprised of members from Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, we have a very wide range of interests when it comes to activities. There are many activities to choose from, such as fox hunting, Field Day, Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF), robotics, Sweepstakes and licensing classes, just to name a few; however, with activities, comes work. That is why I decided to organize two activities that involved...playtime!

The first event did not involve trying to find a hidden transmitter in the trees -- it involved trying to find a golf ball that was probably hit out-of-bounds. The first ever OH-KY-IN Golf Outing was born. We decided to have the event in October when all of our other activities were over and we could focus on one thing -- relaxing.

Fearsome Foursomes

The Golf Outing Participants -- bottom row (l-r) Ev Giglio, KC8JR; Dennis Marvin, KB8JVK; John Bennet, WD8NMV, and Dick Arnett, WB4SUV. Top row (l-r) Lynn Ernst, WD8JAW; Bob Frey, WA6EZV; Nathan Ciufo, KA3MTT; Eric Neiheisel, N8YC; Brian DeYoung, K4BRI, and Dana Laurie, WA8M. Not pictured: Gerry Weimer, KD8ASL.

We had three foursomes in our outing, and we played a beautiful course in Boone County, Kentucky named Lassing Pointe. We played a scramble, which means you hit the best ball out of all four shots in your foursome. Upon arrival to the course, I gave each player sleeves of golf balls and bottled water for the event. We all brought handhelds and decided on a simplex frequency so we could keep in touch. Most of the traffic ended up as heckling about bogeys and double-bogeys, and if the organizer of the event (yours truly) would have paid closer attention, he would have been on the right frequency and been able to enjoy more of it.

After 18 holes of golf, everyone was ready to eat. We all drove to my home where my wife Nicole had prepared a feast fit for kings. The winning foursome received gift cards to a local sporting goods store, and the worst putter of the day even received a gag gift. Everyone decided on one thing -- the event was such a hit, we plan to make the OH-KY-IN Golf Outing an annual event.

Fourth and Long on 2 Meters

The second activity I organized was centered on something that has gained a lot of popularity in the past five or six years: fantasy football. For those of you who do not know how fantasy football works, it is based on each person making up a team comprised of all of the current players in the NFL. You choose a specified number of quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and such, and each week you choose who will be playing and who will be benched for the week. You are the manager of the team, and you are put up against the other managers in your league each week. Hence the birth of -- you guessed it -- the OH-KY-IN Fantasy Football League.

Most leagues hold their draft at someone's house, a bar or restaurant. I wanted to get some more activity on our flagship repeater, so I decided to hold the draft as an informal net on our 146.670 repeater, with myself as net control. I have always been thankful for the precious frequency privileges we have been afforded, and I figured it would be a great way to use those FM rigs a little more. The draft lasted close to two hours and we actually had to switch to our 146.925 repeater so as not to interfere with our club's Tech-Talk Net, which helps to answer technical questions brought to the net by its participants.

The Winning Foursome -- (l-r) Eric Neiheisel,N8YC; Dennis Marvin, KB8JVK; Gerry Weimer, KD8ASL, and Brian DeYoung, K4BRI.

We had team names as simple as call signs, and as fun as "The Flying Electrons" and "The ZCC Wailing Gophers." Here is an excerpt from an e-mail the winner of our league sent me:

"And thanks for taking the time to run a league for OH-KY-IN. It was a unique experience to do a draft on a net, and a ton of fun. It provided a great reason to dust off the rig during a time when I hadn't been doing much with it. Can't wait until next year. If I remember right, the winner gets an Icom IC-7800, right? Just let me know where to pick that up!"

While the winner of the league was a little off on the prize, he did make a good point -- the rig got some use when it normally would not have.

He Shoots! He Scores!

At the beginning of this article, you may have asked, "What do sports have to do with Amateur Radio?" My answer to you would be to find two activities that have commonalities and you are sure to evoke fun times and participation. We even gained a new member for our organization, and if you play your cards right, you can gain members for your club, too.

One of my main goals with these events was to get people on the air a little bit more. It is no secret that in many areas of the country, the popularity of 2 meter use has been on the decline. It is relatively easy to organize an event that encourages us to pick up a handheld or microphone. My challenge to you is to cowboy up and try it. The Spectrum Defense Fund (see www.arrl.org/defense)can also use our help. No matter how big or small your donation, every little bit helps.

So for now, I am left dreaming about green fairways and playoff spots. Maybe one year I will be able to play the same golf ball for all 18 holes, or be in the Super Bowl of fantasy football. Until then, I will just keep using those frequencies I have been given. But when I do make all the greens in regulation or get to the "Big Dance" in football, guess what -- you will hear about it on the air!

Licensed since he was 11, Nathan Ciufo, KA3MTT, holds an Amateur Extra class license. He sits on the Board of Directors for the OH-KY-IN Amateur Radio Society, and is its membership chairman. He is a pharmacist for Walgreens. He lives in Burlington, Kentucky.

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