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Some years ago when I was a DEC, I noticed that quite a few 100% due and legitimate S.E.T. points were "left on the table" by various areas, groups, and SET operations and operators.

I called those "free-throw" points because, just as in basketball, nobody is stopping you from scoring them. They all just stand around and watch you make the toss.

A press release (item L on the S.E.T. form) is a very easy thing to do. Big city newspapers and little town weeklies both need stories. Make your press release early, well before SET, and you might get a reporter to your EOC or SET site to write a bigger article about it. Emergency work is a big subject in the press these days.

Don't have a press release? Think you can't write one? Call Allen Pitts, W1AGP, at the ARRL HQ. I bet he has a sample one you can do a light edit on. But be Ye advised: be certain to inject additional information of LOCAL appeal. "The Press" want local relevance, and local impact, and local interest.

"Press" includes TV, but they won't know you're there unless you tell them well ahead of time. TV news crews are scheduled---dispatched---ahead of time for feature stories. Chances are the assignment desk will be interested in your story if they know about it. Don't be shy. They need "stuff". You're helping THEM by providing "stuff".

Be sure to ASK how many new hams you have there in your group (item B). Be sure to report it up the chain. It's a free-throw! Ask some new guys to join in this year. People often wait till asked---they don't want to barge in uninvited. Invite them.

Have somebody drive around for an hour and observe or measure something relevant to the scenario for your served agency. (item D) It's another free-throw!

Look at every line on the reporting form and consider honestly, " did we do that?" You'll almost always find things you did and forgot about, or things you could have done easily if you had only thought about them ahead of time.

They say SET is not a contest, and that's true. It's a large, cooperative, somewhat realistic drill. But nobody says you can't look at it partly as a contest, and make the highest score you can by maximizing those free-throws.

The worst lost points are the ones worked for and earned, but for some reason they go totally UN-reported. Somebody procrastinated till they forgot entirely. Report right away, while the experience is still fresh in your memory; and always be alert for those free-throw points.

Looks really nice when one sees one's group score well and high up in the standings. Gives one pride in all the work we do as a group, and all the effort we put in when we score well. Especially when our team out-scores some big-shot place that SHOULD beat us nine ways to Sunday.

Do you suppose QST would still print the results and the points every year if it REALLY didn't matter?

Tell me the points don't matter. See if I believe you.