A space weather forecasting contest: Fall '09 summary

On 05 October 2009, a space weather forecasting contest was initiated at http://swxcontest.gmu.edu/. This contest, sponsored by the Space Weather Laboratory at George Mason University, in Fairfax, Va., is intended to bring space weather to a broader community by allowing interested students and researchers to get hands-on experience with space weather prediction. High-school students, undergraduates, alumni, graduate students, and faculty/staff at any university or research institution may participate in this informal competition. The contest will run for 20 weeks, and certificates will be awarded for the best individual forecast and team forecast at the end of each month. A trophy will be awarded to the best team and individual forecasters at the end of the contest, on 1 May 2010. The contest Web page includes links to a mailing list that will be used for announcements, discussion, and debate. Community members can provide suggestions about any aspect of the contest; these suggestions will be put into consideration for the next contest. In this presentation I will give a brief overview of space weather forecasting and discuss the preliminary results from the Fall '09 forecasts.