Islands on the Air (IOTA) celebrated its 50th anniversary as a premier DX programme in July 2014.
The last fifty years have seen the programme grow to 2,500 active island chasers and approximately 15,000 more casual participants. It is perhaps second in scale and scope to the DXCC award; indeed, many would argue it is even more challenging than that programme.
Last year the Society’s Board identified a number of challenges that the programme faced, not least of which was the need to provide an IT system that would allow online island credit submission akin to Logbook of the World (LoTW). Since that time, a small group of IOTA enthusiasts has been working with the Society to ensure that the IOTA programme continues to grow and play the prominent role that it has done in Amateur Radio DXing and contest activity for the last fifty years.
That work has now come to fruition and we are pleased to announce that a new organisation will be formed, to be called the IOTA Foundation. It will be run by IOTA enthusiasts and will manage the IOTA programme in partnership with the Society. One major task for the new organisation will be to develop a new online credit system that is due to be completed in 2017.
Roger Balister, G3KMA, Bob Barden, MD0CCE, Cezar Trifu, VE3LYC and Johan Willemsen, PA3EXX, are the team who will implement the IT changes and form the IOTA Foundation, with representation from radio amateurs at home and abroad.