WRTC-2014 - PRESS RELEASE #25

WINDHAM, NH Issued May 8, 2014. WRTC 2014, Inc., host of the 2014 World Radiosport Team Championship competition, is pleased to announce the awards that will be available for stations that work the WRTC teams during the competition.

The "WRTC2014 Chase" will run concurrently with the IARU HF Championship beginning on July 12 at 1200Z. The fifty nine WRTC2014 stations will have distinctive callsigns that will be easy to recognize (calls to be announced at a later date).

Activity Awards

Andy Blank, N2NT, director of the WRTC2014 competition committee stressed the importance of off-site participants as part of the competition. "The WRTC teams will be using 100 watts to simple antennas. High activity will make the competition more exciting and help identify the more skilled operating teams. In what other sport can you stay home and still be on the field of play?"

Everyone is encouraged to work the WRTC teams on as many bands and modes as possible. All contacts with WRTC2014 stations will be confirmed by QSL card via the bureau for DX stations and direct to US stations. All contacts will also be confirmed through ARRL's Logbook of the World. As an added incentive, each QSO with a WRTC team counts 5 points for the ARRL Centennial QSO Party.

Any station that appears in all 59 WRTC team logs will be able to download a certificate from the WRTC2014 Web site after the contest. No additional application is necessary.

"Assistant Judge" Award

Scores are expected to be very close among the top teams. Log checking will be an important element of certifying the order of finish for all teams. The

WRTC2014 Judging Committee needs as many logs as quickly as possible to assist with the log checking process.

Everyone who submits a log within six hours after the end of the contest will be given the title of "Assistant Judge of WRTC2014." All logs received will be entered into a drawing for one of 25 "WRTC2014 Assistant Judge"

hats.

Bronze Awards

Every station that submits a log containing confirmed contacts with the WRTC teams on 30 or more band/modes will be eligible for the Bronze level award.

These logs will be entered into a drawing to win one of 10 WRTC2014 bronze medals or one of 50 WRTC2014 mouse pads.

Silver Awards

A Silver medal will be awarded to the first 5 stations from each continent and W1 that have confirmed contacts with all 59 teams regardless of mode.

Any other stations that work all 59 teams will be entered into a drawing to win one of 25 WRTC2014 caps.

Gold Awards

Gold medals recognize the highest level of achievement - contacting the WRTC teams on the most band/modes. With 59 teams, 5 bands, and 2 modes, there are 590 possible band/modes available. Gold medals will be awarded to the top 5 band/mode leaders in each continent and W1. In the event of a tie, the order will be determined by earliest completion time.

Eligibility

To earn any of the Bronze, Silver, and Gold awards, participants will be required to submit their contest log within six hours after the end of the contest (by 1800z July 13, 2014). Logs in Cabrillo format meeting the requirements of the IARU HF Championship must be submitted by email to iaruhf@arrl.org and must be acknowledged by the robot. Entrants are encouraged to submit their log immediately after the contest.

Larry Tyree, N6TR, is responsible for managing the WRTC2014 log checking process. "We have less than 24 hours to process and cross-check the logs in order to announce the winners at the Award Ceremony on Monday evening.

Receiving as many logs as possible shortly after the end of the contest will help improve the quality of the log checking."

To help determine the best times to work the WRTC teams, Stu Phillips, K6TU, has made his propagation prediction service available for WRTC2014. Enter your callsign, grid square, and type of antenna system and the service will provide a table of expected band openings from your location to the WRTC2014 area.

Questions about WRTC2014 and the awards program can be sent to info@wrtc2014.org.

About WRTC2014

The World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC) is held every four years and consists of 50+ two-person teams of amateur radio operators from around the world competing in a test of operating skill. Unlike most on-the-air competitions, all stations are required to use identical antennas from the same geographic region, eliminating all variables except operating ability.

Previous WRTCs have been held in Seattle (1990), San Francisco (1996), Slovenia (2000), Finland (2002), Brazil (2006), and Russia (2010).