Newington, Conn., July 1, 2009 -- With plenty of opportunities to work distant stations from all around the globe and making contacts with many International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Member Society club stations and officials, “The IARU HF Radio Championship is one of Radiosport’s more unique events,” ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X said.  Contestant teams have 24 hours to make as many contacts as they can.  “It’s the only major contest that uses International Telecommunications Union (ITU) zones as part of the contest and gives extra points for IARU Member Society stations -and their officials.”

Some of the international teams travel hundreds of miles to erect radio stations in advantageous positions, such as mountain tops.  Others erect extremely elaborate antenna systems.  Most contestants operate from sites locally, using more modest gear.  But even if their station may not be as elaborate as some others, the changes in the way radio signals bounce off the atmosphere may just give them an edge.

Numerous IARU Member Society stations will be on the air this year, including the German DARC (DAØHQ), France’s  REF-Union (TMØHQ), the Kuwait Amateur Radio Society (9K9HQ), the Nigerian Amateur Radio Society (5N0OCH and others), the Japan Amateur Radio League (8N1HQ, 8N2HQ, etc), the Radio Amateur Society of Thailand (HSØAC), the Namibian Amateur Radio League (V51NAM), the Radio Amateurs of Lebanon (OD5RAL) and dozens of other Member Society stations from around the world. “It is always special to see so many nations represented on the air by their national organization,” Kutzko said. “It reinforces the global nature of Amateur Radio and the common bonds all Amateurs have.”

Amateur Radio contests also have a very practical purpose.  The problems encountered in making contact with other stations while under the pressures of time, constantly changing radio conditions, background noise, stress and lack of sleep are very similar to what happens in emergency communications during disasters.  The skills learned by the operators during the contest and the endurance testing of their equipment are a major part of why the Amateur Radio Service’s capabilities are so valued by emergency response planners worldwide. 

The IARU HF World Championship begins at 1200 UTC Saturday, July 11 and goes until 1200 UTC Sunday, July 12. Complete rules may be found at www.arrl.org/contests.

To see who may be competing in your area, go to www.arrl.org/findaclub.

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