(Image/WRTC)
After years of planning, fundraising and anticipation, the 2018 edition of the World Radiosport Team Championship in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Germany is almost here. Two-person teams from around the globe will be bringing their Amateur Radio contesting skills to see who will triumph in the 24-hour SSB and CW competition running from Saturday July 14 at 1200 UTC to Sunday, July 15 at 1200 UTC.
DX Engineering is a proud gold sponsor of WRTC 2018. Our Amateur Radio enthusiasts are looking forward to working the teams who will be operating in the field under the same conditions and using the same antenna setup.
Read all the details, latest news, contestant profiles, and ways you can participate here.
Here are a few reasons to get excited about this quadrennial celebration of Amateur Radio:
It Brings the World Together
Communication can build bridges and break down barriers. Or as we at DX Engineering like to say, Amateur Radio helps us “shrink the globe.” While the competition will certainly be fierce, the 63 teams— including three youth teams—represent this spirit of fellowship and international goodwill engrained in Amateur Radio’s ethos.
This sentiment was echoed during this interview with Wittenberg mayor Jochen Kirchner, who discussed the high level of cooperation and volunteerism that made WRTC 2018 possible, as well as the community of Amateur Radio operators who “make a decisive contribution to international friendship.”
Played out in the immense shadow of the FIFA World Cup, the WRTC features a similar global flavor. Competitors from more than 30 countries will be looking to unseat current champions from Boston 2014: Daniel Craig, N6MJ, and Christopher Hurlbut, KL9A from the United States. In all, fourteen teams from North America qualified for the event.
Here is the rundown of countries represented: Argentina, Bosnia Herzegovena, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Malaysia, Montenegro, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, United States, Ukraine, and Venezuela.
On-Air Coverage to Reach North America
The German Amateur Radio Club e.V. will broadcast a program about the WRTC in English on Saturday, July 14 from 11:00 to 12:00 UTC using the 49m short-wave band on 6070 kHz/300 kW and on 13860 kHz/300 kW. On 13860 kHz—only 140 kHz below the 20m band—a 20 dB antenna will be beamed toward North America, enabling Hams on the continent to tune into the broadcast. This is made possible thanks to 30 gigawatts (30,000,000!!) of effective radiated power.
You Can Join the Excitement
Here’s your chance to work the world’s top contesters and be part of the 24-hour, caffeine-fueled rollercoaster ride to the championship. You can watch the leaderboard change in real time…the competitors cannot. WRTC offers unique awards and prizes to operators who get on the air, contact the WRTC stations on CW and SSB (80 through 10 meters), and submit their log within six hours of the contest end (by 1800 UTC Sunday). The awards are:
- Worked All WRTC Stations:Minimum of one QSO with each WRTC station
- WRTC Sprint:Work all stations as quickly as possible. You may pick any time frame during the 24-hour contest and work on any band or mode. There will be separate scoring for each of the 29 WRTC 2018 qualification regions.
- Most QSOs:Work as many QSOs with WRTC stations as possible (63 stations/2 modes = up to 630 QSOs possible). There will be separate scoring for each of the 29 WRTC 2018 qualification regions.
- Distance Challenge:Most QSOs in respect to distance from contesting stations in Germany.
If you don’t come out on top in any of these challenges, there’s still a chance to win. Send in your log by 1800 UTC Sunday and your callsign could be randomly drawn out of the pool of participants to win special prizes.
