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SEPTEMBER USHERS IN NEW FOCUS ON WRTC 2010 QUALIFYING
By Jamie Dupree NS3T
With the qualifying criteria now set for the 2010 World Radiosport Team Championships in Russia, September kicks off several months of high-stakes contesting, as key players around the world try to elbow their way towards some valuable WRTC points.
All amateurs will get a shot at WRTC points on the second weekend of September with the 2007 WAE SSB Contest.
A quick look at last year's results shows that while there was some intense compeitition in Europe, there were a number of hams outside EU who picked up chunks of WRTC points with very low scores.
For example, in the two Oceania divisions, there were only four logs submitted for the 2006 WAE SSB. Because of that, ZL2UO claimed 730 WRTC points in OC #1 with a WAE score of 20,710. DV1JM won the low power section of OC #2 with a WAE score of 14,896. That gave him 511 WRTC points.
Central America was another example of low WAE activity. 4A7L won the low power section for Central America with just 39,088 points over three other competitors. That gave him 511 WRTC points. TI2KAC meanwhile won high power as the only entrant from Central America, giving him 730 WRTC points.
The most dramatic example of all comes from the western United States in NA #4, where N7ZG was the only low power entrant. His WAE log was a total of 27 points - only 27 points - and that earned him 511 valuable WRTC points.
Obviously, the competition in Europe is a bit more crowded, but there are still points to be won in the WAE, as results in 2006, 2007 and 2008 from the CW and SSB versions are part of the WRTC qualifying process.
North American hams will have to choose wisely during the WAE SSB, because for four hours, two WRTC qualifying contests will be running at the same time, as the NA Sprint CW takes place. The NA Sprint SSB will follow a week later, which also counts for WRTC points.
Looking back at the February 2007 CW Sprint, there were no logs submitted from Canada's NA #6 WRTC division (VE5-VE6-VE7) and so no points were awarded. Only six Canadians entered from NA #5 as VE winner VE3EJ was rewarded with 600 points.
Central American hams might want to give the NA Sprint a try as well, as there were only two entries from that region back in February of this year. A low score might achieve more than expected.
If you run high power and can win all three contests from your WRTC region in North America, that would net you 1,930 WRTC points - and maybe come close to assuring you a chair in Russia in 2010.
After September, the WRTC qualifiers are on hold until CQ WW SSB. After that, US & Canadian hams get a pair of November Sweepstakes, then the world battles again in CQ WW CW.
That's three qualifiers for the world - and seven for hams in the US and Canada. It will be a busy run over the next three months for those interested in WRTC 2010.