IARU HF World Championship: Contest Crew Gets Ready

Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio

In this episode, the Contest Crew—Randy K5ZD, Dan N6MJ, and Bill W9KKN—turns their attention to the IARU HF World Championship, a 24-hour sprint that’s more than just a summertime curiosity. It’s a deceptively technical contest: the rules are simple, but the path to a top score is anything but. As Randy lays out the structure and quirks—zones, headquarters stations, multiplier strategy, and the peculiar propagation patterns that emerge in July—it becomes clear this is a thinking person’s DX contest. And for many, it’s the perfect tune-up for something even bigger. Dan, who’s stood atop the WRTC podium, sees IARU as essential prep for 2026, when the Olympics of radiosport take place in England. But he also points to a rare opening for West Coast operators: a shot at going toe-to-toe with their East Coast rivals, thanks to nighttime paths on 20 and 15 meters that tilt the playing field—if only briefly. Bill echoes the sentiment—this isn’t just a casual one-day sprint. It’s one of the few contests where propagation, geography, and raw skill align in unpredictable ways. Then there’s the moment Randy explains why the real magic of 10 meters might not come at sunrise but at 22Z, when Europe stays up late and the band suddenly opens like a trapdoor. Or Dan recalling how a pre-WRTC trip exposed the razor-thin beamwidth of their spiderbeam antenna—details that don’t just color a contest, but decide it. The conversation drifts into WRTC strategy, the shifting meta of CW vs. SSB, and the quiet thrill of nailing the perfect multiplier at the perfect moment. This episode builds on the candid, unscripted energy that made the Contest Crew series a cult favorite. If you’re serious about IARU—or just curious why the best contesters never stop learning—this one’s for you. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio for more smart, spirited talks like this. Thanks to DX Engineering for backing DXers, contesters, Parks on the Air activators and hams everywhere who keep stretching the edges of the map.