Hi,
I am writing to you as the RSGB team in Region 3 to ask for your support for the Cricket World Cup Marathon that we are organising. Cricket is hugely influential in the North West, with Old Trafford being used of several of the World Cup matches. This means that an opportunity to have lots of fun on the radio should not be missed!
We are also looking for support from the Isle of Man and have already sent some requests to local amateurs there but a waiting to hear what they are able to do. There is a specific callsign GB19CIM that can only be activated from there.
Please forward this email to all Affiliated Clubs in your Region or District. We are looking for RSGB members to take part. Of course you could take one or both of the roles described below if you wished.
Introduction
The RSGB Contest Club is organising an International Amateur Radio Marathon on the HF bands to celebrate the Cricket World Cup which is being held in England and Wales this summer.
· The Marathon will run from 30 May 2019 to 14 July 2019.
· Special UK and International callsigns will be active on 9 HF bands using SSB, CW and Digital modes.
· The Marathon will encourage HF operation and provide an opportunity for all operators to enjoy being a sought after callsign.
· Award certificates will be offered to participants based on the number of QSOs they achieve with the Special stations.
· We are using the Hamlogs system that allows logs from activating stations to be uploaded to a central database. Participants will be able to track their progress towards the available awards.
· From the UK we will be activating 31 special callsigns including eleven for the Cricket Grounds that will be used in England and Wales and ten for the teams that are participating. We also have callsigns for Scotland, Northern Ireland Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. All UK callsigns will all have the prefix GB19 with a two or three letter suffix.
We have had detailed discussions with Ofcom who have encouraged this project as it fulfils many of the aims of amateur radio licensing. They also recognise that this is an international activity rather than being public-facing, although of course it will be appropriate for showcasing the hobby to newcomers.
Coordinators
We are looking for volunteers who can help coordinate the marathon by recruiting and helping operators, assisting with log uploads and providing local technical advice. This role could be shared by two or more people.
We are using a QRZ.com page for each callsign with a calendar keeping a record of who is activating or supervising the use of the callsign during the event. We will use the venue callsigns on an RSGB region basis; most RSGB regions in England and Wales have a cricket ground that is being used. For regions and countries that don’t have a ground there are other special callsigns to activate.
Each coordinator will have plenty of opportunity to operate.
Activators
This is an excellent opportunity for some really fun radio operating. All full licensees who are RSGB members can join the RSGB Contest Club and as club members can operate, either in a local radio club or group, or simply operate from home. You don’t have to be a cricket fan to take part and you don’t need a “super station”. You can also just operate for a few hours.
Foundation and intermediate licence holders may operate supervised from a club or the station of a full licence holder. We want to encourage those who have good stations to allow others to operate them.
Full details for Coordinators and Activators can be found on the RSGB website under the Radio Marathons topic.
Please contact us at the email address ContestClub@rsgbcc.org with your details, including your RSGB region, if you would like to get involved.
More details will be sent to you next month.
Kind Regards,
Nick Totterdell G4FAL,
RSGB HF Contest Committee Chair