Background

Amateur radio is a unique passion of all ages, with the radio spectrum providing a playing field for technical innovation and global human communication in pursuit of giving 4 million amateur radio operators a chance to experience telecommunications as a way of life and a source of technological innovation, taking our wonderful world a step closer to better and more human communication - or just simply, connecting people.

The World Radiosport Team Championship - WRTC in short - represents a large gathering of the world's best in radio traffic - as selected Regionally - coming from some 35 different countries and all continents in the spirit of competition, using the same playing field and allowing pure skills to determine world champions in two-man team, 24-hour nonstop competition in Florianopolis, the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil.

Seattle, USA – 1990

WRTC was born in 1990 under the auspices of the Goodwill Games, which were the brainchild of Ted Turner of CNN fame. The first Games were organized in Seattle, Washington, focusing on areas of cultural exchange, arts and other unique subjects - one of these being amateur radio and WRTC. Radio Amateurs from the whole world were gathered in an Olympic-style event, in a more varied form of competition and camaraderie.

San Francisco, USA – 1996

In 1996, the WRTC traveled to San Francisco, and in the shadow of the Golden Gate the event provided an historical setting and a ticket of continuity. At the same time, the WRTC Steering Team was born in the U.S. to promote the concept, to select future sites and to be of valuable help to future events. This time the WRTC was a pure Radio Amateur event and assumed more clearly defined proportions of the Olympics. The WRTC began to emerge as a worldwide radio contest and, in particular, a warm-hearted get-together of radio-contesters.

Bled, Slovenia – 2000

It was in 2000 that WRTC expanded internationally, as the newly born country of Slovenia - on the sunny side of the Alps - set the stage. WRTC 2000 was another historical event for the benefit of those present as well as those following the event on the radiowaves from all corners of the globe. The entire country of Slovenia was actively involved, once again upholding the spirit of WRTC and its Olympic flame. A big and successful event by a small country, those that were there have an experience they never will forget.

Helsinki, Finland - 2002

Honoring the declining sunspot cycle - the source of shortwave radio propagation - the 2002 event came only two years after the previous competition, a true 50 years celebration of the Helsinki Olympic games 1952. Here, Contest Club Finland (CCF) and the Finnish Amateur Radio League (SRAL) jointly hosted the event. While the actual on-site race was organized in the Helsinki area, the week prior to the competition saw these world competitors spending several days together with the entire amateur radio population of Finland as well with many international guests. Some 2000 people gathered in the SRAL Summer camp (field day). This time 53 teams from 30 countries were competing, with almost real-time score presentation on monitors at the WRTC HQ and on the Internet, Finnish hi-tech at its best.

Florianopolis, Brazil - 2006

At the bottom of the sunspot cycle the competition will be held in Florianopolis at the Atlantic coastal area in southern Brazil. 47 WRTC and up to 15 Multi-National Multi-Single Teams (MN MS) with participants from 47 countries, will participate. In line with the qualification principles for the Olympic games, the competitors have this time been selected on basis of real performance within their Region (total 14 Regions). To encourage participation of ladies and young radio amateurs, special selection criteria have been created for them. The MN MS Teams will serve as a booster for the Radio hobby in Brazil, at the same time develop international friendship and contesting experience between the participants.

Due to the poor propagations (sunspot cycle) and the remoteness from the radio amateur population centers, the WRTC is for the first time providing a linear amplifier and a beam for the 40 m. band, this in addition to the standard set-up. Further, the rules have been modified to give the second operator a more active role.

Another significant step towards globalization and international friendship is that all teams are not longer National but there are also Bi-National Teams.