Contest Calendar and New Canadian QSO Parties
The Contest Calendar provided below was prepared by Tom Haavisto, VE3CX, as part of “The Sports Page” column in the May-June 2022 issue of The Canadian Amateur magazine.
In his column in the March-April 2022 TCA, Tom Haavisto, VE3CX, described two new QSO Parties in Canada: the Quebec QSO Party which was held on April 17; and the upcoming Canadian Prairies QSO Party which will be held on May 14-15.
Excerpt from “The Sports Page” column in the March-April 2022 issue of The Canadian Amateur”
“I am very happy to announce that two new Canadian QSO Parties are starting operations this year! This is exciting, as it gives everyone a chance to work more Canadians!
QSO Parties by their very nature are fun events and very much open to casual operators who want to give contesting a try. Yes – there is a serious side to QSO Parties as well – more on that later. The part I find great is that people are willing to showcase their part of Canada and get folks to work them! How great is that?
First up, we have the Quebec QSO Party. It will be held on Sunday, April 17, 2022 from 1200 UTC to 2000 UTC, and is sponsored by Club Radio Amateur de l’Outaouais (CRAO). Their vision is to have an exciting Amateur Radio event where operators from the province of Quebec contact others from around the world and where the many administrative regions in the province are featured.
It is a 10-hour event on Sunday and covers 160 through 2 metres. The exchange is simple. For those inside Quebec, the exchange is signal report and administrative region. For those of us outside Quebec, the exchange is signal report and province. You can use both CW and phone, and stations can be worked on both modes on all bands.
Next up, we have the Canadian Prairies QSO Party, which will be held on Saturday, May 14, 1700 UTC to Sunday, May 15, 0300 UTC. It combines the Prairie Provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta into a single entity.”
Unlike most American states, these three provinces are not subdivided into counties. Instead, we have federal electoral districts. Manitoba and Saskatchewan have 14 districts each, while Alberta has 34, making for a total of 62 districts.
For those who are “out of province” (think “out of state”), your goal will be to work as many of the 62 districts as possible.
For those “in-province”, the goal is to work everybody (13 provinces/territories plus 50 states). Note that stations within the Canadian Prairie Provinces can count one multiplier from every province, including their own. For those inside the Prairie provinces, the exchange is signal report and administrative region. For those of us outside the Prairie Provinces, the exchange is signal report and province.
Bands are 10, 15, 20 and 40 metres. Since this QSO Party is mostly during daylight hours, 80 and 160 metres are excluded.
You can find more details on their website at: https://cpqp.ve6hams.ca/rules-2/
QSO Party Challenge
“Both new QSO Parties are included in the QSO Party Challenge. The annual State QSO Party Challenge recognizes all Radio Amateurs’ participation in the US State and Canadian Province QSO Parties. It is open to any Amateur who participates in any of the approved State QSO Parties (SQPs). Participants must simply submit their scores to 3830Scores.com to be included in the Challenge.
For Canada, we have the BC QSO Party, the Ontario QSO Party, the Quebec QSO Party and the Canadian Prairies QSO Party, which are all included in the QSO Party challenge.
‘The purpose of the State QSO Party group is to be the catalyst to take state QSO party contesting to the next level.’
State and Provincial QSO Parties are meant to be fun, low pressure events, and they appeal to both serious contesters and casual operators alike. They offer plaques and certificates, and encourage Amateurs to get on and enjoy this great hobby of ours.
The State QSO Party Challenge encourages people to participate in at least 50% of State QSO Party Challenge approved QSO Party contests. All contacts must be made within the same calendar year.
The Worked All QSO Parties (WAQP) awards program also offers achievement level awards to applicants who have participated in at least 50% of the State QSO Party Challenge approved State QSO Party contests during the same calendar year.
These levels are:
“Ultimate” – 100% participation;
“Elite” – 90% through 99% participation;
“Expert” – 75% through 89% participation;
“Aficionado” – 50% through 74% participation in State QSO Party Challenge and State QSO Party contests.
Applicants who qualify for the “Ultimate” achievement level for the first time will be given the opportunity to purchase a WAQP plaque. You can find more details at: http://stateqsoparty.com/
Why Work QSO Parties At All?
Think of inviting friends to an open house. Yes, this analogy fails in several ways, especially in these Covid times. Rather, think of inviting friends to an open house that showcases your province or part of Canada. Would you not want to welcome guests and say “Hello?”.
The exchange – either county or administrative region gives others some idea of where you are located within the province, and encourages others to learn more about your part of the world.
That is what QSO Parties are all about – welcoming others to your “open house”. Yes, there are awards and plaques available; and yes we encourage people to make lots of QSOs as part of each QSO Party. After all, is that not the best part of this great hobby we have – spending time on the air, making QSOs?
I hope you will get on and be part of the many Canadian QSO Parties.
Hope to see you on the bands.”
– Tom Haavisto, VE3CX
Excerpt from “The Sports Page” column in the March-April 2022 issue of The Canadian Amateur. In the May-June 2022 TCA pictured above, Tom writes about “The Return of the Multi-ops”.