What changed
Contests and awards — edited Aug 31, 2026 by Unknown editor
Compared with the version from Aug 31, 2026. Note: Imported from content/wiki
Nobody needs an award. What awards and contests provide is a *reason* to sit down at the radio at an
awkward hour, work a station you would otherwise pass by, and get better at pulling a callsign out of
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the noise.
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- [Your first contest](/wiki/contests-and-awards/your-first-contest) — how to enter one this weekend
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with no preparation and no pressure.
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- [Submitting a log](/wiki/contests-and-awards/submitting-a-log) — Cabrillo, deadlines and what the
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robot does with your file.
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- [DXCC and DX awards](/wiki/contests-and-awards/dxcc) — the hundred-country benchmark and the
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programs built around it.
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- [Worked All States and county hunting](/wiki/contests-and-awards/worked-all-states) — the awards
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that live inside the US.
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- [POTA and SOTA awards](/wiki/contests-and-awards/pota-and-sota-awards) — activator and hunter
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ladders in the two programs that now generate most weekday activity.
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- [CW and QRP awards](/wiki/contests-and-awards/cw-and-qrp-awards) — what the code and low-power
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communities recognize.
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- [NARA awards](/wiki/contests-and-awards/nara-awards) — including the Alfred Vail 20-20 Young Keyers
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Award.
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The general introduction to contest operating lives in
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[contesting](/wiki/operating/contesting), and confirming the contacts that award credit depends on is
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covered in [logging and QSLs](/wiki/operating/logging-and-qsls).
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## A note on chasing
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the noise. One thing to know before you start: award programs are built on *confirmed* contacts, not
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logged ones, so set up [Logbook of The World](/wiki/operating/logging-and-qsls) first — it costs
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nothing and it is the difference between having worked a hundred countries and being able to prove
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it.
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Award programs are built on *confirmed* contacts, not logged ones. Set up
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[Logbook of The World](/wiki/operating/logging-and-qsls) before you start chasing anything: it costs
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nothing, it confirms contacts automatically, and it is the difference between having worked a hundred
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countries and being able to prove it.
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**Related topics:** [contesting](/wiki/operating/contesting) for the general introduction to contest
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operating, [logging and QSLs](/wiki/operating/logging-and-qsls) for confirming contacts, and
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[parks and summits](/wiki/operating/parks-and-summits) for the POTA and SOTA programs themselves.