Exciting news for the ham radio community! The World Radio Sport Team Championship (WRTC) 2026 and World Radio League (WRL) have officially announced their partnership to bring a new live contesting technology platform to the world of amateur radio. This collaboration aims to elevate the ham radio contesting experience to new heights, making it more dynamic, interactive, and engaging for both operators and spectators.
Transforming Ham Radio Competitions
Ham radio contests are well-loved events where amateur operators use their equipment to establish radio contacts worldwide. Contestants score points for each contact, with additional bonuses for reaching different countries, regions, or bands. For years, tens of thousands of enthusiasts have tuned in, but the WRTC-WRL partnership is dreaming even bigger—bringing a true eSports experience to ham radio.
WRTC, known as the World Cup of ham radio, occurs every four years and brings together the best operators from around the globe. To qualify, contestants must pass rigorous competitions leading up to the championship. The next WRTC 2026 will be hosted in England in July 2026, where the world’s top HF operators will compete.
A New Vision for Ham Radio Competitions
Mark Haynes, the lead organizer for WRTC 2026, shared his excitement about the partnership, saying:
“We are delighted to be working with World Radio League as it supports our aim to provide a platform for the competition specifics such as real-time logging whilst additionally displaying useful statistics, media, and further information.”
WRL, founded in 2023, has already made an impact in the ham radio community, notably with their user-friendly web-based logging and competition platform. With over 10,000 users on its POTA logger, WRL is now collaborating with WRTC to elevate the live contest experience.
James Cribbs, CEO of WRL, added:
“World Radio League is extremely excited and passionate to partner with WRTC to bring a new live ham radio contest experience to life. We believe that great technology, and media, is the key to attracting a wider audience to watch the live event, and ultimately growing ham radio for decades to come.”
The Road to 2026
You don’t have to wait until 2026 to get a glimpse of the future of ham radio contesting. The IARU 2025 competition in July 2025 will serve as the debut for version one of the new contesting platform.
With this exciting partnership, ham radio may very well be on its way to becoming the next big eSports phenomenon!
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