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The qualifying details are now available on the web site of the WRTC 2014 committee.
The format is much like that used by Russian organizers for the 2010 competition, but differs in a number of specific ways, as certain contests were added, and qualifying regions were reconfigured.
Unlike the 2010 WRTC, single band entries in major contests can earn you points, after they are compared against All Band scores from the same power level. Also, QRP scores will be eligible for WRTC points.
The qualifying schedule starts in just a few weeks, with the CQ WW SSB test. While operators around the world will compete for WRTC points in that and the 2010 CQ WW CW test, contesters in the US and Canada also have this year's November Sweepstakes CW and SSB tests.
The new plans include some changes on how many teams can qualify from certain continents. For example, while there will be two divisions in Oceania, only one team leader slot will be available for WRTC 2014.
The United States and Canada will now have 15 team leader positions, up from 11 for WRTC 2010. Along with that, the qualifying geography will change dramatically as well.
Instead of combining call areas into one qualifying division, the 2014 WRTC will offer one team leader slot to W1, W2 and W3.
W4 will be broken into two divisions, with hams in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia competing for one team leader spot, while the NA #4 West division will include Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee.
Instead of a combined W5 and W0 as in 2010, those two call areas will each get one team, as will W8 and W9.
Out West, two teams will be picked from NA #6, which will cover California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah.
The new NA #7 division has Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.
The European qualifying divisions will also be changed, but less dramatically when compared to the United States.
One switch gives EU #1 one extra slot, for a total of five team leader positions. That division includes Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Italy has now been moved into EU #2 with Germany and Switzerland. That group will also get five teams.
EU #3 will again cover the Baltics, but it will get only three teams.
The big change comes in EU #4, which will now cover Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Poland.
The new EU #5 covers the area that was known as EU #4 in WRTC 2010. European Russia will get three teams for the 2014 WRTC in EU #6.
As for the all-important category order, which determines how scores are tabulated, this is the formula from the WRTC 2014 organizers:
The second highest contests in terms of WRTC points value will be the CQ WPX tests at 950 points.
IARU and Russian DX are at 900, as are several contests for North American hams, the ARRL November Sweepstakes and the ARRL DX SSB & CW tests.
The new offering for Asia comes with the use of the All Asian DX contests, as both the SSB and CW tests will be worth 800 points for all hams.
Once again, WAE CW/SSB and the EU HF Championships are included, this time at 800 points.
Another new contest is the Oceania DX SSB and CW tests, also at 800 points - but those are available only to hams in Oceania. Back in North America, the NAQP CW/SSB will be a new qualifier as well, joining the NA Sprint CW.
But organizers will not offer any qualifying points for the NA Sprint SSB.
There are 55 events overall - but not for everyone in each geographic area.
US and Canadian hams have 49 events; North America 43, 38 for the Pacific ARRL Section, 32 for the rest of Oceania, 30 for Europe and 28 for all other qualifying regions.
For those wondering about the weighting of WRTC points, here is that list:
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