LOTW CQ Awards

[IK0ZCW]

Logbook of The World to Now Support CQ Awards

The ARRL and CQ Communications, Inc have signed an agreement to begin
providing support for CQ-sponsored operating awards by the ARRL's
Logbook of the World (LoTW) electronic confirmation system. The
agreement was announced jointly today by ARRL Chief Operating Officer
Harold Kramer, WJ1B, and CQ Communications President Richard Ross,
K2MGA.

CQ's awards will be the first non-ARRL awards supported by LoTW and will
be phased in beginning with the CQ WPX award, with additional CQ awards
to follow. The ARRL's LoTW system -- an interactive database recording
contacts between radio amateurs -- was created in 2003 and has been
adopted by 47,500 radio amateurs worldwide. It already has records of
400 million contacts and is growing weekly. The target date for
beginning LoTW support for WPX is April 1, 2012. Amateurs will be able
to use LoTW logs to generate lists of confirmed contacts to be submitted
for WPX credit. Standard LoTW credit fees and CQ award fees will apply.

ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, observed that this step
gives radio amateurs throughout the world an inexpensive and convenient
means of gaining credits toward CQ's popular operating awards: "LoTW has
significantly increased interest and participation in the ARRL's DXCC,
Worked All States and VUCC awards programs. We anticipate a similarly
positive response to the addition of the CQ WPX award. Amateurs will be
able to spend more time operating and less time chasing QSL cards."

CQ President Richard Ross, K2MGA, said he is very pleased to be able to
move forward with LoTW support for CQ awards. "We have had excellent
results with electronic confirmations for several years," he explained.
"I am glad that we are now able to begin expanding that convenience to
those participants in our award programs who use Logbook of The World.
We look forward to a smooth launch for WPX and to the expansion of LoTW
support to include the rest of our award programs, as well."