CQ CONTEST HALL OF FAME

[IK0ZCW]

Established in 1986, the CQ Contest Hall of Fame honours those amateurs who have made major contributions to the art of radio contesting. The 2024 inductees, announced on 18 May during the Contest Dinner in Dayton, are:
* Sergio Lima de Almeida, PP5JR - A cardiovascular surgeon, he was first licensed in 1979, and has held PP5JR since 1985. He has also operated as PR0R, PQ0MM, PT5A, ZZ5JR, PX5E, ZX5J, and PT5J. Sergio is a member of the Araucaria DX Group. In 1996, he began construction of a station in Serra da Boa Vista which is incorporated to the Araucaria DX Group. Over the years, he has mentored many people to become contest operators. A perennial WRTC participant, Sergio has also been involved in several DXpeditions, including one to Bhutan as A52JR in 2014. He often enters the ARRL International DX Contest, CQ WW DX Contest, CQ WW WPX Contest, WAE DX Contest, CQMM DX Contest on single bands, most often 10, 15, or 20 metres, and has won first place for South America or the world numerous times. In recent years, he has operated multi-single, and placed first in South America or the world. Most notably, his spouse and three children are all licensed amateur radio operators, and often operate together in contests.
* Steven M. London, N2IC - He has been at or near the top of the leaderboard in virtually every contest he has entered for decades. He most often enters contests in the single-operator category, and challenges himself sometimes with single-band, low power, and QRP entries. His scores are consistently off the charts. To give just one example, he entered the 2021 ARRL CW Sweepstakes in the QRP category and scored 166,992 points. That is a score that many high-power entrants could not even approach, and the second place finisher in the QRP category was 54,000 points behind. He also has won the North America QSO Party (NAQP) five times as a 2BSIQ, four times with 100 watts and once QRP. Steve travels extensively to operate at multi-operator multi-transmitter stations, notably K3LR, and has been involved in the World Radiosport Team Championship six times with two Top Five finishes. He has been a valued source of information for new and old contesters alike on station and antenna design, and operating strategy. A member of the N1MM contesting software development team since 2008, Steve created a customized version of N1MM to support Radio In a Box (RIB) operations. A retired engineer, Steve lives on a mountaintop in southwestern New Mexico. He is a devoted communications technician with a volunteer fire department, providing essential communication in forested areas.
* Richard A. Ross, K2MGA (SK) - Dick was keenly aware of the legacy of CQ's contest program, beginning with the very first CQ World Wide contest in 1948. The contest program was his pride and joy as he witnessed its growth into a collection of the world's largest competitions that we enjoy to this day. The quintessential behind-the-scenes visionary, Dick ensured that "CQ" Magazine gave extensive coverage to the contesting world, providing for a time a dedicated publication called "CQ Contest", a regular contesting column in "CQ" Magazine, video content, and full narrative reports and line scores in the magazine long after other entities moved this information online.