Even earlier than in the US, someone in Italy thought to organize a slow speed CW contest. Mind that PC, electronic and automathic mechanical keying are not allowed! The prize for the overall first place is a vertical Begali key! I translated the rules from Italian with Google and revised the text a little, it should be enough understandable. I apologize but I have no time to revise it better. Therefore, I decline any responsability concernig the accuracy of the translation. In case of any issue, you can't cite my translation as reference for the contest rules. The only official rules are here: http://www.iv3ehh.it/public/regolamento%20cw%20qrs.pdf The official logging software is in Italian and is here: http://www.iv3ehh.it/win-cw-qrs.htm

Here you are my unofficial translation of the rules:

CW QRS CONTEST

PURPOSE

- encourage telegraphic radio activities and value CW,
- practice in contests,
- improve empathy between radio amateurs.

We hope that the CQ QRS CONTEST can become a gym for those approaching this type of activity. Also for this reason we have introduced the sub-categories YL, UNder 25, OVer 70 and SWL. Keep up to date on the news by following Morse Basic School on Facebook and subscribing to the Telegram group https://t.me/cw_qrs

RULES

PARTICIPANTS: licensed OM or SWL, it is a World Wide contest where everyone can contact everyone else.

DATE: third Sunday in October, for 2020 it will take place on October 18th.

TIME: from 6.00 UTC to 18.00 UTC

CALL: CQ QRS TEST DE call

EXCHANGE: RST + age, YLs will send 00 "double zero" instead of age - Example 5NN 53 or 5NN 00

MODES: CW (telegraphy only).

BANDS: 10, 15, 20, 40 and 80m - Recommended QRG KHz 3550-3570, 7020-7040, 14030-14050, 21030-21050 and 28030-28050

KEY: vertical or equivalent, i.e. no electronic or mechanical aid for the generation of dits, dahs or spacings.

SPEED: max 20 WPM, however it is mandatory to adapt to the speed of the slowest correspondent.

CATEGORIES: QRP max 5 W and QRO up to the maximum legal power as allowed by your license.

SUBCATEGORIES

  • A: Under 25 are all operators who have not yet turned 25 at the date of the contest,

  • OV: OVer 70 are all operators who at the date of the contest have already turned 70 years of age,

  • YL: They are all Young Ladies.

The sub-category must be clearly indicated in the LOG.

VALID QSOs: for the QSO to be considered valid, it must be logged with all the basic information: UTC time, band, correspondent's name, RST report sent, received and age. Incomplete or incorrect QSOs will NOT be considered valid. Each OM/YL can be worked only once on each band.

VALID LOG: for the LOG sent to be considered valid, it must contain at least one QSO with an Italian station.

SCORING: each standard QSO is worth 1 point, QSOs with UNder 25 or OVer 70 stations are worth 2 points and QSOs with YLs are worth 3 points.

LOG: the contest management software can be downloaded from the website www.iv3ehh.it in the CW QRS TEST section.

SENDING LOG: the logs in Cabrillo format must be sent by email to Pietro IV3EHH at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. within 24 UTC of the 5th day following the end of the contest, for 2020 the deadline is 24 UTC of October 23rd.

RANKING: a general ranking and additional rankings will be drawn up for each category.

PRIZES: the first overall will receive a Begali SPARK vertical key offered by Piero Begali i2RTF, any other prizes will be communicated and will be assigned unless sponsors are unavailable. The first 3 classified will receive by e-mail a printable award in pdf format, a certificate of participation will be sent by e-mail to all partecipants.

By sending the log, a participant declares to:

  • understand the contest rules,
  • have operated in accordance with all rules and regulations regarding your station license,
  • accept that the log can be used for QSO checking for the purpose of the final ranking and that it can be made public, with the exception of personal data,
  • agree that the contest organizing committee may recalculate, modify, publish, republish, print and distribute (by any means, including paper or electronic) the log in its original format, and / or in any other suitable format with or without modifications, or collected together with the logs of other competitors for the participation of the CW QRS, other contests or for other reasons including those of training, development and growth of the amateur radio activity,
  • accept all decisions of the organizing committee of the contest as final.

Sources: http://www.iv3ehh.it/public/regolamento%20cw%20qrs.pdf translated in English through Google Translator and ik1hge

 RadioRivista 09/2020