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Dear Contesters, Youngsters and Older Folks! A few days before the December 2023 YOTA Contest results announcement, I have some important information to share. We created YOTA contest to give young HAM radio operators a chance to shine, to compete with and against each other, gaining experience in an event in which they are put in the spotlight; and to show them what it's like when the bands are full of HAMs of all ages looking to make QSOs with them. We had a blast meeting all of you thanks to the YOTA contest throughout the years. We were glad to hear so many prepared youngsters on the bands, and seeing you advance your contesting skills into becoming experienced competitors. It was equally as nice meeting those contestants whose callsigns we had known since the days of our youth. You set a great example to our youth and provide them with loads of fun and QSOs during this contest. It is an honor to have so many of the most skilled operators of our time to join the contest as competitors and station sponsors. Thank you all for your continued support of the YOTA contest, and we hope you will take part in many more down the line, and help promote the contest. From the past contests, we can clearly see which national radio amateur societies put work into supporting young operators. We would like to ask those societies that haven't put much effort into their youth programs so far to aid us in keeping this hobby alive. Mark your calendars! The three-turn YOTA Contest of 2024 will be on: I. 10th March 10-22 UTC II. 20th July 10-22 UTC III. 30th December 10-22 UTC The date for the Summer contest (II.) is going to remain on the 3rd weekend of July. The Spring contest's dates (I.) are more flexible, it is usually during a month which happens to include five weekends due to clashes with other contests. The contest which is in December may be a weekday, however, most students and young adults are on vacation that day. We have made some changes to the YOTA contest rules of 2024 based on the previous years' experiences: - Multi-OP YOTA categories no longer allow HAMs over YOTA age to operate and/or make QSOs themselves, but they are still allowed to give technical or other kinds of assistance. - There will no longer be an SWL category due to lack of interest. - DX QSOs are now worth 2 points instead of 3. This is because YOTA Contest is far more popular in EU than in DX and consequently gives advantage to DX stations, which takes away from our goal of prioritizing YOTA stations. - Due to out positive experiences with last year's December YOTA Contest, self-spotting in DX clusters is now allowed. This is to provide a better experience and pile-ups for those who might not have the best stations (yet). This contest is not only for the winners but for every contestant. See you on the 10th of March! 73 Csaba HA6PX YOTA CC YOTA Contest web page: https://www.ham-yota.com/contest/ Results, LOG's statistics: https://contest.ham-yota.com/
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