After a multi-year qualifying cycle, the 2026 World Radiosport Team Championship is entering its final phase. From July 8th to 13th, the United Kingdom will host the tenth anniversary edition of the most prestigious amateur radio event, which is rightly called the Olympics of contesting. The competition itself will take place during the race IARU HF World Championship, with all 50 two-person teams competing under identical technical conditions – with the same antennas, power, equipment and location within one geographical region. It is the elimination of technical and geographical differences that makes the WRTC a unique test of operator skills.
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Competitors know their call signs
One of the most anticipated events of the last few days was the announcement of the competition call signs. The organizers presented them on July 9th so that not only the participants themselves, but also rádioamatéri po celom svete zapojení do programu WRTC Chaser Awards.
WRTC 2026 Competition Call Signs
MB1A
MB2D
MB2U
MB3K
MB4C
MB4V
MB5O
MB7F
MB1I
MB2H
MB3B
MB3L
MB4F
MB4W
MB5P
MB7G
MB1N
MB2M
MB3D
MB3M
MB4G
MB4X
MB5Q
MB7K
MB1S
MB2N
MB3F
MB3R
MB4L
MB4Z
MB5X
MB7L
MB1T
MB2R
MB3G
MB3V
MB4O
MB5C
MB5Y
MB7M
MB2A
MB2S
MB3H
MB3W
MB4P
MB5J
MB5Z
MB7V
MB7D
MB7W
Poznámka: Uvedené volacie značky boli pridelené jednotlivým súťažným tímom WRTC 2026. Priradenie konkrétnej značky ku konkrétnemu tímu bolo určené žrebovaním organizátorov pred začiatkom súťaže. Každý z päťdesiatich tímov bude počas pretekov používať vlastnú špeciálnu volaciu značku. Ich zoznam je už verejne dostupný a od začiatku IARU HF Championship sa tieto značky objavia na pásmach 80, 40, 20, 15 a 10 metrov v režimoch CW and SSB. For diploma hunters, this is an excellent opportunity to get connections with all the competing stations. The organizers have also prepared several levels of diplomas according to the number of completed QSO so stanicami WRTC. Zaujímavosťou je, že hlavná organizačná stanica používa počas podujatia osobitnú značku GB26WRTC, ktorá je aktívna mimo samotnej súťaže a slúži ako prezentačná a klubová stanica podujatia.
WRTC Today and live broadcast on YouTube
This year's WRTC is significantly more open to spectators. The organizers have prepared a regular video format WRTC Today, which from July 8th brings daily news from the preparations, interviews with competitors, volunteers and organizers and a look behind the scenes of the construction of individual workplaces. In addition, during the race itself, a continuous live broadcast will be available with comments, interviews and ongoing events directly from the competition stands. This is the most extensive media coverage of the WRTC to date.
https://www.youtube.com/@WRTC2026/streams
Live scores in real time
The big news for WRTC 2026 is the official cooperation with the World Radio League platform. Each workplace transmits data from the log practically in real time, so viewers can follow the current standings, the development of individual team scores, statistics, connection maps and other analytical data. The live scoreboard significantly changes the way of watching contesting. Viewers no longer have to wait for the results to be published after the race, but can continuously follow how the order of the favorites changes, who gains the lead and how individual teams are doing throughout the entire 24 hours of the competition.
World Radiosport Team Championship vznikol s cieľom vytvoriť maximálne spravodlivé podmienky pre porovnanie operátorských schopností najlepších svetových contestmanov. Na rozdiel od bežných contestov, kde výsledok významne ovplyvňuje lokalita, anténny systém alebo výkon vysielača, na WRTC dostávajú všetky tímy identické technické vybavenie. Dvojčlenné tímy si účasť musia vybojovať počas niekoľkoročného kvalifikačného obdobia prostredníctvom výsledkov vo významných medzinárodných KV contestoch. Po príchode na miesto konania sú náhodným žrebom pridelené pracovisko, rozhodca aj súťažná volacia značka. Každé pracovisko je vybavené rovnakými anténami, rovnakým výkonom 100 W a identickým príslušenstvom. Výsledok preto závisí predovšetkým od stratégie, rýchlosti práce, správneho výberu pásiem, zvládnutia pile-upov a schopnosti reagovať na meniace sa podmienky šírenia. Aj tento rok sa WRTC uskutoční súčasne s IARU HF World Championship. Bežní radio amateurs sa tak môžu aktívne zapojiť do diania nielen sledovaním priebežných výsledkov, ale aj nadväzovaním spojení so všetkými súťažnými tímami. Vďaka programu Chaser Awards možno za tieto spojenia získať oficiálne diplomy WRTC.
Slovak footprint
Slovak radio amateurs also have reason to follow WRTC 2026 with increased interest. Representatives from the Central European region also made it through the qualification process, and the event will also feature operators well-known from major international contests. On the portal CQ.SK sme už informed about the participation of radio amateurswho represent our contest scene at the highest level.
Conclusion
WRTC 2026 is not just another contest on the calendar. It represents the culmination of four years of qualification efforts by the world's best operators and at the same time shows where modern amateur radio contesting is heading. Thanks to live broadcasts, online results and open media coverage, every amateur radio operator can follow the action practically in real time. If you will be active on the HF bands during the weekend, it is definitely worth paying attention to the special WRTC call signs - each connection can contribute not only to your logo, but also to an interesting diploma.
