Change also in the results of WRTC 2022!

After an unexpected change in the results of the World Radiosport Team Championship 2026 another shock came! This time it isresults of the World Radiosport Team Championship 2022. Dôvodom nie je dodatočná oprava jednotlivých QSO in the original adjudication, but a new assessment of the results after the Judging Committee WRTC 2026 identified a procedure that subsequently allowed for the verification of logs from WRTC 2022. WRTC 2022 took place in July 2023, as the original date was postponed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The organizing committee of WRTC 2022 submitted the results from 2023 to the Sanctioning Committee. They created a working group that reviewed the logs according to the methods used in the analysis of WRTC 2026. The result is a new decision that replaces the results published in July 2023.

What was found during the additional review?

The Sanctioning Committee based its findings on the information provided in the report of the Judging Committee WRTC 2026. In the analysis of WRTC 2022, 22 markings were identified that were considered part of a suspicious mechanism. These markings created a total of 540 connections with WRTC teams. An important finding was their uneven distribution among the individual teams.

The biggest difference was recorded at I44W, operators UW7LL and VE3DZ. This team gained 46 connections from the mentioned markings, which resulted in 37 multipliers. For team I43Z, composed of RW7K and RA9P, 27 such connections were identified with a value of 25 multipliers. The next team in rank had 19 connections.

Why was the team I44W disqualified?

In the case of I44W, it was not just about problematic multipliers. The Sanctioning Committee also cites a specific case before the start of the competition at 20 m. The call sign YQ5W was supposed to occupy the frequency 14,001.8 kHz during the last hour before the start, and according to the findings, it transmitted CQ until the start of the competition. However, YQ5W did not submit a log, was not listed as an operator in any of the submitted logs, and later did not appear in operation.

I44W started the competition with the first recorded QSO precisely on this frequency. Therefore, the Sanctioning Committee assessed this procedure as a violation of rule 12.2, which prohibits the team from revealing its identity, and also applied rule 12.7 regarding the acquisition of an excessive number of unverifiable QSOs or multipliers. I44W was therefore disqualified.

I43Z was also disqualified

A similar change applies to team I43Z with operators RW7K and RA9P. In its case, the Sanctioning Committee cites 25 multipliers obtained from a group of call signs identified during a new review. This number was deemed excessive under rule 12.7, and the team was disqualified.

It is important that the decision, according to the statement, concerns the teams, not individual operators. The Sanctioning Committee also explicitly states that it does not conclude who specifically operated the relevant call signs. 

New ranking of WRTC 2022

The disqualification of the original winner I44W meant a fundamental change at the top of the results table. The originally second team I43C became the winner of WRTC 2022. The team DJ5MW and DL1IAO achieved a score of 6,968,632 points after the new adjudication. The second place went to team I49D with operators 9A7DX and 9A3LG with a score of 6,584,256 points. The third place was taken by I47M, consisting of F8DBF and F1AKK, with a score of 6,450,120 points. 

The difference from the original results is also interesting from the perspective of the score itself. I43C originally scored 7,005,690 points, after the new review it has 6,968,632. I49D dropped from 6,655,540 to 6,584,256 points, and I47M from 6,581,376 to 6,450,120 points. In the case of these teams, it is therefore not a disqualification, but a change in the number of recognized QSOs and other parameters entering the final score.

What does UBN and NETQSOP mean?

The WRTC results table includes not only the final score but also QSOP, DEDUCT, and NETQSOP data. NETQSOP represents the number of QSOs after deducting connections discarded during adjudication. Therefore, log checking is crucial for the final result: according to WRTC rules, the final score is calculated after adjudication from the data submitted in Cabrillo logs as the number of multipliers multiplied by the sum of QSO points. 

In the case of WRTC 2022, however, the new checking did not only mean traditional searching for incorrect callsigns or duplicate QSOs. The original Judging Committee in 2023 compared logs with each other and checked for incorrect, missing, or duplicate connections, as well as discrepancies in time and frequency. The new checking in 2026 focused on a specific behavior pattern that the original adjudication by the Sanctioning Committee could not detect with available methods.

Thus, WRTC 2022 has a new official ranking.

The latest change shows that at WRTC, the results list does not have to be definitive immediately after the competition ends. Decisions on results are based on detailed log adjudication, and in the case of new relevant findings, further review may follow. Thus, WRTC 2022, more than three years after the competition itself, has received a new overall ranking: DJ5MW and DL1IAO are the new champions according to the decision of the Sanctioning Committee, ahead of the teams 9A7DX/9A3LG and F8DBF/F1AKK.

Source: https://www.wrtc2022.it/