I received this from Joe Moell a couple of days ago. The classes he refers to are:

D 15 ____ M 15 ____ D 20 ____ M 20 ____ D 35 ____ M 35 ____ D 50 ____ M 40 ____ M 50 ____ M 60 ____

D - Female, M - Male

The numbers are the ages of the competitors to the next highest catagory, i.e, M 50 are males between the ages of 50 and 59.

Currently, SBARC members Scott Moore (KF6IKO) and myself (KE6HTS) are planning on attending the championships (if we make the team!)

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The World Championships of Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF) take place in even-numbered years. Slovak Amateur Radio Association (SARA) will host the Eleventh ARDF World Championships during the first week of September. The site is Tatranske Matliare in the High Tatras of the Slovak Republic, at about 900 meters elevation.

Here is the schedule of events:

September 2 - Monday - Arrival of the Participants September 3 - Tuesday - Training on Both Bands, Opening Ceremony September 4 - Wednesday - 2 Meter Band Race September 5 - Thursday - Free Day with Cultural Program September 6 - Friday - 80 Meter Band Race, Awarding Ceremony, Closing Ceremony, Hamfest September 7 - Saturday - Departure of the Participants

Competitors are divided into five categories for males and four categories for females, in accordance with newly approved ARDF rules of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU). Each country may have up to three persons per category on its team.

Two Slovak hotels will be taken over for the exclusive use of competitors. The entry fee of US$300 per person includes hotel accommodations (double occupancy), meals, local transportation to the Championships events, and fees for the Cultural Program. As an alternative, entrants may camp in their own tents and provide their own meals, in which case the fee is US$150 per person.

Each participating country must submit a Letter of Intent with tentative team size by the end of January. (Note that these letters are submitted only by the countries' national societies -- such as ARRL -- and NOT by each individual competitor.)

For USA's Letter of Intent, I need a preliminary "head count" of interested radio-orienteers right away. If you are interested in competing at the 2002 ARDF World Championships on Team USA, please let me know by e-mail immediately. If you have not been on Team USA before, include your full name and mailing address, home phone number, and date of birth.

Entry fees are due in full to the organizers by July 15, 2002. If more than three persons apply for Team USA in any age/gender category, selection will be made on the basis of performances in the First USA ARDF Championships (Albuquerque, August 2001) and the Second USA ARDF Championships (Atlanta, April 2002).

For more information on the World Championships, including travel information and sample maps, see the Championships Web site: www.ardf.sk

For more information on Team USA, radio-orienteering in the USA, and the upcoming USA Championships near Atlanta, see the "Homing In" Web site: www.homingin.com

73, Joe Moell K0OV USA ARDF Coordinator