1990 Seattle

The first WRTC was held in Seattle, WA, in July 1990 at the same time as the Goodwill Games.  Developed and hosted by a team of Seattle-area contesters, WRTC-1990 was independent of the Games but brought contesters together from around the world in the style of Olympic athletic events. One of the highlights of the event, helped by the association with the Goodwill Games, was having radio operators from the Soviet Union visit the United States.

The Seattle WRTC was the first time that contesters all competed from the same general location in a world-class event, rather than from their home stations.  Minimizing the geographic variation unavoidable in a worldwide competition, WRTC enabled operators to compete based on team skills in a common setting.

The actual competition was held on a Friday in a contest that was created just for WRTC. Teams of two-competitors operated one radio together as a team. All of the stations used  by the WRTC teams were located at existing amateur radio stations in the Seattle area. Not all of the stations were in equally advantageous locations, and some had more desirable callsigns than others. In addition to the two team members, a referee was present at each station to monitor compliance with the WRTC rules.

Top three finishers were awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals.

Gold: John Dorr K1AR and Doug Grant K1DG
Silver: Mike Wetzel W9RE and Chip Margelli K7JA
Bronze: Jeff Steinman KR0Y and Bob Shohet KQ2M

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