Hot sunny weather continues! Some 26-28C today.
WRTC2002 caravan was transported by bus to SRAL Summer camp in Himos OH6 (camp site station has callsign OH6A).
Today we had the first meetings between the referees and competitors as well as a pileup contest (for fun) which was aired via Radio Hami 105.3MHZ/1584kHz (camp BC radio station). We hope to get the results tomorrow!
We also heard that EA3NY is not able to arrive Finland, so Julio EA3AIR will replace him.
On the Bus with WRTC - #1 - 10 July 2002
This is amazing! The number of people and calls and faces showing up from all over the world - some familiar from the log and some familiar from face-to-face meetings past - boggles the mind. It's like Saturday at 0000Z in the flesh.
My wife Nancy and I arrived yesterday on the 9th, shuttled flawlessly to the WRTC hotel headquarters by the efficient OH committee members led by Jouko OH1RX. There is nothing more welcome after a long flight to a new land than a smiling face holding a sign with 'WRTC' on it. We had hardly set foot to ground before being greeted by OH2BH and company. A milling company of previous arrivals milled about the lobby and patio of the Radisson SAS Espoo - WRTC nerve center for the next week.
The big attraction on opening day is, of course, the beer tent where you are suddenly surrounded by a WAZ of friends. There are stories to tell, congratulations to be made, and pictures to be taken. Already present was Team Africa, Chris ZS6EZ and Bernie ZS4TX, holding their own with a running commentary of humourous observations. Contesters from Zone 38 need a certain amount of humor to keep going in the sport.
Also present are the "separated at birth" twins Trey N5KO and Juan Carlos TG9AJR. If you've never met this pair, you'd be amazed to learn that they are not brothers. Trey, of course, is well known from his many contest wins and the big presence from HC8N and other Zone 10 calls.
A particularly loquacious trio is Wayne N7NG, Ohms PY5EG, and Walter DJ6QT. Here in a few square feet is a troika of many years of contesting experiences and adventures. You can ask these guys anything - as in anything - and you will learn something interesting.
The long, long, extra long daylight at 62N kept anyone from feeling the late hours after their long journeys. Suddenly, even though the sky said "mid-evening", our watches said "1 AM" and the jet lag started making itself felt. It was time to try out our sleep masks and grab a few winks.
The 10th found us working down the pileups at the breakfast buffet and ready for the first of our preparatory meetings. Appropriately for hams, this meeting was held in the Dipoli building. All of the competitors and referees were treated to an overview of the competition organization and rules, the basics of our stations, and a new element - the WRTC Real-Time Scoreboard.
The scoreboard is an idea that was finally realizable after the three previous WRTC competitions. Every hour, the referees will report the team's score to a central server, using Finland's legendary GSM mobile phone system. Nokia is a major sponsor of WRTC-2002 and has contibuted a number of interesting technologies to make the event both a success and up-to-date with the latest in communications.
The score information from each team will be posted to a Web page (see www.wrtc2002.org for the link to the page) for people around the world to watch. You will be able to see simultaneously the score and ranking of each team starting one hour after the start of the competition at 1200Z on Saturday.
By the photographs you can see how seriously all of the participants are taking WRTC and how much work that the OH committee has done to make the competition a success. After 90 minutes of explanation about the competition, OH5JQ presented a fine video about Finland and Finns. They're very proud of their country and culture.
After lunch, we're all piled on buses, where I'm writing this. Headed for Himos and SRAL (the Finnish national radio society) Summer Camp, we're enjoying a cold soda pop and the scenery as we drive north from Helsinki through Lahti and the lake country. Martti, OH2BH, has done a good job of explaining the Finnish psyche - which has a lot to do with three months of little sun in the winter.
As a humorous interlude, a songbook of parodies of Beatle's song were prepared by several of us before WRTC. On the way to Lahti, we had a sing-along of songs like "Martti Laine" (to the tune of "Penny Lane") and "When I'm 64" rewritten by K1DG in honor of Jim Neiger, N6TJ, who is celebrating his 63rd birthday during the festivities.
All in good fun, of course. So far, there has been a little bit of ham radio and a lot of meeting and greeting. Tomorrow things begin to get a little more serious with training of referees and detailed review of rules by the competitors. On Friday, we draw the referee assignments and pick our secret callsigns - to be opened only minutes before the competition. Very quickly, it will be time to begin - as the hours pass, there is a little more tension and sharpness in the contester's demeanor. These are, after all, the very best competitors in the world getting ready for one of the best contests.
So for today - a toast from the bus on the way to Himos...Kippis! (Cheers!)
73, Ward N0AX/OH
WRTC - World Radiosport Team Championship in Finland - July 9-16, 2002
© WRTC2002 Org. design: OH1NOA