[ARDF] Ideas for 2006 USA ARDF Championships

[cscharlau at earthlink.net]

As Nadia and I make plans to host the 2006 USA ARDF Championships, we'd like
to get some feedback from the likely participants. Here are some tentative
plans. Please send us your comments in favor or against these ideas.
Remember, they are tentative plans at this point, so give us your opinions!
Final plans will depend on your feedback, and on the approval of the ARRL
ARDF Coordinator.


Venue: Raleigh, NC

The two days of the competition will take place over one weekend, Saturday
and Sunday. That's right: two days in a row with no rest day. (Come a few
days early, or stay late, if you'd like to experience some R&R in beautiful
North Carolina.)

The Friday before the event will be for arrival, orientation, and a small
practice session to help you become familiar with the transmitters.

The possible weekends we are considering are: April 1-2, 22-23, 29-30 (We
will avoid Easter April 16.)

Participants will be responsible for their own transportation, meals, and
accommodations. We'll provide a list of hotels, restaurants, and
transportation options in the vicinity of the competition. Camping inside
the park might be one option---let us know if you might be interested.

We may forego a post-competition banquet in favor of a simple award ceremony
immediately following the Sunday competition. This would allow competitors
to depart sooner, to accommodate those who might need to return to work on
Monday.

The two-meter transmitters, including the homing beacon, will transmit using
keyed-carrier amplitude modulation, just like at the ARDF World
Championships.

The courses will be challenging and conform closely to IARU Region I ARDF
rules. Accurate, high-quality orienteering maps will be provided. The
identity of the venue will NOT be kept secret, but all information about the
courses themselves will.


The proposed dates are only 8 months away, so please reply ASAP with you
comments. Feel free to forward this to anyone who might be interested in
attending.

73,
Charles & Nadia Scharlau
mailto:cscharlau at earthlink.net