Upcoming Contests!

One more Q!


There are many great contests throughout the year! This list is a tiny subset, but these are some of the more significant upcoming contests that our membership gravitates towards participating in. Definitely plan on operating the bold, first tier contests as part of our Northeast Maryland Amateur Radio Contest Society team! The bold italic are the best of the best!


DateContestModeClub Competition EligibleRanking*
2025202520252025
Oct 11, 2025PA QSO PartyMixedThird Tier
Oct 18, 2025Stew Perry Topband ChallengeCWThird Tier
Oct 18, 2025POTA Parks WeekendMixedNA
Oct 20, 2025School Club RUMixedThird Tier
Oct 25, 2025CQ Worldwide DX SSBSSBYes!First Tier!
Nov 1, 2025ARRL Sweepstakes CWCWYes!First Tier
Nov 8, 2025Worked All Europe RTTYRTTYThird Tier
Nov 15, 2025ARRL Sweepstakes SSBSSBYes!First Tier
Nov 29, 2025CQ Worldwide DX CWCWYes!First Tier!
Dec 5, 2025ARRL 160-Meter CWCWYes!First Tier
Dec 6, 2025FT Roundup ContestFT 4/8Third Tier
Dec 13, 2025ARRL 10-Meter ContestMixedYes!First Tier
Dec 21, 2025ARRL Rookie RoundupCWThird Tier
Dec 27, 2025Stew Perry Topband ChallengeCWThird Tier
Dec 27, 2025RAC Winter ContestMixedThird Tier
2026202620262026
Jan 3, 2026ARRL RTTY RoundupRTTYYes!First Tier
Jan 10, 2026North American QSO PartyCW5 SO stations maxSecond Tier*
Jan 17, 2026ARRL January VHFMixedYes!Second Tier
Jan 17, 2026North American QSO PartySSB5 SO stations maxSecond Tier*
Jan 23, 2026CQ WW 160-Meter CWCWYes!Second Tier
Jan 24, 2026Winter Field DayMixedFirst Tier
Feb 7, 2026EU-DXMixedSecond Tier
Feb 9, 2026School Club RUMixedThird Tier
Feb 14, 2026CQ WPX RTTYRTTYYes!First Tier
Feb 21, 2026ARRL DX CWCWYes!First Tier!
Feb 27, 2026CQ WW 160-Meter SSBSSBYes!Second Tier
Feb 28, 2026North American QSO PartyRTTY5 SO stations maxSecond Tier
Mar 7, 2026ARRL DX SSBSSBYes!First Tier!
Mar 14, 2026Stew Perry Topband ChallengeCWThird Tier
Mar 28, 2026CQ WPX SSBSSBYes!First Tier
Apr 19, 2026ARRL Rookie RoundupSSBThird Tier
May 30, 2026CQ WPX CWCWYes!First Tier
Jun 6, 2026ARRL Int Digital DXDIGSecond Tier
Jun 13, 2026ARRL June VHFMixedYes!Second Tier*
Jun 20, 2026Stew Perry Topband ChallengeCWThird Tier
Jun 27, 2026ARRL Field DayMixedFirst Tier
Jul 4, 2026CQ WW VHF SSB/CWSSB/CWYes!Second Tier
Jul 11, 2026IARU HF World ChampionshipMixedSecond Tier*
Jul 18, 2026North American QSO PartyRTTY5 SO stations maxSecond Tier
Jul 25, 2026RSGB IOTAMixedThird Tier
Aug 1, 2026North American QSO PartyCW5 SO stations maxSecond Tier*
Aug 8, 2026Maryland QSO PartyMixedThird Tier
Aug 8, 2026Worked All Europe CWCWThird Tier
Aug 15, 2026North American QSO PartySSB5 SO stations maxSecond Tier*
Aug 16, 2026ARRL Rookie RoundupRTTYThird Tier
Aug 29, 2026World Wide Digi DX ContestFT 4/8 Third Tier
Sep 12, 2026Worked All Europe SSBSSBThird Tier
Sep 12, 2026ARRL September VHFMixedYes!Second Tier
Sep 26, 2026CQ Worldwide DX RTTYRTTYYes!First Tier
Oct 10, 2026PA QSO PartyMixedThird Tier
Oct 17, 2026Stew Perry Topband ChallengeCWThird Tier
Oct 19, 2026School Club RUMixedThird Tier
Oct 24, 2026CQ Worldwide DX SSBSSBYes!First Tier!
Nov 7, 2026ARRL Sweepstakes CWCWYes!First Tier
Nov 14, 2026Worked All Europe RTTYRTTYThird Tier
Nov 21, 2026ARRL Sweepstakes SSBSSBYes!First Tier
Nov 28, 2026CQ Worldwide DX CWCWYes!First Tier!
Dec 4, 2026ARRL 160-Meter CWCWYes!First Tier
Dec 5, 2026FT Roundup ContestFT 4/8Third Tier
Dec 12, 2026ARRL 10-Meter ContestMixedYes!First Tier
Dec 19, 2026RAC Winter ContestMixedThird Tier
Dec 20, 2026ARRL Rookie RoundupCWThird Tier
Dec 26, 2026Stew Perry Topband ChallengeCWThird Tier

First Tier Contests - Definitely Plan on These!

The contests in the first tier are all BIG and with the exception of the two Field Day events, contest club eligible. CQ World Wide DX, ARRL DX, CQ WPX and ARRL Field Day are the biggest of them all. It would be great to see our Northeast Maryland Amateur Radio Contest Society put in a good, solid showing in all of the Tier 1 contests!


Second Tier Contests - These are Good Too!

These are also good contests that are all club contest eligible. The Second Tier* are particularly close to First Tier. The North American QSO Party (NAQP) contests are fun because all categories are limited to 100 watts and you can run multi-two with friends at one location if you like. We almost put the NAQP contests in the first tier, but we didn't want to make the first tier list too long. We will compete as a club in these contests on case by case basis too if there is enough interest.

The IARU HF World Championship could also easily be in the First Tier category. Falling in summer, it doesn't have quite the participation as the biggest tests, but it is close and could go either way.

These contests are in the second tier, either because they are on 160M only, VHF only or don't quite have the same level of participation as the first tier.


Third Tier Contests - More Fun!

These aren't club contest eligible, but you'll likely want to participate if you can! Maryland and PA QSO party contests are bold because club competition or not, we sure don't want to miss those!

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