Ham Culture & Entertainment

Contest University from a Young Ham’s Perspective

While Dayton Hamvention® is an amazing event for young hams, Contest University (CTU) held the Thursday before the event is not to be missed! CTU has something to offer every ham regardless of contesting skill level. It’s a valuable opportunity for anyone looking to improve their contesting skills or just general operating skills.

I attended CTU for the first time in 2024 as a student, professor, and beginner-level contester. The structure of CTU is similar to that of most conferences. It starts out with a welcome and an overview of the event. Then we jump into the sessions right away.

Participants can choose which session they’d like to attend during each time slot, allowing them to get the most out of CTU by tailoring the day to what they’re interested in learning. Each session is led by an expert on the topic. After the presentation and, perhaps, a brief demonstration, the forum is opened up to questions.

Over the past few years, the youth presence at CTU has grown immensely. There are typically around 15 to 20 attendees under the age of 25. There are scholarships that waive the conference fee for youth, making it more accessible to young hams who may be interested in attending.

In my two years of attending, some of my favorite sessions have been about:

  • HF propagation, where I learned what times of day are best for what bands. This is immensely important to contesting because it helps you predict which band will be best for you to spend your time on so you can make the most QSOs.
  • Different types of serial interfaces and how to use them, which helped me in being able to set up my logging software and presets for CW
  • Tower climbing and safety

I also really enjoyed the presentation from Dr. Tamitha Mulligan-Skov, WX6SWW, about Solar Cycle 25. Most hams would agree that it’s pretty interesting how the sun affects and even determines HF conditions, and this presentation gave me a glimpse into how all of that works.

sunspot presentation slide screengrab
Here is a slide from Dr. Skov’s 2025 Contest University presentation. You can watch the livestream of the event here. Her presentation begins around 5:09:00. (Image/WX6SWW)
tower safety slide screengrab
Here’s a slide from the tower safety presentation by Tim Jellison, W3YQ/KL7WV, at 2025 Contest University. You can view slide decks of past CTU presentations here. (Image/DX Engineering)

Another exciting part of Contest University is the eyeball sprint. If you’re unfamiliar with what that is, think of it as a miniature, in-person contest. It functions just like any sprint contest would—no running, everybody calling CQ on a different frequency each time—but instead of frequencies, we’re using different spots around the room. We use a paper logging sheet and try to make as many contacts as we can in the ten-minute contest. This is a great opportunity to try out some of the tips and tricks you’ve learned throughout the morning to improve your “operating” as much as you can.

large contest university banquet hall seminar crowd
Contest University is held at the Hope Hotel in Dayton. The 2026 event will be Thursday, May 14, 7 am to 5 pm. Registration begins on December 16, but you can make your reservations for rooms at the Hope Hotel today. (Image/Contest University)

I’ve also really enjoyed being a professor at CTU, teaching about youth involvement and resources in the contesting community. Getting to do these talks has given me the opportunity to share a young person’s perspective not just on the mechanics of contesting, but also the parts of contesting that we sometimes tend to overlook: the community aspect, the friendships that can be made, and the opportunities for learning and fun. Although I do love the competitive side of it, these are some of my favorite parts of being involved in contesting.

ham radio elmer powerpoint slide screengrab
Here’s a slide from KE8LQR’s CTU presentation on “Youth Organizations that Promote Radio Sporting Activities; How to Get More Youth Involved.” (Image/KE8LQR)

I would strongly recommend Contest University to any young ham who may be interested in improving their contesting skills or just their general operating skills, even if they think it may be a little bit over their heads. It has taught me quite a bit, both in terms of contesting and operating in general, and it has also helped me meet plenty of friends, Elmers, and others. As a young ham, I’ve definitely enjoyed my time spent at CTU, and I’m confident that others would as well!

Tags: ,

Leave a Reply