Most hams understand the need to support and encourage the younger generation’s involvement in amateur radio. Today I want to highlight one group, one station, and one team in particular that stands at the forefront of youth engagement and participation—the Caribbean Contesting Consortium (CCC) of the well-known superstation PJ2T at Signal Point in Curacao.
For many years, the CCC has supported and hosted the young operators of the Dave Kalter Memorial Youth DX Adventure, an organization that provides youth an opportunity to operate from larger contest stations. Often these young people travel internationally. In past years participants have been to Costa Rica as TI5N, Curacao as PJ2Y, and Saba Island as PJ6Y. They have even operated at the K3LR contest superstation.
I was a last-minute addition to the 2018 Youth DX Adventure team at the PJ2T station. Along with David (then VE7DZO, now VE7NW); Mason, KM4SII; and Dhruv, KC9ZJX, we operated as PJ2Y, logging over 6,000 contacts.
PJ2Y in action! (Image/KN2P)
This was my first experience at a station of that size and also operating alongside others, which I thoroughly enjoyed. This sparked the idea of duplicating the all-youth operating environment with a large and complex station and entering a contest, which led to the Team Exuberance event at K3LR in 2019.
During the Contest Dinner at Dayton HamventionÒ in 2024, I had the pleasure of meeting Geoff, W0CG, for the first time. Although he hosts the YDXA operations at PJ2T, he was unable to do so the year I was there. We talked about contesting and the CCC, and he mentioned they were looking for both YL and youth operators to join their team during the CQ WW SSB in October. He extended an invitation for me to return to PJ2T as a member of the multi-multi contest team, to which I excitedly agreed.
Out of the ten operators on the team, four youth were represented—Connor, W4IPC; Leon, DL3ON; Morgan, KI5SXY; and myself—as well as three YLs: Morgan, Dr. Haendel, W7MAH, and me. With over 26 million points, we finished in first place South America and sixth worldwide for our category.
Some of the PJ2T team at the post-contest dinner. (Image/KN2P)PJ2T team photo. (Image/KN2P)
After the contest was over, Connor, W4IPC, had a greater vision for the next year—an all-youth multi-multi contest team at PJ2T! He immediately got to work by asking for approval from the CCC and starting the process of hand-selecting the young operators to represent the PJ2T call sign and spirit. The team will be QRV during the 2025 CQ WW SSB Contest, October 25-26.
Team lead and organizer of this event, Connor, W4IPC, is a member of the CCC. He holds an impressive list of prior operations from PJ2T, NP4Z, ZF5T, WX3B, K1TTT, and LZ5R. Looking forward, he will be accompanying his team leader Kees, W0AAE, to compete as a youth team in the WRTC 2026 in the UK.
Max, N4ML, brings to the team his valuable knowledge from his time at K4RO, K0EJ, WX3B, and W1HQ. Not only does he have significant experience under his belt already, but he has some incredible operations on the horizon. He will be joining his team leader Willow, W7WLW, to enter WRTC 2026. In February 2026, he will be the only youth to participate in the 3Y0K Bouvet Island DXpedition.
Another outstanding young operator to join the team is Leon, DL3ON, who previously operated at PJ2T representing young contesters for CQ WW SSB 2024. Somehow he manages to find time between his electrical engineering classes at TUM to compile quite a list of operations, events, and experiences, including stations DQ2C, DF0HQ, ES9C, and J62K. He led a youth team and competed in WRTC 2023 and will return again to lead another youth team at WRTC 2026.
Megan, EI5LA, is a remarkable addition to the team with her expertise and proficiency from operating as EI7M, TM4Y, DQ2C, and OE1W. She competed during WRTC 2023 as Leon’s teammate and will join him again for WRTC 2026.
Grace, K8LG, is not only an incredibly talented contester, but is also an avid satellite operator. This year, she was the first person under 21 to receive the AMSAT Grid Master Award. She joined the team at K3LR superstation for CQ WW and has traveled to J62K to compete with their contest team and represent young people. She is now the youth ambassador for J62K.
I will be contributing my experience from previous operations at PJ2T, J62K, W3LPL, and K3LR for the Team Exuberance event. I will be traveling to Curacao directly from the South Pacific where I will be active from the North Cook Islands as E51MWA.
We are still fundraising to cover the full costs of all travel expenses, operating expenses, food, and lodging for every youth on the team. Our goal is to make this trip financially possible for everyone. If you are interested in supporting our mission as we continue to lead the way for youth participation and involvement, please visit PJ2T Youth. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out to team leader Connor at connor@w4ipc.com.
Thank you to PJ2T and the CCC for opening the station and providing these opportunities to young hams through the YOTA Youth Contesting Program.
Editor’s Note: Watch this excellent video from DX Engineering media partner Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio, featuring an interview with this article’s author, Violetta, KN2P.
