As one of the largest hamfests in the world, Dayton Hamvention® is a great place for young amateur radio enthusiasts to become more involved in the hobby. There are plenty of youth in attendance, and many different aspects of the hobby are represented through various events and activities offered specifically for young operators.
My first year attending Hamvention was 2019 (at ten years old), and my experiences there encouraged me to stick with the hobby and learn as much as I could from it. I stumbled upon the Youth Forum just in time to see a young YL give her presentation. As I made my way through the rest of the hamfest, I met numerous other young YLs who encouraged me to stay involved with amateur radio. I’m now friends with many of the YLs and other young hams I met that year. They’ve been some of the most encouraging Elmers that I’ve had as well.
Dayton Hamvention, scheduled in 2026 for May 15-17, has something to offer all young hams, from CW to satellites. Attendees have the opportunity to learn and ask questions about any specific subsection of the hobby they’re interested in. The booths and forum presentations are also a great way to find individual mentors for nearly all of these subjects.
As previously mentioned, Hamvention has plenty of activities, events, and challenges held specifically for young attendees, including the very popular and long-running Hamvention Youth Forum. The Youth Forum is the perfect place for young operators to meet other amateurs in their age range and discover different groups and opportunities for youth.
The Youth Forum is structured so that under one moderator, five or six young hams (typically under the age of 18) give presentations about an exciting amateur radio experience or an aspect of amateur radio they’re particularly passionate about. I’ve been a presenter in the Youth Forum for the past few years and have spoken about CW and my school club, as well as contesting. Some of the other presenters have spoken about how they incorporated amateur radio into their education or scouting groups, their POTA and SOTA activations, and other parts of amateur radio they’ve enjoyed pursuing. The Youth Forum also highlights all of the major sponsors of groups and events for youth in ham radio, as well as the winner of the Radio Club of America’s annual Young Ham Lends a Hand Contest. This contest honors a young licensed amateur radio operator who exemplifies the spirit of volunteerism—one of the core values of amateur radio, per the Radio Club of America.
Another opportunity for young people attending Hamvention is the recently added ARRL Youth Rally. Held Saturday, the all-day event exposes young people to as many different aspects of the hobby as possible with the hope of sparking interest in young hams. The past few years, some of the highlights of the Youth Rally have included a satellite operating demo, making VHF and UHF QSOs with a skydiver, and a POTA demo/introduction session.
Watch this ARRL video showing clips from the 2025 ARRL Youth Rally.
In addition to the dedicated youth events, young people are sure to find other operators in their age range at the hamfest, whether they’re at the AMSAT booth, the YOTA (Youth On The Air) booth, the Begali booth, or just hanging out with each other around the hamfest grounds.
Contest University and the Contest Super Suite are also great opportunities for young hams interested in getting into contesting. There are tuition scholarships offered for young people looking to attend Contest University, and it’s definitely worth the time spent learning from the many presentations throughout the day. While Contest University and the Contest Super Suite are not specifically for young hams, they’re both still incredible opportunities to learn about new aspects of the hobby and meet Elmers as well.
