International Amateur Radio Union
Region 1
Working for the future of amateur radio
4th Youth ARDF Championship of
IARU Region in Bastheim, Germany
July 2003
by Hans-H Ehlers, DF5UG,
Region 1 Executive Committee
zip file with full results
When
I thought that Bastheim the site for the 2003 IARU ARDF Youth
Championship was close to Munich I was wrong. When I expected to find a
beautiful place surrounded by excellent ARDF facilities I was right.
Bastheim a small village between Fulda and Coburg situated in the German
county Under-Franconia was a very good choice for this ARDF
Championship. Excellent weather conditions and a beautiful landscape did
their best to both satisfy the competitors and the officials. I had the
honour to open the 4th Youth ARDF Championship of IARU Region 1 in
Bastheim on behalf of the IARU Region 1.
The
official date was from Saturday the 7th until Wednesday the 11th of June
2003. I arrived on Saturday after a lengthy drive from Munich. Most of
the drive was on Autobahn, the German motorway. Then came federal roads
and finally country roads. Eventually I saw the yellow sign "Bastheim"
which marked the Franconian small village. All over I noticed members of
the national teams getting ready for the opening. By the different
sports dress one could identify the different countries taking part as
Czech Republic (CRC), Hungary (MRSAz), Russia (SRR), Slovakia (SARA),
Serbia (Yugoslavia SRJ) and Germany (DARC). What a colourful sight with
all the different flags, badges and dresses. The opening took place in
front of the new Rathaus (city hall) of Bastheim with speeches by the
Mayor of Bastheim Mr. Dietz, the chairman of the DARC district Franconia
Prof. Dr. Arndt and myself for IARU R1. Greeting words were sent by the
President of the Bavarian District-Government and by the IARU Region 1
chairman, LA1RR. All speeches pointed out how important activities of
young people are in respect of self training and international
understanding. They are also vital to the amateur radio societies to
gain young members. They congratulated the local DARC radio club "Hohe
Rhoen" for its effort to undertake such an international event. The DARC
also organized a Youth camp for the whole week in Bastheim. We even
learnt that the sun rises in Bastheim six hours earlier than in New
York. To be honest I missed it due to a very short night reading through
the latest issue of the terms of reference and therefore closed eyes in
the early morning.
The
competition started on Sunday morning. Very early the teams prepared
their gear for the competition. In the forest not far from the starting
point was a special warming up area. Before the start all the foxhunting
equipment had to be inspected and found in order. There were two kind of
transmitters used as foxes. For 3,5 MHz with an output of 2.5 W, A1A
emission. For 144 MHz transmitters with an output of 0.5 W, A2A
emission. The identification was in CW. After the start only the running
competitors and official referees were allowed into the actual
competition area. There were five foxes hidden at different places. The
landscape showed all different types of topography like hills, dense
forest, wet and dry areas. Quite a task for the young fox hunters. But
all of them managed this parcour some of them in a very brave manner. At
the final checkpoint they were greeted and cheered by the spectators and
co-competitors. Afterwards the International Jury chaired by the
Chairman of the IARU Region 1 ARDF Working Group, Rainer Flößer DL5NBZ
checked the records and prepared the official lists. Small disputes
could be solved right away. The decision of the International Jury is
final and cannot be challenged afterwards. The excellent results can be
found in detail on the homepage of the IARU R1 ARDF working group. Here
the results of the Societies Evaluation in order: 1. Czech Republic, 2.
Russia, 3. Hungary, 4. Germany, 5. Slovakia, 6. Serbia.
The
following days one could find an enormous response by the local and
district newspapers with following headlines: Amateur Radio Operators
from all over Europe on foxhunt - An international foxhunt centre
planned for Bastheim - Fox hunting a super hobby, excellent mix of
technology, sport and culture in society - Around 100 participants at
the European ARDF Youth Championship - Who ever listened to radio
signals will be fascinated by this adventure - Foxhunting creates
environmental conscience and demands knowledge of technology as well as
sense of orientation and endurance - Participants and Organizers happy.
I for myself fully agree with them and like to express my congratulation
to both the organizers and the participants. I also like to thank the
villagers of Bastheim and their Mayor for their outstanding support to
this event.
Pictures:
1. Logo of the 4th Youth ARDF Championship of IARU Region 1 in Bastheim
2. Road sign of Bastheim
3. Opening ceremony in front of the city hall of Bastheim
4. Before the competition
5. Map of the competition area