Championship ARDF News
From USA and Around the World
Practice and championship courses will take place in well-mapped sites near Chelsea, Michigan. Chelsea is 50 miles west of downtown Detroit, 40 miles southeast of Lansing and 15 miles west of Ann Arbor.
Championships week begins on Saturday, October 5 with two full days of training at Pinckney State Recreation Area, led by Charles and Nadia Scharlau, NZØI and KO4ADV. Monday and Tuesday will feature practice sessions for all four events. The sprint competition will be Wednesday, followed by the 80-meter classic in Thursday, the foxoring event on Friday and the two-meter classic on Saturday. A banquet and awards ceremony will take place Saturday evening. After the sessions on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, there will be cultural outings and presentations.
The championship courses are being designed by KE8MKR and NZØI. Medals will be awarded for each event in each of the IARU age/gender categories.
USA's ARDF Championships are open to anyone of any age who can safely navigate in the woods with hand-held radio gear for several kilometers. Don't worry if you are inexperienced at radio-orienteering, as this is an opportunity to learn from experts. An Amateur Radio license is not a requirement.
A special ELT beacon exhibition contest is being planned to be held after the two-meter classic event. Search and Rescue teams and radio-orienteering sport teams of three or more competitors will track down a practice distress beacon, then navigate their way to a checkpoint and complete some search-and-rescue tasks to finish.
The official championships Web site is now live. Bulletin 2 from the organizers has detailed information, including descriptions of the planned venues, transportation options, camping, weater, etc. To avoid an unfair advantage of familiarity, anyone planning to participate in these championships should not enter the wilderness areas of these venues until the first day of competition. Headquarters hotel will be the Comfort Inn in Chelsea, now being converted to a Hampton Inn. The organizers have arranged for a special rate for participants.
Online registration is now open at this link. The deadline to avoid late fees is 15 August. Registrar is Ruth Bromer WB4QZG.
A Facebook page has been set up for ongoing developments, including volunteer opportunities. Also watch for more information in this Homing In site. Mark your calendar and plan to attend.
Also included during this time will be the First Individual Open ARDF Championships (IOAC), open to anyone from any country who wishes to take to the championship courses and has the physical capability to do so safely. Participants in the IOAC will start out after the main competition among Region 1 team members. There will also be a training camp from August 4 - 8.
At the official Web site of the Region 1 championships, you can download Bulletin 1 with the schedule, accommodations, fees, weather and travel information.
Stateside radio-orienteers interested in participating in the IOAC are asked to contact Nadia Scharlau KO4ADV (nadia-dot-scharlau-at-gmail.com), who is coordinating USA's communications with the organizers. Watch for more information about these championships in this Homing In site.
It's time to look forward to 2025. The ARRL ARDF Committee is seeking organizers for the 24th USA ARDF Championships, to be held in the spring. Hams in the selected city will invite radio-orienteers from all over the USA plus visitors from abroad. They will stage separate events on 2 meters and 80 meters, as well as sprints and foxoring, in accordance with IARU's rules for ARDF competitions. They will provide medals and host a dinner at which the medals will be awarded. And if they organize it well, they will have lots of fun.
The 2025 USA ARDF Championships must take place during the spring, in order to help determine the members of ARDF Team USA 2025, which will travel to the 22nd IARU World ARDF Championships in Lithuania in the fall.
If you have experienced international-style foxhunting, you already know how the sport promotes technical skills, builds physical ability, and fosters camaraderie. Putting on large-scale radio-orienteering events can add even more excitement.
If your local radio club or club council has ever put on a hamfest or ARRL convention, then all the necessary organizational skills and experience to stage an event of this type are probably available to you. Hams who have organized previous championships will have plenty of advice about foxtailing sites, mapping, housing, publicity, transportation, finances, and so forth. A page of tips for hosting ARDF championships is now in this Homing In site.
If you believe that the hams in your area would be seriously interested in hosting the USA ARDF Championships in 2015 or another future year, please reach out to the ARRL ARDF Committee
via e-mail now. The committee will provide information to help you approach your club/council leaders about it.
What better way to generate enthusiasm within your club, help your fellow hams, promote international goodwill, and have a great time doing it! Let's get started!
The ARRL Radio Orienteering Committee believes that the lack of affordable equipment is holding the sport back from broader participation. To address that need, committee members are developing two easy-to-build kits. The SignalSlinger is a versatile 80-meter QRP radio transmitter that functions as a regulation radio-orienteering "fox." It supports all common event formats: classic, sprint, and foxoring. Using its own high-accuracy real-time clock, it keeps all transmissions closely synchronized and allows precise start and finish dates and times to be specified. The SignalSnagger is an 80-meter direction-finding receiver that is designed to perform well in all common radio orienteering event formats. Its frequency is stable and accurate using a precision temperature-compensated signal generator. The antenna is a tuned loop with sense, based on a design by Dale Hunt WB6BYU. Both projects are fully open source. Manuals and all software and hardware design documents can be downloaded from a GitHub repository. The committee plans to raise funds for production builds of these kits.
This article has been expanded and moved here.
This article has been expanded and moved here.
This fund was first established in year 2000 with "seed money" from the Colvin Award, the ARRL Foundation and the ARRL General Fund. In its first five years, payments from the fund were made on behalf of 18 individuals to help defray the cost of their participation in three ARDF World Championships. Grants from the fund have also been made to the organizers of two USA ARDF Championships.
No further contributions are anticipated from the original sources, so the fund has been opened to contributions from individuals and clubs. All contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law and will be acknowledged by ARRL, a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Contributions may not be designated by donors to be granted to any specific recipient, individual or group.
Grants from the fund may be requested by groups sponsoring ARDF events in the USA and by individuals who have qualified to represent the USA in ARDF competitions sanctioned by the ARRL or the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU). Requests for grants should be submitted electronically at least 60 days in advance of need to the Development Office at ARRL Headquarters. They will be reviewed by a committee that includes ARRL's Chief Executive Officer, Chief Development Officer and ARDF Committee.
You can help support ARDF in the USA by sending a donation to ARDF Development Fund, c/o ARRL, 225 East Main Street, Newington, CT 06111. Checks should be made out to ARRL with "ARDF Development Fund" on the memo line.
The not-for-profit American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the national association of Amateur Radio operators, founded in 1914. ARRL is a member society of the IARU.
Local ARDF sessions for training and practice are sometimes held in the areas listed below. If you are close to any of them, get involved! If you're not, the task of developing ARDF locally is yours. With the help of other hams in your town, it can be relatively easy and fun. This may be just the activity to shake the doldrums out of your club. Start planning now!
Go to Equipment Ideas for Radio-Orienteering -- Simple and inexpensive receiving and transmitting solutions
Go to Radio-Orienteering News for Southern California -- Results and stories of recent radio-orienteering events in southern California, plus announcements of upcoming ones.
Go to Foxhunting for Scouts -- Let's get the kids involved
Go to Extenders Aid Handicapped Foxhunters -- A novel way to include persons with disabilities
This page updated 26 July 2024
The fall colors in central Michigan are beautiful. Will you be in this picture during October?
Announcing the 23rd USA Radio-Orienteering Championships
And 11th IARU Region 2 ARDF Championships
Chelsea, MI, October 9 - 13, 2024
Central Michigan will be the site for the 2024 USA Radio-Orienteering Championships, combined with the biennial ARDF championships of International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 2 (North and South America). Events will take place over a full week in October. Event Director will be Joseph Burkhead KE8MKR (at right), who has won numerous medals at USA's championships beginning in 2017. He brought home a team bronze award for his performance in the 80-meter classic event at the 2018 World ARDF Championships in Sokcho, Korea. Assisting will be members of the Southern Michigan Orienteering Club and the Chelsea Amateur Radio Club.
Pecs, the European Capital of Culture, lies on the southern slopes of the Mecsek Mountains, 110 miles southwest of Budapest. Stateside radio-orienteers are invited to the First Individual Open ARDF Championships near Pecs during August.
Announcing the 24th IARU Region 1 ARDF Championshps
Pecs, Hungary, August 9 - 14, 2024
Beginning in 2023, the World ARDF Championships take place in odd numbered years. During even-numbered years, the three International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) regions are encouraged to hold multi-nation championships. The 2024 Region 1 championships will take place August 9 - 14 near Pecs, open to teams from nations in Europe.
USA ARDF Championships 2025
Let's Start Planning Now 
Since the turn of the century, stateside hams have been treated to 22 outstanding national championship events. From preteens to septuagenarians, they have found radio foxes in the woods and have taken home medals. More Amateur Radio operators in the USA are aware of and have participated in international rules transmitter hunts than ever before.
More News From the ARRL ARDF Committee
Adalia Schafrath-Craig (at left) from Raleigh, NC competed at the 5th IARU World Youth ARDF Championships in Varoslod, Hungary, June 26-30, 2023. Adalia completed all three event formats, finishing in the top ten in the two-meter Classic competition. This year, ten nations from all three IARU regions sent teams to the youth championships. Complete results are in the event Web site.
Vadim Afonkin KB1RLI (at right) is on his way to becoming an IARU ARDF International Class Referee. His nomination was approved at the 45th Plenary Meeting of the IARU Region 1 ARDF Working Group ,held at the 21st IARU World ARDF Championships in Liberec, Czech Republic. An IARU ARDF International Class Referee is an experienced ARDF official supervising the strict observation of the Rules at international ARDF events. Vadim is the first such referee to be nominated from outside IARU Region 1. After completing his examination, Vadim will be certified to serve as a jury member at international ARDF events.
Team USA Competes in ARDF World Championships
Liberec, Czech Republic, August 27 - September 2, 2023The 22nd USA Radio-Orienteering Championships
Sulpher Springs, TX, April 19 - 23, 2023Same Sport, New-ish Name
This Homing In site has used the terms "ARDF" and "Radio-Orienteering" interchangeably with respect to on-foot transmitter hunting under international rules. Both terms are recognized in most countries where the sport is performed (see example at right from Czech Republic). However, ARDF is often confused with in-vehicle transmitter hunting (which I prefer to call "T-hunting"). Now the ARRL ARDF Committee has decided to emphasize the term "Radio-Orienteering" to help minimize confusion. The Committee sent this message on June 20, 2022:
Listing of Upcoming Championship ARDF Events Worldwide
24th IARU Region 1 ARDF Championships, August 9 - 15, 2024 in Pecs, Hungary.
23rd USA Radio-Orienteering Championships, October 9 - 13, 2024 in Chelsea, MI.
7th IARU World Youth ARDF Championships, July 2 - 7, 2025 in Marianske lazne, Czech Republic.
22nd World ARDF Championships, September 2025 in Lithuania.
ARRL ARDF Development Fund Seeks Donations
The ARRL Fund for the Development of Amateur Radio Direction Finding is now accepting monetary donations to support deserving groups and individuals as they expand international-rules ARDF activities in the USA.
Results and Photos of Other Stateside ARDF Events in Recent Years
Current SoCal sessions -- Southern California practice/demonstration events of 2024. SoCal 2023 -- Southern California (and Arizona) practice/demonstration events of 2023, including Hillcrest Park and Balboa Park. SoCal 2022 -- Southern California (and Arizona) practice/demonstration events of 2022, including Yuma Hamfest, Hillcrest Park and Felicita Park. SoCal 2021 -- Southern California practice/demonstration events of 2021, including Lake Los Carneros, Hillcrest Park and Bonelli Regional Park. (There were no events in 2020 due to COVID.)
SoCal 2019 -- Southern California practice/demonstration events of 2019, including Bonelli Regional Park, Mt. Pinos, Guajome Regional Park, Hillcrest Park, Mission Viejo Community Park, Yuma Hamfest and Lake Los Carneros. SoCal 2018 -- Southern California practice/demonstration events of 2018, including Hillcrest Park, Lake Los Carneros (2), Mt. Pinos, Santa Fe Dam, Mission Bay Park and Bonelli Regional Park. April 19 - 23, 2023 -- 22nd USA ARDF Championships near Sulphur Springs, TX. April 7 - 10, 2022 -- 21st USA ARDF Championships in Triangle, VA. October 14 - 17, 2021 -- Twentieth USA ARDF Championships in North Carolina. July 28 - August 4, 2019 -- Nineteenth USA and Tenth IARU Region 2 ARDF Championships near Raleigh, NC. June 13 - 17, 2018 -- Eighteenth USA ARDF Championships near Truckee, CA.
Additional ARDF Resources In This Site
Go to International-Style Foxhunting Comes To The Americas -- An introduction to the sport with the history of its development in the Western Hemisphere
Back to the Homing In home page