Newly licensed amateurs will once again be the focus of attention on Sunday, April 17 as the ARRL Rookie Roundup enters its second year. Created to give the budding operator a place to learn about contesting at an easier pace, the ARRL Rookie Roundup is a six hour contest open to all amateurs who have been licensed for three years or fewer. If you were licensed in 2009, 2010 or 2011, you qualify as a Rookie. The Rookie Roundup happens three times each year: SSB in April, RTTY in August and CW in December.

But if you’ve been licensed for more than three years, don’t worry -- you can have fun, too! Old Timers also have a place in the Rookie Roundup. Elmering is a critical component of the Rookie Roundup, and OTs are encouraged to not only get on the air and work the Rookies, but to host a Rookie and assist them with learning how to participate. Rookies can work anybody, but non-Rookies can only work Rookies. The contest exchange is easy: just send both call signs, your first name and your location, either your US state, Canadian province or Mexican call area. If you’re not in one of those areas, send “DX” for your location.

You can log the contest using paper forms provided on the Rookie Roundup web page, or try your hand at logging on a real-time website. Once the contest is over and you’ve calculated your score, fill out the Rookie Roundup Online Score Submission Form to officially enter. All entrants must fill out that form to enter. But don’t dally -- you only have three days to submit your score summary! All score summaries must be received by 2359 UTC on Wednesday, April 20.

The 2011 ARRL SSB Rookie Roundup runs from 1800 UTC through 2359 UTC on Sunday, April 17, 2011. Complete rules and score submission information can be found on the ARRL Rookie Roundup website. For more information, contact ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X, via e-mail.