"Team Exuberance" Aims to Lower the Average Age of Contesters
Seven of the world’s top youth CW operators will convene at the western Pennsylvania superstation of Tim Duffy, K3LR, in late May, in an effort to lower the average age of contest operators — especially CW operators. "Team Exuberance (TE)," comprised of teens and early 20-somethings, gained a reputation during the CQ WPX phone event in 2019. This year, they will tackle the CQ WPX CW contest on May 30 – 31. The young operators have been raising money to minimize the cost of the adventure for the participants and their families.
"The average age of today’s CW operator is 67," the group asserted. "Team Exuberance CW 2020 (TE CW 2020) is out once again to take a swing at the radiosport establishment, disprove the adage that old
The 2019 Team Exuberance with K3LR in the center. |
age and treachery will always beat youth and exuberance, and bring down the average age of the contesting community." They also want to prove "that youth contesters are legit contenders" in the radiosport arena.
Violetta Latham, KK8AT, led the first Team Exuberance contest operation, which took first place in North America in the Multi-Two category, racking up a score of 22 million points and logging 5,700 contacts. The team will stick to the Multi-Two format for the WPX CW this year.
The TE CW 2020 team will include David Samu, VE7DZO; Marty Sullaway, NN1C; Philipp Springer, DK6SP; Bruce Yang, KN8U/BH4EPL; Tomi Varro, HA8RT; Mathias Acevedo, CE2LR, and Bryant Rascoll, KG5HVO.
The team has mounted a GoFundMe campaign to raise the projected $8,000 necessary to cover airfare, hotel, transportation, and meals for the duration of the contest. Any excess funds will be donated to the David Kalter Youth DX Adventure.
"Your donation will not only help our team achieve the goal of participating in the CQ WPX CW 2020 but also keep the momentum of bringing more youth into the hobby and ultimately bring down the average age," the team said in its pitch.
TE CW 2020 says its operators were handpicked for this contest and are all highly skilled and experienced. Varro, who is 21, was the 2014 High-Speed Telegraphy (HST) competition champion, while Yang, also 21 and a student at Georgia Tech, was the World Rookie champion for the 2019 CQ WPX CW event.
"While amateur radio is not a mainstream hobby for today’s youth, finding skilled youth CW operators is even rarer," TE CW 2020 said in a news release. "They do [CW] because it’s fun and challenging."