The week of August 1-6, 2005, competitors from around the United Statesand the rest of the world traveled to Albuquerque, New Mexico for theThird IARU Region IIAmateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF) Championships. Organizedby the International Amateur RadioUnion (IARU), Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF) is the sportof finding radio transmitters on foot, using radio receiver, map, andcompass in diverse, wooded terrain. ARDF joins orienteering skills likethe proper use of topographic maps, compass skills, and locationalawareness, with radio direction finding skills using hand-held portablereceivers and antennas. The Region II Championships this year wereorganized and hosted by the Albuquerque Amateur Radio Club.

The competitors at the 2005 IARU Region IIARDF Championships on the morning of the 80M competition.

ARDF is often refered to in Amateur Radio society as "on-foot foxhunting."While that is accurate, there's more to it than that. ARDF is a sport withformalized, international rules that borrow a lot fromorienteering. In fact, ARDFis often called "radio orienteering" in orienteering society. Likeorienteering, ARDF includes navigation across diverse, wooded terrain,always with the use of a detailed topographic map, sometimes with the aidof a compass, and including navigation off-trail. The transmitters inthe woods are marked with standard orange-and-white orienteering controls(which look a little like box kites) and have some sort of punching systemwhere the runner can record their visit to the control. The event is a timedrace, where competitors leave a start area in five-minute intervals, mustfind a certain set of the transmitters out in the woods, and then runto the finish area marked on their map.

Twenty-nine radio orienteers, 23 men and 6 women, participated in thechampionships in New Mexico. California, Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky,Massachusetts, Montana, North Carolina, New Mexico, Ohio, and Texas wereall represented. Four of the competitors traveled to the meet from outsideRegion II, traveling from Australia, the Czech Republic, and Kazakhstanto North America to experience ARDF on new terrain. Even though noteligible for Region II competitive rankings, they were warmly welcomedto enter the event and share the experience. Many of the competitors havebeen entering the IARU Region II or USA ARDF Championships for severalyears, and the quality of competition improves every year. 12 of the 14members of the 2004Team USA came to New Mexico for this competition, making it the placeto be to see the very best North American athletes in the sport.

The results from these championships and the 2006 USA ARDF Championships(to be held in the Raleigh, NC area, probably on a weekend in April)will help determine who will represent the USA at the 2006 World ARDFChampionships, which will be held at a Black Sea beach resort nearBourgas, Bulgaria the week of 12-27 September 2006. Each country isallowed to bring up to three competitors in each of the nine entry classesto the World Championships. The United States of America is the onlycountry in IARU Region II that has ever sent a team to the ARDF WorldChampionships. The United States has yet to medal in a World Championships,but came close in 2004 when Nadia Scharlau of North Carolina finishedsixth in her category on the two meter competition.

ARDF is still a growing sport in North America. The level of competitionimproves every year, and there's still plenty of opportunity for newcomersto get involved. The Third IARU Region II ARDF Championships was anexceptional event, put on by a very dedicated group of individuals. Thenext IARU Region II ARDF Championship will be in 2007, at a location yetto be determined.

Complete results of the championships are available at the official event site. You can find morephotos of the event here and here.