For the 87th Commonwealth Contest there was anticipation of even better propagation than the previous year but on the day there was some disappointment as although there was a high SFI, the A and K indices were also elevated and QSO totals particularly on 10m in both hemispheres were down.  The 80m band was also reported as being below par.  Total entries were slightly lower than last year but close to the average for the last decade.  The following call areas were active but did not submit logs: 9J, 9M, 9V, 9Z, C6, J8, V3, V4, V8, VE4, VK8, ZL1, ZS1, ZS2 and ZS6.  A number of contacts were made with a station in VP5, unfortunately he was operating on 14063kHz which is above the limit in the rules of 14060kHz and these were disallowed for points.

Submitted logs continue to be of a high standard despite many signals being extremely weak or difficult to copy in the higher receiving noise levels on the lower bands.  Entrants are reminded to ensure their station meets the requirements for the category entered, a few stations were moved from Restricted to Open as their antennas did not comply with the single element rule.  HQ stations continue to provide local contacts, back-scatter on the higher frequencies allowing many local stations to complete a clean sweep on all five bands.  Not logging the 'HQ' suffix, or logging it from stations which were not HQ, caused a noticeable loss of points.  One HQ station did briefly forget to send the 'HQ' suffix early on which was swiftly corrected, however no one lost points due to this omission.A full list of HQ stations active usually appears on Bob G3PJT'swebsite before the start of the contest and post-event a wealth of reports, stories and achievements makes for fascinating reading.

In the team event there were again two Australian teams entered, however a combination of propagation, some last minute changes, PC failures and one operator being taken to hospital after only 7.5 hours resulted in Australia 1 achieving only fourth place this year and Australia 2 propping up the table.  It was good to see that despite these problems, all ten Australian team places were taken up and some new operators taking part.  I'm pleased to report that the hospitalised operator made a full recovery and was able to submit his log within a short agreed extension.  However, none of this takes away the achievement of the Canada/Ontario A team for their excellent performance to take the top spot in the Team Competition.  World Travellers Plus are in a very close second place with a score only slightly down on last year.  The final certificate goes to Team GE, which is the first time since the team competition was introduced that a UK & CD team has been in the top three.

There were fifteen HQ stations taking part this year, two more than 2023, six from the UK & CD, six from Australia and three from Canada.  In first place was Chris GM3WOJ operating the long-established Commonwealth Contest HQ station GB5CC and in a very creditable second place is VA3RAC, this year in the hands of Dave VE3KG.  The final top three position is GW6XX with Martin GW4XUM on the key.  A big thank you to all the HQ stations for providing valuable bonus points, for many on all five bands.

This contest always encourages travellers, particularly to activate Commonwealth Call Areas that have few or even no regular participants.  This year there were two expeditions to Jamaica giving the opportunity to get that CCA in the log on all five bands not just once but twice so a fitting reward is a Commonwealth Travellers Certificate to both Mike G3VYI (6Y6YI) and Iain G4SGX (G4SGX/6Y).  A Commonwealth Medal for 2024 is awarded to Allan VK2GR to recognise many years of regular participation.

Every year the RSGB HF Contest Committee reviews contest rules and the methods of publicising contests to ensure these keep pace with current technology and to see what might be done to increase participation in the years to come.  The Commonwealth Contest is in fair health with entrant numbers generally holding up over the last decade but it is noticeable that some countries/continents have been declining or absent so clearly more can be done to address this.  As part of this, a survey of current entrants of the Commonwealth Contest is planned in the near future so look out for your chance to make your views, ideas and suggestions known to the committee.

The Commonwealth Contest requires a unique knowledge of propagation and perseverance to achieve a good result so congratulations to all Trophy and Certificate winners.

John G4CZB