Coupe du REF, CW

The CW half of France's national HF championship: 36 hours over the last full weekend in January, 80 through 10 metres, French stations sending their department number.

Rules at concours.r-e-f.orgThe rules are the sponsor's. This page holds the dates and the facts.

When it runs

Last full weekend of January

0600Z Saturday → 1800Z Sunday

Times are UTC, as the sponsor states them.

Next runnings

0600Z Sat 30 Jan → 1800Z Sun 31 Jan · 36h2027
in 120 days
Logs due 1800Z Mon 8 Feb
0600Z Sat 29 Jan → 1800Z Sun 30 Jan · 36h2028
in 484 days
Logs due 1800Z Mon 7 Feb
0600Z Sat 27 Jan → 1800Z Sun 28 Jan · 36h2029
in 848 days
Logs due 1800Z Mon 5 Feb
0600Z Sat 26 Jan → 1800Z Sun 27 Jan · 36h2030
in 1212 days
Logs due 1800Z Mon 4 Feb

Operating

Modes: CW
Bands: 80m40m20m15m10m
Exchange: French metropolitan stations send RS(T) + the number of the department where the antenna is located (e.g. 599 69); F6REF, the REF's official station, sends RS(T) + 00. DOM/TOM stations send RS(T) + the prefix of their entity (e.g. 599 FM). Foreign stations send RS(T) + a serial number starting at 001.
Power categories: Classe C (HP)Classe B (LP) 100 WClasse A (QRP) 5 W
Logs: Cabrillo · due 8 days after the end · concours.r-e-f.org
Who can enter: Anyone, anywhere.
The rules define 'stations etrangeres' as 'Toute station ne repondant pas a la definition ci-dessus' and give them their own categories and rankings ('Classement par continent et par classe de puissance'), but 4(b) limits them to French contacts: 'Stations etrangeres -- Seules les liaisons avec des stations francaises sont valables.'

Where this comes from

Checked against the sponsor: Yes. The rule on this page was read off REF's own published rules. Link last confirmed 2026-08-18.
What the source says: concours.r-e-f.org, 'Championnat de France - « Coupe du REF », Premiere et deuxieme parties HF - telegraphie et telephonie', 1(b): 'Bandes HF (80-10 m) -- Dernier week-end entier du mois de janvier (telegraphie) ou fevrier (telephonie), du samedi a 0600 UTC au dimanche a 1800 UTC.' English rules, 2: 'CW: Last full weekend in January. SSB: Last full weekend in February. Contest Period: 36 hours each mode (separate contests). Starts 0600 UTC Saturday; ends 1800 UTC Sunday'. Bands and modes, English rules (reg_cdfhfdx_en_20260420.docx, 'French HF Championship "Coupe du REF" rules'): '80, 40, 20, 15, 10 m, according to IARU band plan for each country, CW and Phone.' Power classes, FR 2(c): 'Classe A (QRP) : la puissance est inferieure ou egale a 5 W, Classe B (LP) : la puissance est superieure a 5 W et inferieure ou egale a 100 W, Classe C (HP) : la puissance est superieure a 100 W.' Log deadline, FR 9: 'Comptes rendus au format Cabrillo a deposer sur la page de la commission des concours au plus tard huit jours apres la partie du concours disputee' -- EN 8: 'All log entries must be postmarked no later than 8 days after the contest' -- so log_deadline_days is 8. REF published 24-25 January 2026 and 25-26 January 2025 for the CW part; the last-full-weekend rule reproduces both.
Recorded caveats: CONTRADICTION IN REF'S OWN DOCUMENT, RECORDED RATHER THAN RECONCILED: section 1(b) scopes these two parts to 'Bandes HF (80-10 m)' and the English rules list '80, 40, 20, 15, 10 m', but section 3(c) of the same PDF says 'Segments concours IARU des bandes 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 et 10 metres'. The document also governs the 160 m sub-part (REF 160 Metres, a separate record here), which is the likely reason the band is listed in 3(c); the 80-10 m reading is encoded because it is the one that scopes these parts specifically and the one the English rules repeat. REF's common HF rules ('Regles communes a tous les concours HF', 6A) state the deadline as '8 (huit) jours apres la fin du concours a minuit heure legale francaise', so the computed instant here is the end plus 8 days rather than French legal midnight.

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