ZS SOTA Activity Weekend

When it runs

Third full weekend of May, and Third full weekend of September

• 0000Z Saturday → 2159Z Sunday

Times are UTC, as the sponsor states them.

Next runnings

1. 0000Z Sat 15 May → 2159Z Sun 16 May · 45h 59m2027

   in 225 days

2. 0000Z Sat 18 Sep → 2159Z Sun 19 Sep · 45h 59m2027

   in 351 days

3. 0000Z Sat 20 May → 2159Z Sun 21 May · 45h 59m2028

   in 596 days

4. 0000Z Sat 16 Sep → 2159Z Sun 17 Sep · 45h 59m2028

   in 715 days

5. 0000Z Sat 19 May → 2159Z Sun 20 May · 45h 59m2029

   in 960 days

6. 0000Z Sat 15 Sep → 2159Z Sun 16 Sep · 45h 59m2029

   in 1079 days

Operating

Modes

Mixed

Bands

not read off the sponsor's page yet — so every band filter on the schedule hides this contest

Exchange

An RS, RST or RSQ report and the SOTA reference.

Logs

no deadline or format recorded

Who can enter

Anyone, anywhere.

'This fun activity is open to all radio amateurs.'

Where this comes from

Checked against the sponsor

Yes. The rule on this page was read off SOTA SA's own published rules. Link last confirmed 2026-08-19.

What the source says

2026 SARL Contest Manual Version 1.1 (2025-12-15), mysarl.org.za, 'The ZS SOTA Activity Weekends': 'This is a fun event to encourage radio amateurs to participate in the Summits on the Air (SOTA) programme. This fun activity is open to all radio amateurs.' '1.1. 00:00 UTC on 16 May to 21:59 UTC on 17 May 2026 on the third full weekend of May - Autumn Activity Weekend. 1.2. 00:00 UTC on 19 September to 21:59 UTC on 20 September 2026 on the third full weekend of September - Spring Activity Weekend.' '2. Frequencies and modes All amateur bands and modes.' '3.1. RS, RST or RSQ report and the SOTA reference.' '4. Categories 4.1. Activator 4.2. Chaser.' Logs go to the SOTA database rather than to SARL: '6.1. Upload your SOTA log to the SOTA Database (https://www.sotadata.org.uk/en/) as soon as possible after the QSO Party.'

Recorded caveats

THE CATALOG'S SECOND RECORD WITH NO BANDS, AND THE SECOND FOR A GOOD REASON. SARL states '2. Frequencies and modes All amateur bands and modes' -- there is no list to record, and writing one out would be this catalog inventing a restriction SARL did not state. Same treatment as JARL's New Year QSO Party. The consequence is real and the page says so: every band filter necessarily excludes this record. Modes are 'Mixed' for the same sentence -- that is exactly what the token means. It sits at the edge of what this catalog is for. It has dates, rules, an exchange and categories, so it is a scheduled operating event with a schedule worth publishing; but it is scored through the SOTA database rather than by a log submitted to the sponsor, and 'Activator' and 'Chaser' are roles rather than entry classes. Encoded on the same reasoning as UBA's Belgian Mills Award, which is also an award-shaped event with real dates. Sourced from the SARL Contest Manual, which carries this contest's full rules and names its organising body -- the venue in which South African clubs publish their rules, not a listing of them. See data/sources.md, 'Nine South African clubs, one manual'.

Something wrong? How to report it — a link to the sponsor's own page is all it takes.

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