School Club Roundup: How Schools and Clubs Join the ARRL Event

Most contests are won by big stations with tall towers. The School Club Roundup is different: it exists to give students, teachers and school radio clubs a friendly on-air event where they are the people everyone wants to work. Run by the ARRL, it takes place twice during the school year and lasts five days each time, so a school can fit it into a normal timetable instead of giving up a weekend. This guide summarizes the official rules on the ARRL page: the dates, the exchange, how points and multipliers work, which bands and frequencies are allowed, and how a school or individual can take part. Always check the ARRL page before each event, because details can change.

What the School Club Roundup Is

The ARRL School Club Roundup page describes an event that encourages contacts with any class of station, especially school stations. Anyone can take part: schools, clubs and individuals. School stations are those operated at a school during the operating period, including any group formed for the purpose of participating, from kindergarten to university. The aim is to give young people real operating experience and to give experienced operators a reason to call a student who may be on the radio for the first time.

If you are just starting out in contesting, this is one of the gentlest events on the calendar, in the same family as the ARRL Rookie Roundup, but spread over a school week. Our contest calendar guide shows where it fits among other events.

Dates and Operating Limits

There are two School Club Roundups during each school year, in October and February. Each event runs Monday through Friday, from 1300 UTC on Monday to 2359 UTC on Friday, a period of 107 hours. The October session is held during the third full school week of October and the February session during the second full school week of February. The ARRL page lists February 9-13 and October 19-23 for 2026, so use the page to see the date for the next session.

The operating limits are designed for school days. A station may operate no more than 6 hours in any 24-hour period, and no more than 24 hours of the 107-hour event in total. Clearly marked breaks of at least 10 minutes may be taken and do not count toward operating time. That rule keeps the event from becoming a marathon and lets a club share one callsign among many students, each operating a short shift.

Bands, Frequencies and Simplex Rules

All amateur bands except 60, 30, 17 and 12 meters are permitted. Repeaters are not to be used; only recognized simplex frequencies may be used. The ARRL gives US examples: 144.90 to 145.00 MHz, 146.49, 146.55 and 146.58 MHz, and 147.42, 147.45, 147.48, 147.51, 147.54 and 147.57 MHz. The national calling frequency of 146.52 MHz may not be used, and similar restrictions apply in other countries. The page also suggests HF segments to make finding school stations easier:

• Phone (MHz): 1.855-1.865, 3.850-3.880, 7.225-7.255, 14.250-14.280, 21.300-21.330 and 28.440-28.460.
• CW (MHz): 1.800-1.810, 3.530-3.540, 7.030-7.040, 14.030-14.040, 21.130-21.140 and 28.130-28.140.

These are suggestions, not requirements; rules in your country about which segments are legal for your licence class still apply. If you are not sure which sideband or which segment to use, our guide on USB versus LSB explains the conventions by band.

Entry Classes and the Exchange

The event uses three single-transmitter entry classes, and the exchange is built around them. The exchange has four parts: your call sign, a signal report, your class and your location. The class is the letter I (individual or single operator, non-club), C (club or multi-operator group, non-school) or S (school club or group, grades K-12, colleges and universities). The location is your US state, Canadian province or territory, or DXCC country or entity. Multi-operator groups must choose one call sign for the whole operating period.

A full exchange has to be sent and received over the air. Because of that rule, only digital modes that support the full exchange are allowed. A typical phone contact on 20 meters is therefore “CQ School Club Roundup” and an answer along the lines of “59 S, Ohio”, which already gives the receiving station the signal report, school class and location.

How Scoring Works

You may contact each station once per band and mode, with phone, CW and digital counted as the three modes (packet, RTTY, PSK and similar modes count as digital). Phone QSOs score 1 point and CW or digital QSOs score 2 points. Repeater contacts are not allowed, except satellite and real-time digital contacts, which may include the use of digipeaters and network nodes but not store-and-forward bulletin boards or mailboxes.

The multiplier is the number of US states plus Canadian provinces and territories plus DX countries or entities, plus 2 times the number of clubs contacted, plus 5 times the number of schools contacted. Alaska and Hawaii count as US states, while other US possessions and territories, including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, count as DX entities. The final score is the QSO points multiplied by the multiplier. Because every school is worth five multiplier points, a school is the most valuable contact you can make. That is deliberate, and it explains why experienced operators gladly slow down and call a student station.

Preparing a School Station

The ARRL page links teachers’ advice for organizing a successful activity, and a few practical points follow from the rules. Plan a shift schedule so that no single callsign breaches the 6-hour limit, and keep a written list of operating times. Prepare a small card with the exchange so that a student can read it aloud without stress. Decide in advance which bands the school can reach: with a modest HF setup and a simple wire, 20 and 40 meters are usual choices, and 10 meters can be excellent when it is open. If you are building a school station from scratch, our guide to teaching children amateur radio collects activities that help students prepare, and our first QSO guide shows what a normal contact sounds like.

Remember licensing. Students who are not licensed can operate under the supervision of a licensed control operator in some countries, but rules on third-party operation differ, so ask your national society before the event. If your students will contact DX stations, observe the restrictions that apply to communicating with other countries.

Logging and Submitting Your Entry

You can log on paper, using the SCR paper log form and summary sheet, or on a computer. The ARRL page lists GenLog version 7.48 or later, N1MM Logger+ and N3FJP version 1.2 or later, and says that other popular logging programs may also support the event. If you use a Cabrillo file, the ARRL provides a Cabrillo specification sheet, version 0.96. Our guide to Cabrillo logs and UBN explains what the format looks like.

Entries must be submitted online or postmarked no later than 15 days after the end of the operating period. The online form is the simplest route. Log contents used to determine final scores and awards are available to the public. For questions, the ARRL gives the contest address, contests@arrl.org.

Certificates and Categories

All entries receive an award certificate in PDF format. The entry categories for certificates are elementary, middle or junior high school, senior high school, and college or university. Non-school clubs, multi-operator groups and individuals are also eligible for a certificate, and DX entries are listed separately at the end of the US entries in each category. Results from October 2013 onward are available online at the ARRL contest site, and the page mentions that LBJ High School Radio Club (K5LBJ) ranked first in the high school category in both 2006 and October 2010, a reminder of what a motivated school club can do.

A Sample Operating Session

To see how the rules fit together, imagine a school club with one transceiver and a simple wire antenna that plans a 30-minute lunchtime shift on Wednesday. A student sets the radio to the suggested 14.250-14.280 MHz phone segment, listens for a clear spot and calls, “CQ School Club Roundup, this is the school club station.” A club station answers with a signal report, the letter C and its state. The student records the call sign, the report, the class and the location in the log, and the contact scores 1 point. Because it is a club, it also adds 2 to the multiplier the first time it is worked.

A few minutes later a school station answers from another state. That contact scores 1 point in phone and adds 5 to the multiplier, as well as its own state if that state is new. By the end of the shift, the student has a handful of contacts, a feel for how an exchange sounds, and a log that is easy to check. If the school later moves to CW or a digital mode, the same contacts can be worked again on the new mode for 2 points each, since stations may be worked once per band and mode.

Planning around these rules makes a difference. A school with only a few students operating each day gets most of its score from variety, not volume: more states, more clubs and more schools raise the multiplier faster than extra contacts with the same people.

Why the Event Works for Education

The event teaches a lot in a short time. Students learn how to speak clearly on the air, how to use phonetics, how to read a map to understand where a station is, and how propagation changes with the time of day and the band. Teachers can link the event to lessons about geography, electronics and communication. The five-day format also means a class can follow the whole event, compare which bands were open in the morning and afternoon, and discuss why. The general idea of competitive operating is described in the Wikipedia article on contesting, and the School Club Roundup is a gentle introduction to it.

Clubs that support a school can help by lending equipment, setting up an antenna, and acting as the licensed control operators. Even a short visit to explain how to log a contact is valuable. Keep the tone encouraging, and let the students do the calling and logging themselves whenever the rules in your country allow it.

Tips for Experienced Operators

• Listen first. School stations often have small antennas and a modest signal, so be patient and call with clear, slow speech.
• Give a clean exchange and repeat it if asked. A student may be writing it down for the first time.
• Do not use repeaters or the national calling frequency; stay on proper simplex frequencies on VHF.
• If you are a club, send the letter C so schools know you are in the right category and can count the multiplier.
• Say thank you and encourage the operator. A friendly contact can be the reason a student becomes a licensed ham.

The Bottom Line

The School Club Roundup is a five-day, twice-yearly ARRL event built around schools, clubs and new operators. The exchange (call, report, class I, C or S, and location) is short, scoring is simple (1 point for phone, 2 for CW or digital, multiplied by locations plus club and school bonuses), and the operating limits keep it manageable on a school schedule. Check the ARRL page for the next dates, prepare a shift plan and an exchange card, and make a point of calling any school station you hear.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the School Club Roundup held?

Twice each school year: the third full school week of October and the second full school week of February. Each event runs from 1300 UTC Monday to 2359 UTC Friday.

Can individuals who are not in a school take part?

Yes. Individuals and non-school clubs can enter and are eligible for a certificate, and they are encouraged to contact school stations.

What is the exchange?

Your call sign, signal report, class (I for individual, C for club or S for school) and your US state, Canadian province or territory or DXCC country or entity.

How many hours can a station operate?

No more than 6 hours in any 24-hour period and no more than 24 hours of the 107-hour event. Marked breaks of at least 10 minutes do not count.

Which bands are not allowed?

The 60, 30, 17 and 12 meter bands are not permitted. All other amateur bands may be used, but repeaters may not.

When are logs due?

Entries must be submitted or postmarked no later than 15 days after the end of the operating period.