Document reference S0.1

Issue number 1.3

Date of issue 23-Apr-2002

Programme start date 02-Mar-2002

Authorised John Linford, G3WGV Date 23-Apr-2002

Management Team G0HJQ, G3CWI, G3WGV, M5EVT

"Summits on the Air", SOTA and the SOTA logo are trademarks of the Programme. This document is copyright of the Programme. All other trademarks and copyrights referenced herein are acknowledged.

The following terms are defined and have the meanings shown below. Defined terms are capitalised, e.g. "Activator". Terms that are themselves used within the following definitions are shown herein in Italics.

The purpose of SOTA (the Programme) is to encourage Amateur Radio based activity from the summits of hills and mountains in countries around the world and to provide an award system for Radio Amateurs in all DXCC Entities.

The Programme is intended encourage activity from clearly defined peaks, including major mountains. To enable participation in the Programme to be as wide ranging as possible, lesser peaks can also be included. An incremental scoring system recognises the higher peaks accordingly. The Programme does not accept operation from or in the immediate vicinity of motor vehicles.

The programme provides for participation by Activators who make QSOs from the Summits, Chasers who make contact with the Activators and Short Wave Listeners.

The Programme is open to all radio amateurs, worldwide. There are no restrictions on who may activate Summits although it is probable that most activators will live in the general area. Chasers and Short Wave Listeners may be in any country, even if there is no Association covering their area.

A small Programme Management Team is responsible for the overall management of the SOTA Programme. Specifically, it is responsible for creating and maintaining the General Rules and for determining the suitability proposals made by Associations (see below).

Logically distinct geographical areas form organisational components of the SOTA Programme, known as Associations, by adopting the General Rules. There are three possible variants of Association:

Each Association must appoint an Association Manager. The Association Manager determines parameters that are appropriate to local needs. He then creates the Association Reference Manual and submits it as a proposal for participation to the Programme Management Team. When the Association Reference Manual has been accepted by the Programme Management Team, the Association is said to be Incorporated.

Within an Association’s area there may be one or more mountain Regions. These should be distinct geographically or geologically. From a practical perspective, the number of Regions should be limited to a maximum of twelve.

There are three Classes of participant: Activators, Chasers and SWLs. Teams may be formed to participate in the Activator Class. Points are awarded in each Class and awards are available recognising specified levels of achievement.

The Programme commences on 2 March 2002. Each Association has its own start date being the date that it became Incorporated. Summits can be claimed at any time after the start date for the responsible Association.

Each mountain Region in the Association is assigned a unique two-character identifier. Individual Summits within the Region are assigned a number in the range 001 to 999 (it is not anticipated that any region will exceed a few hundred Summits; if necessary, subdivision will occur).

Within an Association, this creates a unique Reference Number in the form, e.g. LD-003. Leading zeros are applied as shown where the number is less than 100. The Reference Number is used throughout the programme to identify the Summit.

For the sole purpose of unique identification worldwide, an International SOTA Reference Number is created by prefixing the Reference number with the Association description. This is either

To avoid confusion with the Islands on the Air (IOTA) programme, the Summit identifier letters must not be one of the continent abbreviations, namely AF, AN, AS, EU, NA, OC or SA.

Each Association is required to determine a strategy for defining a list of Summits that is consistent with the nature of the general terrain in that Association. The definition must take account of the following guiding principles

It is recognised that operation from the exact top of the Summit may be difficult or even impossible. It is also important that SOTA operations do not disturb the enjoyment of the mountains by others. Accordingly, each Association shall define the vertical distance from the precise summit, within which a Summit operation will be considered valid.

The list of Summits for an Association is not necessarily exhaustive. It is acceptable that the list will evolve over time, as the Programme develops within the Association.

Summits can be added to the Programme provided they meet the definition agreed for the Association. A Summit that is added in this way will be valid for general activation from the date that the Reference Number is issued.

Activators of potential new summits should provide materials to the appropriate Region Manager and Association Manager, prior to the Expedition, which demonstrate that the criteria are met. A reference number will then be issued by the Association Manager. If the summit is activated before a reference number has been issued then points may, at the Association Manager’s discretion, be retrospectively claimed for the expedition, but only if a reference number for the summit is subsequently issued.

A Summit will be deleted if it fails to meet the criteria (e.g. due to more accurate mapping). Existing credits for the summit, for activation prior to its deletion, will be retained.

All Expeditions must use legitimate access routes and comply with any local rules regarding use of the land. In particular, Activators must ensure that they have any necessary permission to operate from their chosen Summit. Note particularly that it may not be acceptable to camp overnight in any area of mountainous terrain, without permission from the landowner.

For an Expedition to be considered valid, the following criteria must be met:

The Activator claims the Summit points on an expedition basis, regardless of the total number of QSOs made above the qualifying minimum. A Summit may be activated as often as desired but an individual Activator can only claim points for operation from a particular Summit once in any calendar year.

QSL cards are not required.

Activators must not cause any damage to the environment. This includes damage to the mountain itself, walls, fences, livestock, buildings, etc. Any Activator who is found to have deliberately or carelessly caused such damage may be, at the Programme Management Team’s discretion, excluded from the programme.

Activators are required to operate in a manner that is in keeping with the spirit of the Programme.

Activators must operate with due consideration for other people on the hills. Excessive noise, inconsiderate siting of equipment and antennas, etc. is not acceptable and potentially brings the Programme into disrepute. Evidence of such behaviour may result, at the Programme Management Team’s discretion, in exclusion from the programme.

Activators must be competent to undertake their proposed Expedition and must carry suitable equipment, taking account of the terrain, weather conditions, etc. Activators do so entirely at their own risk and the Programme in its entirety shall accept no responsibility for injury, loss of life or any other loss.

The Summit score is claimed for a single QSO with the Expedition. Multiple QSOs with the same Expedition do not attract additional points.

The Summit score is claimed for hearing a single QSO with the Expedition. Multiple QSOs heard with the same Expedition do not attract additional points.

All modes and amateur radio bands are valid for the Programme.

A scoring system relating to the height of the Summit ASL must be implemented unless this is clearly and demonstrably impractical (see below). Each Summit is worth a certain number of points, dependent upon its height ASL. Six height bands are defined, expressed in metres ASL and optionally in feet ASL, the values of which are determined on an Association basis. Height bands for an Association are determined by the Association Manager and must be shown in the Association Reference Manual.

Points are awarded to both Activators and Chasers as follows:

The height banding must be constructed in such a way that it encourages operation from the highest peaks in the Association. Therefore, Band 6 should only apply to a small proportion, say 10%, of Summits. Conversely, a reasonable number of Summits must fall into Band 1 to encourage lower level participation. Again, as a guideline 10% of Summits is acceptable.

Where it can be shown that a scoring system based on altitude is demonstrably impractical then the Association Manager shall propose an alternative scoring system for approval by the Programme Management Team. Such a system must take into account the full range of Summits in the Association.

It shall be the Association Manager’s responsibility to establish the need for such an alternative scoring system and to provide evidence to the satisfaction of the Programme Management Team.

A seasonal bonus may be made available to all Activators undertaking Expeditions within an Association, at the discretion of the Association Manager. This can be applied to winter conditions where there is significant seasonal variation in temperatures or to other parameters, such as monsoon seasons, etc. There shall be only one such period in a year, up to a maximum duration of four months. The bonus shall only apply to Expeditions to the higher Summits and shall be, in all cases, three points. The Association Manager shall determine eligibility of his Association for the seasonal bonus and shall define the inclusive dates that constitute the bonus period and the minimum height of qualifying Summits.

In the event that an Activator activates a Summit more than once during the year, he may claim points for any one Expedition. If one expedition was during the period that the seasonal bonus was in operation, then he can claim that expedition together with the higher score.

The General Rules (this document) provides a framework in which the Programme operates. Each Association creates an Association Reference Manual, which comprises Association-specific data that customises the Programme to the needs of the Association’s area. The Association Reference Manual shall comprise the following sections:

The Association Reference Manual is created by the Association Manager and authorised by the Programme Management Team. An Association only becomes operational in the Programme when its Association Reference Manual has been duly authorised.

Association Reference Manuals are maintained by the Association Manager and are published as downloadable documents in Adobe PDF format, on the SOTA web site.

All Summits eligible for the SOTA award shall be shown in the Association Reference Manual, subdivided into Regions as required. The minimum information required in the tables is:

New Summits will initially be shown on the web site but it is the Association Manager’s responsibility to maintain the Association Reference Manual as new Summits are added. The Association Manager must make the updated manual available upon request and, in any case, at least once per year on the anniversary of becoming an Association.

The General Rules have precedence over the Association Reference Manual in case of any conflict. The General Rules also have precedence over all other Programme documentation, official or otherwise; e.g. Activator’s Guidelines, etc.

Certificates and plaques are awarded to recognise achievement in the entire SOTA Programme, comprising all Associations. Certificates will be awarded for 100, 250 and 500 points. Different certificates are awarded for Activators and Chasers.

"Shack Sloth" plaque for Chasers who attain 1000 points.

"SWL" plaque for Short Wave Listeners who attain 1000 points.

Endorsements will be issued for attachment to the plaques for each increment of 200 beyond 1000 points.

Certificates and plaques are issued upon request, by the Programme Management Team based on logs lodged on the Internet. A charge is made to cover the costs.

In addition to Programme-wide, certificates and plaques, Associations may define their own award system, which is administered by the Association Manager. These award systems must be defined in the Association Reference Manual.

The Programme Management Team administers the Programme on a volunteer basis. The Programme Management Team has overall responsibility for the operation of the Programme in all Associations and its decisions are final.

The Programme Management Team shall appoint an Association Manager for each Association, who is responsible for advising on the Programme’s operation in that Association. In particular, the Association Manager creates and maintains the Association Reference Manual for his Association and agrees its contents with the Programme Management Team.

The Association Manager will at his discretion, appoint Region Managers as required in each mountainous region of an Association, to provide local knowledge for the Association Manager and the Programme Management Team. The Region Manager can also be contacted to provide advice for would-be Activators planning to visit the area.

Summit Activators will be encouraged to publicise their intended Expeditions to maximise the opportunity for Chasers to make contact. An Internet "reflector" has been set up for the purpose to which any interested party may subscribe.

Lists of summits that have been allocated numbers will be maintained on the Web. The programme rules for each Association will be published on the web site.

Claims will be submitted via forms set up on the Programme’s web site.

There are no specified SOTA frequencies but Activators are encouraged to suggest frequencies on which they will be operational for specific Expeditions. As operations are likely to be QRP, the use of internationally recognised QRP frequencies should be considered

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