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Beyond the major programs like DXCC, WAS, WAZ, POTA, SOTA, and IOTA, the amateur radio world offers dozens of additional awards. Some are sponsored by national societies, some by magazines or clubs, and some by independent organisations. This page surveys the most notable programs that did not receive their own dedicated page in this wiki.
The ARRL (American Radio Relay League) sponsors several awards beyond DXCC, WAS, and VUCC:
WAC — Worked All Continents — One of the simplest and oldest international awards. Confirm contacts with stations on all six continents (North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania). WAC is often the first HF award a new operator earns, sometimes within the first few weeks on the air. Available in mixed, phone, CW, digital, satellite, and other endorsements.
WPX — Worked All Prefixes — Certificates for contacting stations with a specified number of different callsign prefixes. A prefix is the letter/number combination at the beginning of a callsign (e.g., W1, G4, VK3, JA1). There is no upper limit — the more prefixes you collect, the higher your award level. WPX was originally a CQ Magazine award and now operates as a joint programme.
Fred Fish Memorial Award — Recognizes operators who achieve VUCC on 50 MHz and at least four additional bands. Named after Fred Fish, W5FF, a pioneering VHF operator.
A-1 Operator Club — Not strictly an award but a recognition. Membership is by nomination from existing members who consider a station's operating technique to be of the highest quality. Being nominated for the A-1 Operator Club is considered a significant honour.
CQ Communications sponsors several well-known awards in addition to WAZ:
CQ DX Award — Confirm contacts with a specified number of countries. Available at multiple levels and in several mode categories.
CQ DX Field Award — Similar to the CQ DX Award but based on the number of ITU-designated fields (geographic areas) worked rather than countries.
CQ WPX Award — Based on the number of different callsign prefixes confirmed. This pairs naturally with participation in the CQ WPX Contest.
CQ DX Marathon — An annual competition to work as many DXCC entities and CQ Zones as possible within a single calendar year. Not a traditional award but a year-long operating challenge with published results.
Many countries' amateur radio societies offer their own awards. These are particularly popular with operators in those countries and with DX operators who have a special interest in the region:
RSGB Awards (United Kingdom) — The Radio Society of Great Britain offers awards including Commonwealth Century Club (contacts with 100+ Commonwealth countries), Islands on the Air (see IOTA), and various VHF/UHF achievement certificates.
DARC Awards (Germany) — The Deutscher Amateur Radio Club offers the Europa Diplom (contacts with European countries), DLD (Diplom für Deutsche Landkreise — German counties), and the Worked All Europe award associated with the WAE Contest.
JARL Awards (Japan) — The Japan Amateur Radio League offers WAJA (Worked All Japan prefectures), AJD (All Japan Districts), and JCC (Japan Century Cities — contact 100+ Japanese cities). Japanese awards are popular worldwide because Japan has a large and active amateur population.
REF Awards (France) — The French amateur radio society (Réseau des Émetteurs Français) offers the DDFM (Diplôme des Départements Français) for contacting French departments.
RAC Awards (Canada) — Radio Amateurs of Canada offers awards for contacting Canadian provinces and territories.
WIA Awards (Australia) — The Wireless Institute of Australia offers awards for contacting Australian states, territories, and call areas.
Many other countries have similar programs. If you have a particular interest in a region, checking that country's national amateur radio society website will usually reveal available awards.
USA Counties Award (USA-CA) — Sponsored by CQ Magazine, this program challenges operators to confirm contacts with stations in all 3,077 US counties. County hunting is a deeply dedicated niche within amateur radio — completing the award requires years of effort, careful tracking, and participation in county-hunting nets and events.
The county-hunting community maintains nets on specific frequencies where mobile operators drive through counties and make contacts, specifically to help others complete their lists. There are also annual county-hunter conventions and online forums.
County hunting uses its own confirmation system in addition to QSL cards. The effort required to work all 3,077 counties makes USA-CA one of the most challenging awards in amateur radio.
RSGB WAB — Worked All Britain — A similar concept applied to British Ordnance Survey grid squares. Operators work stations in as many different grid squares across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland as possible.
Beyond VUCC, several grid-square-based awards exist:
FFMA — Fred Fish Memorial Award — As mentioned above, this ARRL award recognizes multi-band VHF grid-square achievement.
Grid chasing on FT8/FT4 — While not a formal award program, many digital-mode operators track the number of Maidenhead grid squares they have contacted on HF using FT8 and FT4. Some logging software and online platforms provide grid maps and statistics. The popularity of weak-signal digital modes has made grid chasing accessible even on bands where it was previously impractical.
Several organisations recognise achievement with low-power (QRP) operation — typically 5 watts or less on CW and 10 watts or less on SSB:
QRP ARCI Awards — The QRP Amateur Radio Club International offers awards for contacts made at QRP power levels, including DX awards, state awards, and special-event certificates.
GQRP Club Awards — The G-QRP Club (UK) offers awards for contacts using low power. The club focuses on homebrew and QRP operation and sponsors several operating events throughout the year.
1000 Miles Per Watt — Various organisations recognise contacts where the distance-per-watt ratio exceeds 1,000 miles per watt. This is a fun metric that rewards efficient antennas and good propagation.
QRP awards are particularly appealing to operators who enjoy building their own equipment or operating with minimal power from portable locations. There is natural overlap with SOTA and POTA, where lightweight QRP rigs are the norm.
The explosion of digital modes has spawned several new award programs:
FT8 Digital Mode Club (FT8DMC) — An online community that offers a wide range of awards for contacts made using FT8, FT4, and other WSJT-X modes. Awards include DX achievements, grid-square awards, and mode-specific milestones.
DMR awards — Various DMR networks and organisations offer awards for contacts through DMR repeaters and talkgroups.
EchoLink and IRLP awards — Some programmes recognise contacts made through internet-linked repeater systems, though these are less common.
Many contests issue certificates and plaques to top finishers, and some contest sponsors offer cumulative awards:
CQ Contest Hall of Fame — Recognises individuals who have made outstanding contributions to amateur radio contesting.
Contest plaques and trophies — Major contests award plaques to top finishers in various categories. Winning a plaque in a contest like CQ WW or ARRL DX is a significant achievement.
See Major Contests and Getting Started with Contesting for more on contest participation.
Numerous organisations issue awards tied to specific events, themes, or time periods:
These events are typically announced on amateur radio news sites and mailing lists. They provide variety and a sense of occasion to regular operating.
With so many awards available, finding ones that match your interests is half the fun. Good resources include: