[SFDX] The Honor Roll's Age Problem - KE9V

[Bill]

*/From Tony N2MFT:/*

Back in June, OPDX posted an article called *"The Gridlock at 331" *by
AD0K, and now here is another article calling for a change in the ARRL's
DXCC "Honor Roll" program. You can agree or disagree with the following
posting.


From Jeff, KE9V, Web page (https://ke9v.net/2026/08/09/honor-roll.html):
(edited by OPDX):

*The Honor Roll's Age Problem*
*August 9, 2026*

Word on the street is the DX Advisory Committee is reviewing the program
and its current rules that could result in changes in the threshold
required for the “Honor Roll”. At the moment there are 340 current entities
with 331 confirmed required to be on the Honor Roll. This has become a
bone of contention because, at the moment, it’s impossible to achieve and
any solution will ruffle a lot of feathers…

*The argument goes like this:*

North Korea (P5) is closed. Turkmenistan (EZ) does not license amateur
radio. Scarborough Reef (BS7H) and Pratas Island (BV9P) sit in contested
South China Sea waters with no civilian access. Johnston (KH3), Midway
(KH4), and Kure (KH7K) are locked by USFWS marine monument rules. Navassa
(KP1) was last activated in 2015 and USFWS has signaled it will not repeat.
Syria (YK), Sudan (ST), Afghanistan (YA), and Myanmar (XZ) cannot host a
legitimate operation under present conditions.

That is twelve entities off the table, and arguably more. The achievable
ceiling for a DXer starting today is roughly 328.

Given the current 331 isn’t possible for new DX chasers, the Honor Roll
seems to reward age over performance. Indeed, the operator with the most
entities confirmed (395), is 89 years old. In other words, if you began
chasing DX in 1950, you may have worked (many) entities that don’t exist
or are no longer eligible to be counted in 2026. No one who began chasing
DX in this millennium will ever achieve the lofty numbers currently held
by a band of octogenarians who sit alone at the top of the pile.

DXCC implies a hundred countries (entities) confirmed. An achievable goal
when it was all reset in 1946. There is no problem with the basic award.
The problem comes as the program evolved along with the rules that were
modified to capture the attention and interest of those with the basic
award. Some hams dedicated their entire radio life to the pursuit with
new rewards dangled in front of them like a carrot every so often. Honor
Roll had become the most coveted and prestigious achievement possible
for those afflicted with this addiction.

A growing number of operators under 80 years of age realize that, through
no fault of their own, they are going to be excluded from the coveted
elite rank and it doesn’t sit well with them.

It seems to me the DX Committee has painted themselves into a corner.
How they will perpetuate this activity without disrespect to older hams,
many of whom don’t want to see anything changed, will be tricky. Will
lowering the Honor Roll threshold make more people happy than it angers?
That seems to be the big question and one that could be answered, or
ignored, by the end of this year.

One thing’s for certain, I’m glad to have worked Navassa in 2015!


Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW - E-mail addresses:
<kb8nw at hotmail.com> <mailto:kb8nw at hotmail.com> and<kb8nw at arrl.net> 
<mailto:kb8nw at arrl.net>
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