“It’s like running a 10K except it’s off-trail and you have to navigate, but you don’t have a route drawn on the map so you have to use your radio and your antenna to figure out where to go,” said Event Director, Joseph Burkhead.
Burkhead, who serves on the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Radio Orienteering Committee is a 2018 World ARDF Championship Bronze medalist, a USA M40 national champion in the 144MHz Classic, and competed at the 2013 World Military Orienteering Championship.

“You’re not just navigating,” said Burkhead, “You’re also trying to hunt down this signal and you only have that minute that the transmitter you’re tracking is going to be on before it shuts off and goes to the next one. You have that added layer of complexity with the radio signal you have to track on top of your navigation, and so it’s a lot more to juggle.”

While the competition is sanctioned by the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), attracting some of the best athletes from across the United States and from international locations like Canada, Australia, China, Europe and Africa, there’s ample opportunity for beginners to watch and participate. Coaching, practices, race events and equipment rentals will be offered for those wanting to learn the basics, and world-class orienteers Charles and Nadia Scharlau will lead a training camp the weekend before competition starts.

To highlight the important civic and humanitarian applications of radio transmitter hunting, organizers have integrated a search and rescue team exhibition contest, where competitors will hunt for a distress beacon while conducting land navigation and search and rescue tasks.

“Unlike a lot of other sports, radio orienteering has a very direct humanitarian application . . . and especially with search and rescue,” said Burkhead. “This is actually a real skill that saves lives and that is really important for people to have. So even saving a little bit of time navigating, homing in on that signal just a little bit better could be the difference of life or death for somebody waiting to be rescued.”

The championship, hosted by the Southern Michigan Orienteering Club (SMOC), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), and local amateur radio clubs in southern Michigan, is free for spectators, but those wishing to compete must register.

Uncharted is a sponsor of the event and will be providing coverage on competition week. ROC Event Director Joseph Burkhead is also Uncharted’s geographer and communications director.