Log of the World can be used for CQ awards

This is the skinny straight from the ARRL:

"The ARRL and CQ Communications, Inc have signed an agreement to begin providing support for CQ-sponsored operating awards by the ARRL’s Logbook of the World (LoTW) electronic confirmation system. The agreement was announced jointly today by ARRL Chief Operating Officer Harold Kramer, WJ1B, and CQ Communications President Richard Ross, K2MGA.

CQ’s awards will be the first non-ARRL awards supported by LoTW and will be phased in beginning with the CQ WPX award, with additional CQ awards to follow. The ARRL’s LoTW system -- an interactive database recording contacts between radio amateurs -- was created in 2003 and has been adopted by 47,500 radio amateurs worldwide. It already has records of 400 million contacts and is growing weekly. The target date for beginning LoTW support for WPX is April 1, 2012. Amateurs will be able to use LoTW logs to generate lists of confirmed contacts to be submitted for WPX credit. Standard LoTW credit fees and CQ award fees will apply.

ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, observed that this step gives radio amateurs throughout the world an inexpensive and convenient means of gaining credits toward CQ’s popular operating awards: “LoTW has significantly increased interest and participation in the ARRL’s DXCC, Worked All States and VUCC awards programs. We anticipate a similarly positive response to the addition of the CQ WPX award. Amateurs will be able to spend more time operating and less time chasing QSL cards.”

CQ President Richard Ross, K2MGA, said he is very pleased to be able to move forward with LoTW support for CQ awards. “We have had excellent results with electronic confirmations for several years,” he explained. “I am glad that we are now able to begin expanding that convenience to those participants in our award programs who use Logbook of The World. We look forward to a smooth launch for WPX and to the expansion of LoTW support to include the rest of our award programs, as well.”

Personally, I never kept track of any progress with any of the CQ awards.  I would guess the one that I would be closest to accomplishing would be Worked All Zones; but I'm probably not even close to that, either.  It will be interesting to see how this develops.

Out of 7,209 QSO records that I have posted to LotW, I only have 1,417 QSL records. Not exactly a great rate of return.  Maybe the ARRL is hoping that this will bring in more users.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!