AFS SUPER LEAGUE - 2025/26

The 2025/26 AFS Super League once again consisted of eight qualifying events with separate listings for the General Club and Local Club categories. The qualifying events continue to provide a good spread of frequencies and modes, covering bands from 160m to 70cm using CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK63. It is the seventh consecutive year that this format has been used.

The total number of groups / clubs entering was 91 (52 Local Club and 39 General Club). This was 3% down on 2024/25 with a small increase in the General Club category offset by a slightly larger fall in the Local Club category. The top of the table again shows a high level of consistency, with four of the leading six entries (three Local Club and three General Club) repeating their success of last year, and three of them retaining their positions for at least six years.

The leading entrant in the Local Club category and winner of the Hadley Wood Contest Group Trophy winner was Camb-Hams for the seventh consecutive year since the Local / General Club split was introduced. Second place was taken by Spalding & DARS for the second consecutive year, with Norfolk ARC in third place, up two places from fifth. In the General Club category the winner was Addiscombe ARC for the sixth consecutive year followed by Harwell ARS in second place for the fourth consecutive year and Wirral ARS third up from fifth in 2024/5.

Looking at some interesting numbers:

• 23% of the 91 participating clubs took advantage of the rule which allows them to field multiple teams of up to four stations, resulting in a total of 185 teams across all eight individual contests

• one club clearly thought this was a particularly good idea as they managed to enter five teams (seventeen stations) in the 80/40m SSB session

• the total number of different entrants' callsigns appearing across the eight sessions was 555 (489 UK&CD and 66 other)

• the total number of different callsigns appearing in entrants' logs across the eight sessions was 2620, from 51 different DXCCs (although it has to be admitted that these two figures may be slightly adrift owing to logging errors...). It is interesting to note that submission of multiple team entries - particularly involving multiple bands - was more common among Local Clubs than General Clubs...which perhaps suggests that attendance at club meetings is particularly effective at stirring up interest in contests

• the total number of contacts appearing across all the logs was a remarkable 110138 (varying between 1838 for the 4m session and 35060 for the 80/40m SSB session).

Congratulations to those gaining awards, and thanks to all participating Affiliated Societies and individual entrants - including those who didn't make it into their club's 'top teams': their entries are important too!

That's it for the 2025/26 season - let's look forward to the 2026/27 season.....

Quin Collier G3WRR

q.g.collier@btinternet.com