WTZC – World Time Zone Challenge
An international HF contest where your multiplier is a station’s UTC offset. Work the world by the clock.
Next running
2026-04-18 12:00 UTC to 2026-04-19 12:00 UTC (24 hours)
Always the 3rd weekend in April.
At a glance
- Bands: 160/80/40/20/15/10 m
- Modes: CW, SSB (and Mixed)
- Exchange: RST + OffsetCode (e.g.
599 0100E,59 0330W,599 0000Z) - Work each station once per band per mode (CW and SSB count separately)
- Recommended CQ call: CQ TZC
- Multipliers: UTC offsets per band + Mirror bonus
Why it’s different
Instead of DXCC entities or zones, WTZC rewards time-zone diversity. A short path around the “24‑hour clock” is used for points, so chasing the far side of the world is always valuable.
Organiser
WTZC Committee
Official site: wtzc-contest.com
Cabrillo contest name: WTZC
Upcoming dates
| Year | Start (Sat 12:00 UTC) | End (Sun 12:00 UTC) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-04-18 | 2026-04-19 |
| 2027 | 2027-04-17 | 2027-04-18 |
| 2028 | 2028-04-15 | 2028-04-16 |
| 2029 | 2029-04-21 | 2029-04-22 |
| 2030 | 2030-04-20 | 2030-04-21 |
Dates above are the 3rd Saturday/Sunday of April. Always operate between 12:00 UTC Saturday and 12:00 UTC Sunday.