CQ has announced that, effective with 2018 contests, some modifications to the CQ World Wide Contest rules have been developed and approved by the contest committee.

• The “busted call/NIL” penalty is reduced from 3× to 2×.
• Email addresses for log submissions have been removed, and the committee now “strongly prefers” using web uploads to submit logs. Paper logs will still be accepted.
• The 10× penalty for “rubber clocking” with MS/M2 entries has been eliminated, although the committee “will continue to vigorously pursue time abuses.”
• The observer program has been eliminated. “Given the absence of a reasonable pool of volunteers and supporting funding, the program has proven to be impractical,” CQ said.
• The top entry in the “Rookie” category will be awarded on a one-time-only basis. Previous Rookie winners are ineligible for plaques in this category.

Submit questions via the CQ WW “Contact Form” page. — Thanks to John Dorr, K1AR, CQ World Wide Contest Director