The Friendship Radiosport Games (FRG) is an international

multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...

that includes competitions in the various sports collectively referred to as radiosport. The Friendship Radiosport Games began in 1989 as a result of a

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

agreement between Khabarovsk, Russia and

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

, United States. Since then, participation has been extended to other

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

in the Pacific Rim. The Friendship Radiosport Games are generally held in the month of August. The most recent Friendship Radiosport Games were held on August 19–21, 2016, in Portland, Oregon. Planning for the next games in Khabarovsk is starting with a target date of 2018.

History

The first Friendship Radiosport Games were held in 1989 in Khabarovsk, Russia, which was then still a part of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. The games were organized as a result of the signing of a

agreement between the Far Eastern Russia city of Khabarovsk and the city of

, on the west coast of the United States. The origination of the idea for a friendly radiosport competition between the two cities can be credited to Yevgeny Stavitsky UAØCA, an active amateur radio operator in Khabarovsk. Participants from Portland traveled to Khabarovsk to participate in the games, an event that would not have been possible only a few years before, as the two nations squared off against one another in the Cold War. In 1991, the second Friendship Radiosport Games were held in Portland, hosted by the Friendship Amateur Radio Society, and participants from Khabarovsk traveled to Oregon to attend the event. This would start a tradition of holding the event in August of every odd-numbered year. Extending the event to additional

, the host for the 1993 Friendship Radiosport Games was

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. The ...

, Canada. In addition to competitors from Canada, Russia, and the United States, competitors from the

of Niigata, Japan also came to the event in 1993. The 1995 Friendship Radiosport Games were held in Khabarovsk, Russia for the second time, and representatives from all four cities were in attendance.

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan became the fourth host city for the Friendship Radiosport Games when the event has held there in 1997. The 1999 games returned to

, United States, where the ARDF event was also designated the IARU Region II Championships, the first such IARU sanctioned championships in the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. The event returned to

, Canada in 2001, where for the first time competitors from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia were also in attendance. Breaking with the established pattern, the Friendship Radiosport Games were not held in 2003, but were instead held in 2004, again in Khabarovsk, Russia. The invitation to participation was further extended to radio clubs in the Pacific Rim

of Harbin, China, and Bucheon,

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

Event History and Location

:1989 - Khabarovsk, Russia :1991 - Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. :1993 - Victoria, British Columbia, Canada :1995 - Khabarovsk, Russia :1997 - Tokyo, Japan :1999 - Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. :2001 - Victoria, British Columbia, Canada :2004 - Khabarovsk, Russia :2008 - Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. :2011 - Khabarovsk, Russia :2016 - Portland, Oregon

Competition

The Friendship Radiosport Games have traditionally included events from all of the three activities collectively known as radiosport. This includes HF contesting, Amateur Radio Direction Finding, and

High Speed Telegraphy In amateur radio, high-speed telegraphy (HST) is a form of radiosport that challenges amateur radio operators to accurately receive and copy, and in some competitions to send, Morse code transmissions sent at very high speeds. This event is most ...

. Some competitors participate in only one of these activities, while others have been competitive in multiple events.

Overall Team Competition Winner

:1989 Team Khabarovsk :1991 Team Portland :1993 Team Khabarovsk :1995 Team Khabarovsk :1997 Team Khabarovsk :1999 Team Portland :2001 Team Portland :2004 Team Khabarovsk :2008 Team Khabarovsk :2011 Team Khabarovsk :2016 Team Khabarovsk

References

*Moell, Joe KØOV (1999).
"KØOV's Photo Album of the 1999 IARU ARDF Championships"
Retrieved Nov. 27, 2005. *Moell, Joe KØOV (2005).

Retrieved Nov. 27, 2005. *Stavitsky, Evgeny UAØCA (2004).

Retrieved Nov 27, 2005. *Tyree, Larry N6TR (2015)
"Picture gallery from FRG 2011"
*Young, Joe VE7BFK (2001).

Retrieved Dec. 4, 2005. *Stavitskiy, Eugene UA0CA (2016)
"FRG information and photos"
Radiosport Recurring sporting events established in 1989

History

Event History and Location

Competition

Overall Team Competition Winner

See also

References