The DARC XMAS-Contest is a very popular short-contest sponsored by the DARC. It was the only sprint contest in Germany and had developed a large fan base. Now DARC has decided to sponsor a second sprint contest  in the course of the year with exact the same rules. 

For the competitive field of participants from all parts of the country, the XMAS- as well as the new Easter contest which only last 2.5 hours truly are sprint contests, where every second wasted can hurt the score. But there is another feature which makes it unique: The QSY rule. After completing a contact, the station who has called CQ on the frequency has to move and leave the frequency to the calling station, Contrary to most contests where the big guns with high power are occupying the run frequencies for most of the contest, in the XMAS as well as the Easter contest the skill, speed and experience of the operator is the key to success. And a clean log is a must: More than once, the top places in the XMAS and Easter Contest have changed from the claimed scores to the final results, where bad contacts were removed,

Also the propagation makes the XMAS and Easter contest an interesting and challenging event. Especially on 40m, the skip zone is often too large to make contacts within Germany at the start of the contest; yet the multipliers from 40m are needed to achieve a high score. The right strategy and a lot of experience are more helpful than a big amplifier. In the new Easter contest these "when-on-which-band" strategies have to get developed new, because the Easter contest will take place every year on the afternoon of Easter Monday. 

We hope to welcome you as a participant in the next Easter contest. Foreign stations are always very welcome to take part, and with the conditions on 40m, they truly have an advantage in propagation over DLs.