The ARRL has adopted rule changes affecting Field Day and the ARRL Affiliated Club Competition program. The primary Field Day
change--effective with this year's event June 22-23--phases out the Novice-Technician station and replaces it with a new station category, the "Get-On-The-Air"--or GOTA--station. 

A GOTA station is intended for operation by  Novice and Technician operators or by generally inexperienced or inactive amateurs as well as by privileges of a licensed control operator (third-party traffic rules apply--see  the International Third Party Traffic page on the ARRL Web site.

Under the revised rules, any Class A Field Day entry operating at least two transmitters may include a GOTA station, which will not count as an additional transmitter for the purpose of entry category.

The GOTA station may operate on any Field Day band and mode, but only  one GOTA transmitter may be in use at any given time. The GOTA station may complete up to 400 QSOs to be counted toward the group's total Field  Day score. A Field Day group can claim 100 bonus points if its GOTA station successfully completes 400 QSOs. The GOTA station does not affect the additional VHF/UHF station provided under Field Day rule 4.1.2.

Field Day 2002 will mark the first in which stations throughout the Americas have been invited to participate. As approved at the July 2001 ARRL  Board of Directors' meeting, all International Amateur Radio Union Region 2 countries--North and South America--may take part in Field Day starting this June.

Complete Field Day rules and information packet will be available on  the ARRL Web Contest Forms and Rules page