Team J62K is excited about promoting the YOTA (Youth on the Air) program. We are looking for young team players aged 15-25 for a “first time” experience. The thrill of never ending pile ups awaits you!
YOUTH ADVENTURE
Huge congratulations to KE2EVX Haley and ND2L Hope!
They are officially the winning candidates for the 2027 J62K Youth Adventure trip!
Hope and Haley will be heading to sunny St. Lucia to join Team J62K for the CQWW WPX SSB Contest operating in the Multi-Two category!
Haley (KE2EVX), age 15 located in Lisle, New York. She is active in Parks on the Air (POTA), local net NCS, and youth ham radio groups. Member of the Young Amateurs Communications Ham Team (YACHT). Presented as a youth panelist at Dayton Hamvention 2026.
Hope (ND2L), age 19 located in Daytona Beach, Florida. Recently took top honors at SpaceOps 2025 for her work with ARISS and YOTA! Members of numerous clubs and active volunteer with club and fundraisers.
Get ready to hear these two incredible young hams lighting up the airwaves and managing massive DX pileups in the Caribbean!
A huge thank you to all the generous donors who make this life-changing, fully funded Youth on the Air experience possible every year.
Some videos of our youth members:
Taken from Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio – Seth Jones NU1D is a young contester who just got a front-row seat to big-league contesting, operating from J62K in St. Lucia during CQ WPX SSB, and discovering that the view is only half the story. It was also his first trip outside the United States, which adds a layer of awe you can’t fake. The pileups were real, but so was the moment.
What begins as an application email turns into a months-long audition. Essays, Zoom calls, strategy sessions, and a slow immersion into how elite multi-ops think. Seth didn’t just show enthusiasm. He showed results, including a top North America finish in his category. By the time he landed in the Caribbean, he wasn’t just a guest. He was part of a system built on preparation, trust, and a team that knows how to win.
Then came the shock. A 50-degree temperature swing from Maine. A mountainside villa overlooking the Caribbean. And immediate, relentless pileups. J62K isn’t plug-and-play. It is assemble-on-arrival, a temporary superstation with Elecraft K4s, stacked SteppIRs, and operators who understand how to extract every last QSO. Credit to the J62K team for doing something rare in this space. They make room for youth operators and treat them like real contributors, not spectators.
But the real pivot is philosophical. Seth walks away convinced that multi-operator contesting is something deeper than score-chasing. It is shared skill. Operators, schedulers, builders. Everyone contributes a piece, and the result is bigger than any one person at the mic.
Download the application forms
Youth Application – Adobe .pdf
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