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Islands On The Air Programme |
| The Rules of the RSGB"s Premier Award Scheme - Page 3 of 4 | ||||
| The Awards | Requests for a Reference Number | |||
| The Directory | Does the Island Qualify for a Numbered Group? | |||
| Award Requirements | Main Categories of Recognised Islands | |||
| How to Apply | Qualifying Islands: Definitions and Criteria | |||
| What to Pay | Validation of Operations | |||
E | MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE DIRECTORY LIST | |
E.1 | REQUESTS FOR THE ADDITION OF A NEW GROUP TO THE DIRECTORY LIST(E.1.1) The Directory list has been capped at its present size of around 1,170 islands/groups. The IOTA Committee will not consider further additions, except in rare circumstances associated with an island/group's change of DXCC status. Please, therefore, do not ask for new groups to be added at this time. (E.1.2) The IOTA Committee has decided, as part of its strategic planning, to review the island list every five years. The next such occasion will be in 1999. It is expected that any changes made will be very small. | |
E.2 | REQUESTS FOR A REFERENCE NUMBER FOR A LISTED UNNUMBERED GROUP(E.2.1) The IOTA Committee will consider at any time a request for a new Reference No for a listed unnumbered island/group which has been activated. This request may come from the DXpeditioner responsible for the operation or a resident amateur or from an island chaser. Before agreeing the request the Committee will need to be satisfied that the island qualifies under the rules for island qualification (see Sections E.6 and E.7) and that the operation was valid (see Section F). (E.2.2) The IOTA Committee will not issue a new Reference No before an operation takes place. However, it will normally undertake to do so as soon as the operation has started and has met the requirement of a minimum number of contacts (see paragraph E.2.4). This, of course, is conditional on the Committee being satisfied that the operation will be taking place from a qualifying island in the claimed unnumbered group. The normal procedure in such cases is for the IOTA Manager (or a Committee Member acting on his behalf) to pass the new Reference No over the air as soon as band conditions allow and the operator confirms that he is on the island and has made the required contacts. (E.2.3) From time to time the Committee has to delay the issue of a new Reference No. This is invariably because the operation taking place is one about which it has received no prior information or insufficiently precise details. To avoid the disappointment of having to operate without the new Reference No, DXpeditioners are advised to seek prior confirmation from the IOTA Manager that the island will qualify for the specified group. A suitable pro-forma is enclosed at Annex B for this purpose (please note that, in the case of close in-shore islands, the Committee will need to see a detailed map before giving a decision - this will be returned on request if postage is provided). Checking the position prior to the operation will provide reassurance about the issue of the new Reference No over the air as well as enable a note to be included in advance publicity that the operation is a NEW ONE FOR IOTA. (E.2.4) The IOTA Committee requires an operation to make a minimum 50 contacts with different stations in five countries before agreeing to the issue of a new Reference No. This is by way of recognition that new islands/groups added to the list can affect the threshold figure for awards. By listening on the station's frequency, the IOTA Manager will usually be able to judge the point at which the new Reference No can safely be issued. If this proves not possible, he may find it necessary to ask for a letter from the operator detailing the scale of the activity. Island chasers can sometimes provide help in obtaining this. (E.2.5) A new Reference No issued during or after an operation has to be regarded as 'provisional' until satisfactory evidence of validation of that operation has been provided to the IOTA Committee (see Section F). In the continued absence of such evidence the number may be withdrawn. | |
E.3 | REQUESTS FOR CONFIRMATION THAT AN ISLAND QUALIFIES FOR A NUMBERED GROUP(E.3.1) The IOTA Committee will consider at any time a request for confirmation that an island counts for a particular numbered group. This request may come from a DXpeditioner or a resident amateur or an island chaser either before or after an operation. In order to be able to reply the Committee will need to be satisfied, on the basis of evidence provided or available to it, that the island qualifies under the rules for island qualification (see Sections E.6 and E.7). (E.3.2) If the island is too small to be shown on a medium size atlas, is not mentioned in the Directory and/or lies within one kilometre (0.62 statute miles) of the mainland, there could be sufficient doubt whether it will count to justify a request for a decision from the IOTA Manager. A suitable pro-forma is enclosed at Annex C for this purpose (please note that, in the case of close in-shore islands, the Committee will need to see a detailed map before giving a decision - this will be returned on request if postage is provided). Checking in advance of an operation that an island will qualify will remove doubts and possibly prevent disappointment. | |
E.4 | THE ROLE OF THE REFERENCE ATLASES(E.4.1) The reference atlases used in preparing this final, definitive list of islands/groups were the National Geographic Atlas of the World (Fifth & Sixth Editions) and The Times Atlas of the World (Eighth Edition). In addition, considerable use was made of Lee S Motteler's excellent book Pacific Island Names, published by the Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, 1986, as well as a host of other atlases and maps. Thanks are due to the many friends who thought to provide maps and other material. (E.4.2) All islands shown and named in the two reference atlases on maps of a scale of at least 1:1,000,000 (16 statute miles to the inch) have been included in one group or another. Where the reference atlas maps were of a scale significantly smaller than this, other available maps were used to identify for inclusion islands which had been missed. | |
E.5 | THE MAIN CATEGORIES OF ISLAND/GROUP RECOGNISEDThe Directory lists the islands/groups by country, generally in accordance with the DXCC list. A group of islands, split between two countries, is listed under both and counts for two IOTA groups. Otherwise the main categories recognised were as follows: (E.5.1) "Officially recognised island group" - defined as a group shown and named as the "......... Isles" or "Islands" in English or the local language in one of the reference atlases. Although most such groups are separately listed, a number of really tiny ones have been included in wider groupings in the interests of keeping the island 'total' within bounds.(E.5.2) "Remote island" - defined as a single island named in the reference atlas which lies more than 161 kilometres (100 statute miles) at low tide from the officially recognised island group to which it belongs.(E.5.3) "Unofficial island group" - defined as a grouping of islands which do not belong to an officially recognised island group but nevertheless exist and are listed in the Directory with an unofficial name. This category applies particularly to small islands which are close to a named larger island and do not justify a separate listing in their own right. It applies also to coastal islands which have been grouped according to political rather than geographic reasons or for reasons of convenience. Unofficial island groups are shown in the Directory with an asterisk (*).(E.5.4) "Island DXCC country group" - defined as a DXCC country on the 'current' list which consists entirely of an island or several islands. It counts separately even if it otherwise forms part of an officially recognised group or even if it is not shown and named in the reference atlases. However, a group which qualifies for separate listing only because it is a DXCC country will have a start and/or deletion date for credit in line with DXCC decisions.(E.5.5) "Large island" - defined as an island with a size of 65,000 square kilometres (25,000 square miles) or more. The Directory lists some 30 of these, and the coastal islands of some count separately as indicated.(E.5.6) "Split sovereignty island" - defined as an island which is split between two or more DXCC countries. The Directory lists some 11 of these, eg Borneo (Brunei/East Malaysia/Indonesia), Great Britain (England/Scotland/Wales) & Hispaniola (Haiti/Dominican Republic). Each split sovereignty island counts for one credit only. The coastal islands of each of the countries involved count separately, for one (unofficial island) group only, on the grounds that they are not 'split sovereignty' like the main island.(E.5.7) "Other single island" - defined as a single island which cannot be grouped easily with other islands. | |
E.6 | ISLANDS WHICH QUALIFY, DEFINITIONS AND CRITERIA(E.6.1) The common definition of an island is a piece of land, whether earth, sand, stone or rock, which at some point of the day is surrounded by water, either fresh or sea. At its widest this could include sandbars, mud-flats, shingle or rocks submerged for all but a few hours of the day, land separated from the mainland by a skip and a jump (just a few metres of water), land joined to the mainland for part or most of the day and land located in rivers, lakes, inland seas and largely enclosed bays. The RSGB has taken the view that an award programme for island contacts based on such a wide definition of what constitutes an island would be impossible to manage and that a narrower definition should be adopted.(E.6.2) In an attempt to find a generally accepted standard the IOTA Committee has considered making qualification dependent on the inclusion of 'island' (in whatever language) in the island name as shown on a map. This unfortunately has proved an unsatisfactory solution because of inconsistencies between different atlases and maps - too often a small island is called an 'island' on one map and 'islet', 'atoll', 'cay', 'rocks', 'reef' or 'The .........' on a second. Furthermore in some countries the practice is to use the term 'island' to describe any land surrounded by water irrespective of size while in others a variety of different terms is used indicating something less than an island. In the circumstances the Committee has decided to set its own qualification criteria. It considers that these are fair and reasonable in a difficult situation and are more likely to enhance the integrity of the programme.(E.6.3) An island (atoll, cay, etc) will qualify for an existing numbered or unnumbered group if it meets TWO basic rules - the so-called 1:1,000,000 rule and the 200 metres rule - and does not fall into one of the categories of islands specified as not qualifying at Section E.7 below.(E.6.4) FIRST RULE - THE ISLAND MUST BE SHOWN ON A MAP WITH A SCALE OF AT LEAST 1:1,000,000 (16 STATUTE MILES TO THE INCH). An island may be assumed to meet this rule if
In the latter case the IOTA Committee may require to see a large scale map as evidence of island size. Normally, wait to be asked, unless the case is clearly borderline and/or the need for a decision is urgent. (E.6.5) In all other cases the IOTA Committee will need to see evidence that the island meets the 1:1,000,000 scale map rule. Any national or international map - but not a local tourist or special interest map - may be used to check this requirement. If the island is shown and named, it will be necessary only to send a copy of the map (make sure you include the scale). If the island is shown but not named, please send the ORIGINAL, together with a second map of larger scale showing the island's name. Maps will be returned if postage is enclosed.(E.6.6) If no 1:1,000,000 scale map can be found, the island may still count if evidence is produced to show that
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E.7 | ISLANDS WHICH DO NOT QUALIFYThe following types of island will not count: (E.7.1) Islands which fail to meet the criteria for qualification under Sections E.6 above and E.8 below. (E.7.2) So-called 'islands', ie place-names with 'island' in the name, which, by no longer being surrounded by water at any time of the day, have ceased to be islands. (E.7.3) Islands which are located in lakes or totally enclosed inland seas, or largely enclosed bays, gulfs or inland seas - defined as where according to the reference atlases the distance between the two mainland shores at any point between the island and the sea is less than 5 kilometres (3.1 statute miles). See Fig 2. (E.7.4) Islands which are located in rivers. (E.7.5) Islands which are located in and totally surrounded by a permanent ice shelf. (E.7.6) Islands which are totally submerged by water for part of the day. (E.7.7) Islands which are entirely man-made or are only islands by reason of a man-made canal. |
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E.8 | EFFECT OF DEVELOPMENT ON ISLAND QUALIFICATION(E.8.1) BRIDGES - an island linked to the mainland by bridge WILL QUALIFY so long as it meets the qualification criteria at Section E.6 above. (E.8.2) MAN-MADE CAUSEWAYS - there are three types. With the first two an island must meet the 1:1,000,000 rule (see paragraphs E.6.4 to 6 above) and HAVE A NAME WHICH INDICATES THAT IT IS HISTORICALLY RECOGNISED AS AN ISLAND.
(E.8.3) LIGHTHOUSES ETC - an island (or, more likely, rocks) with a lighthouse MAY QUALIFY if evidence is produced to show that some part of the original natural island remains above water at high tide. Similarly if an island has been reshaped, enlarged etc by act of man, it MAY QUALIFY on the same basis subject to the development not affecting the island's qualification under the 1:1,000,000 and the 200 metres rules (see Section E.6 above). Such islands may more commonly be shown on maps with the name of the lighthouse, fort, Antarctic base etc. ** Note that the Annexes are not available on the Web. They can be found in the available in the IOTA Directory and Yearbook. | |
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