Registration is open worldwide for Scouting’s Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) and Jamboree on the Internet. JOTA-JOTI take place October 19 – 21 — always the third weekend of October. JOTA Coordinator Jim Wilson, K5ND, encourages JOTA groups to register as soon as possible.

“The sign-up system this year is much simpler,” Wilson told ARRL. “There is no need to first register an account at scout.org before signing in.” Wilson said JOTA-JOTI will generate “an explosion of communication across the Amateur Radio airwaves and the internet.”

He anticipates that more than 1 million Scouts and Guides will take part in more than 150 countries. A JOTA-JOTI Participant’s Guide is available. “JOTA began in 1957 following the World Jamboree that year, when the ham radio operators gathered over coffee and thought about doing the on-the-air part of Jamboree every year,” Wilson recounted.

This year will mark the 61st JOTA (and the 22nd year of JOTI). “Many JOTA Amateur Radio stations are also starting to use JOTI channels, like ScoutLink, to more readily connect with Scouts around the world,” Wilson told ARRL. “Other channels include Skype, YouTube, and social media.”

Wilson said once groups have registered, other locations around the world will know to look for them. “Likewise, you’ll be able to see at a glance all the rest of the locations from across town to the other side of the Earth,” he added.