In the late 80s and much of the 90s, the Rochester VHF Group sponsored a local club competition to spur activity in the ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes contest. XARC participated for several years, and won the local club competition several times, including 3 years in a row, finally retiring the “Rochester Cup” in 1996.
Though doing so well in the local club competition was a highlight, maybe the most impressive feat was winning the ARRL Gavel for the Medium Club Category in 1993. Only 3 clubs outscored us in the Unlimited category, placing us fourth in the country. We had 37 participants, and likely the most serious of our VHF/UHF active members gave their scores to the Rochester VHF Group.
Here is a screen capture of the results in QST from the June 1993 issue:
