The SAC format differs from that of many international contests. Scandinavian stations work stations outside the region, while operators from other parts of the world—including Poland—earn points by working Scandinavian stations. The contest is organized by the Nordic Radio Amateur Union – NRAU.
The CW section takes place on the 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 metre bands. The contest report consists of an RST report and the next QSO number, starting at 001. The same station may be counted once on each band.
For European stations outside Scandinavia, each valid QSO with a Scandinavian station is worth one point. The multipliers are the individual prefix number areas of Scandinavian stations on each band. The final score is the product of the total QSO points and the number of multipliers worked.
The rules provide for the following classes: High Power, Low Power and QRP, as well as multi-operator categories and additional overlay classes. Logs must be submitted electronically in Cabrillo format no later than five days after the end of the contest. Electronic certificates are provided to all participants.