The World Morse Code championships are fiendishly competitive. Contestants from many countries travel to Tunisia, where they face each other across tiny tapping machines in a competition hall silent but for the clicking. It is called High Speed Telegraphy - the skill and art of sending and receiving fast and accurately. The best practice three or four hours a day. Belarusians win almost every time, with stiff competition from Russia and Romania. But maybe this year it will be the Japanese or Kuwaiti competitors.
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This is the documentary.
I'm Stephen Coates and we're in Tunisia for a most unusual competition, the High Speed Telegraphy World Championship, or transmitting and receiving Morse code.
So I'm standing on a mosaic floor, the vast circle, and it's in the lobby of this hotel, which is like a labyrinth.
And in some of the rooms on various levels are teams from around the world have gathered here today.
And some of them are already fiendishly practicing and setting up their equipment.
My name is Ashraf Shabel.
We are here for worldwide high speed telegraphy competition.
First time in Africa and first time in Arab country.
We are in Hammamet city in the northern part of Tunisia, a bit south of capital, Tunis.
Ashraf has been working night and day to organize this unusual competition.
We're super excited about having the people here, Most of the people.
It's their first time in Tunisia, even the first time in Africa as well.
We don't sleep because of the excitement.
Before, it was like months away, then weeks, and then few days to few hours away.
And now we are here and receiving competitors and visitors from worldwide.
This is the first time I've been to a Morse code competition.