2019 World Taxidermy and Fish Carving Championships® Approach

Be there when we present $30,750 in cash prizes to winners at the 2019 World Taxidermy & Fish Carving Championships. April 30–May 4, 2019, Expo Center in Springfield, Missouri.

All Cash Awards

COMPETITORS’ AWARD: $14,250.00 CASH AWARDS

$7,500 from Head Quarters and Big Rock Sports

$2,250 from World Show Award Fund

$1,500 from Payer Eyes

$1,000 Mohr Taxidermy Specialties

$1,000 from Coppersmith Global Logistics

$1,000.00 Midwest Fur Dressing

• Master Division:

First $4,000   Second $3,000

Third $1,500  Fourth $750

Fifth $500

• Professional Division:

First $2,000   Second $1,500

Third $750     Fourth $500

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When I began my research on quail of North America, I really did not know there were so many species and subspecies in Central America, Mexico, and North America. The quail of the American continent are referred to as New World quail and those of the European and Asia continents are referred to as Old World quail. Of course, hunters and taxidermists consider them gamebirds and depending on what part of the country you live in, quail are quail, with a regional name for each of the species.

     In my search for reference it was easy to see that the most common species in the United States were the California quail, bobwhite quail, Gambel’s quail, and scaled quail (commonly called blue quail). I was able to find some good reference for these. The mountain quail, which is found in the mountains of the western USA, was a tough one to find reference where I could acquire copyrights.

There are many subspecies of all of these, so for the purpose of this photo reference, I will group the photos according to the species name that is common with the subspecies. I will give brief descriptions of the four species that are most common in the USA with range maps of their distribution.

FOLLOWING THE 2017 WORLD FISH CARVING CHAMPIONSHIPS,
a committee was established to evaluate all aspects of the WFCC and make recommendations to the show organizer and chairman Larry Blomquist. Entries numbers had dropped over the past few show where many of the categories (40 total) of the various levels had no entries or only one entry. Entries with no competition against them were winning ribbons by default. This committee was asked to submit a revised structure of the categories under the various divisions to better represent the changes the competition has seen over the past four WFCC shows. It was never the intentions of this competition to give ribbons in an uncontested way so it was time to reevaluate the entry process. The purpose of the WFCC competition is just that, to compete against other carvings and to determine which is the best.
The chairman asked the committee to determine a way by which most, if not all, entries would have competition within each established division and/or category. The committee came up with a rule that will be recognized as the Three and Three Rule. This rule means that when possible there should be at least six entries (three entries that receive ribbons and at least three that remain) that fit the criteria and intent of that division or category in order to establish a competitive group. Example: if there are not enough entries (six) to fill one of the listed categories, two or more of the categories may be combined, establishing a combined or general category in that division. The judges will make the final decision in combining categories as they will have the option of allowing five or even four entries to compete for ribbons if they feel they have very strong entries in all categories. The exceptions to the Three and Three Rule will be if a Level that has fewer than six entries, then those entries will compete against each other. An example is, If there were only five total entries in the Novice Level, the three Divisions of that Level would be combined and all entries in that Level would compete against each other. Also, this rule will not be in effect for the Youth Level. It was also decided to eliminate establishing classes in any of the levels unless entries numbers increase. (At the past two WFCC there was no need to establish classes even under less restrictive rules.) It was recommended that the rules and regulations be condensed into a format that would be easy to read and understand. All the rules and regulations are basically the same as before, but in a more concise and orderly way. Note: A WFCC competition committee has been established to rule on anything not addressed in these rules and regulations. This committee will consist of Larry Blomquist, Ken Edwards, and the two fish carving judges selected for each show. The only exception to the Three and Three Rule will be if a level has fewer than six entries, then those entries will compete against each other. An example is, if there were only five total entries under Decorative Miniature Division, the Freshwater and Saltwater categories would be combined and compete against each other.

Coyotes are native to North America. They are smaller than their close relatives, gray wolves, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolves and red wolves. As of 2005, 19 coyote subspecies are recognized. This issue I will focus on the head details and still body poses. The categories I grouped the poses in are:

1. Head details and attitude

2. Still body poses

3. Walking, running

4. Howling

5. Pouncing

6. Fighting

7. With prey

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For the last 30 years or so I’ve been getting it up. This is not some kind of sexual statement, it’s about my carvings of fish and birds. This same philosophy can be applied to taxidermy as well. I’ve been trying to make them higher and closer to eye level than all the other carvings or mounts on a 30-inch-high table. To renew or subscribe, telephone us at 800-783-7266 or visit our website.