Countless hours of dedicated practice and calling contest competitions for many talented callers culminated this past weekend at the 2005 World Goose Calling Contest. Held in conjunction with the Waterfowl Festival in the Eastern Shore town of Easton, MD, callers descend upon the town every second week in November in the same fashion as the Canada Geese on their southward migration. In addition to the World Goose Calling Contest there were 5 other contests held: Junior Mason-Dixon Regional Duck, Junior World Goose, Senior Mason-Dixon Regional Duck, World Live Duck, and World Goose Champion of Champions (held once every five years.) The preliminaries for all the contests got under way Friday afternoon around 3:30. With six contests on the card and a large field of competitors in many of the events, the evening wrapped up close to midnight. Now with the field reduced to the top five contestants in each contest, the stage was set for Saturday night's Finals. Kudos to Sean Mann, contest volunteers, and the Avery Pro-Staff for keeping the program organized and running so seamlessly that night.
Just like Friday, the evening began with the Junior contest. Jacob Stanley of Dover, Delaware took First Place in the Mason-Dixon Regional Duck. Jacob, the son of Avery Pro-Staffer Allan Stanley, has been competing on the contest stage for several years now and has taken the family craft to heart. Together with his Dad and brother Bonce, they are perennial competitors on the calling circuit. The field was rounded out (in order) with these fine young callers: Forrest Carpenter, Jeff Shelby, Nick Catrell and Jeremy Finan.
The Junior World Goose was the next contest in the order. Friday nights preliminary had an astounding, 23 young men registered to compete but now it was down to five. All the callers had great routines but it was Forrest Carpenter of Longmont, Colorado that came out on top. He was followed by: Nick Catrell, Jacob Stanley, Cody Hopps, and Ryan Leonard.
With the Junior competitions settled, it was now up to the adults to take the stage. Starting with the Senior Mason-Dixon Regional Duck, the top five from Friday's prelim went through their routines. John David Stanley of Reno, Nevada took the honors and the right to represent the contest at the upcoming World Duck Calling Championship in Stuttgart with these four very talented callers rounding out the field: John Taylor, Joey Palumbo, Chris Christopher, and James White. If the name Stanley rings a bell it should, as John David is Allan Stanley's nephew and Jacob and Bonce's cousin.
The World Live Duck contest was next. This is a relative newcomer to the Easton family of contests and in just it’s third year drew 19 of the calling world’s top callers. After a tiebreaker to determine the winner, Mitch Hughes of Maryland came out over Kelley Powers. Third through fifth place honors went to Forrest Carpenter, Josh Neuwiller, and Hunter Grounds.
Next was the World Goose Calling Champion of Champions Contest. Initiated in 1995, and designed to be held every five years, this contest establishes the “Best of the Best” by inviting all past World Goose Calling Champions to compete with each other “head to
head”. The winner of this contest is crowned and officially retired from the World Goose Calling Contest. This year four World Champions competed for the coveted title and when it was done Avery Pro-Staffer John Taylor of Quantico, Maryland took the prize over these three great World Champions: Tim Grounds, Josh Neuwiller, and Tim Covey.
Now it was time for the main event: the 2005 World Goose Calling Championship. With a preliminary field of 38 cut down to five, the house was full of anticipation and excitement. Hunter Grounds came out on top and took home the $10,000 cash prize, the trophy and a truckload of prizes. The impressive field of finalists finished behind Hunter (in order): Scott Threinen, Kyle Rinella, Wade Walling, and Rusty Herron.
Hunter Grounds is no stranger to the World Goose Championship or the calling stage in Easton. He won the title in 2003, which is the year he also won the 2003 Junior World Goose Championship and the 2003 Junior Mason-Dixon Regional Duck Calling Contest, an amazing accomplishment to say the least. He has been coming to Easton with his father Tim for the better part of 10 plus years and is always a great competitor.
As a Sponsor of the World Goose Calling contest, Avery Outdoors wishes to thank and congratulate the winners, their families, and all the contestants for their participation and support. We are proud to lend our support to this event and look forward to next year!
