Contest Rules

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Entry Fee

  • A $250 entry fee is required with registration.

Requirements/ Eligibility

  • The contestant must be at least 21 years old on or before the day of the GNCC contest. 
  • 20-year-old contestants who will turn 21 on or before the day of the GNCC contest are allowed to call in the Friction Division at NWTF sanctioned calling contests to earn preliminary qualifications for the GNCC contest. 
  • The contestant must be a current member of the National Wild Turkey Federation.
  • The first-place winner of a State, Open or Friction Division at a qualifying NWTF Sanctioned contest between January 1 and December 31 the year preceding the Grand National Calling Championships is eligible to compete in the Friction Division Preliminaries. If the first-place winner of a State, Open or Friction Division at a qualifying contest has already qualified for the following year's GNCC Friction Division Preliminaries or Finals, the second-place winner of that contest will then be eligible to advance to the GNCC Friction Division Preliminaries for that year only. If the second-place winner has already qualified and there were 5 or more participants in the division, the third-place finisher will receive the qualification. (updated 11/1/2022)
  • All finalists (top 12) in the previous year's NWTF Grand National Friction Division Championships and the Senior Division Championships are automatically eligible to compete in the Friction Preliminary contest. (updated 6/20/24)
  • Previous World Calling Contest Friction Division and Open Division champions are eligible to compete in the Friction Division Preliminary contest. (updated 11/21/19)
  • The reigning NWTF Friction Division Grand National Champion is automatically qualified to call in the finals division and may call in the preliminary if he or she desires.  Their score will not affect the top twelve (12) scores of the preliminary round. 
  • The previous years' two winners of Team Air and Friction Challenge are eligible to compete in the Friction Division preliminaries (11/1/2022).
  • Intermediate, Youth, Junior, Amateur, Owl Hooting, Gobbling or other various divisions are ineligible.  

Preliminaries

  • The Friction Division preliminaries will be held Thursday, February 15, 2024, at 12 p.m., in the Governor’s Ballroom.  
  • A mandatory preparation meeting and roll call beginning at 11:30 a.m. will be held in the Governor’s Ballroom at the front of the stage for all Friction Division preliminary contestants.

Finals 

  • The Friction Division Finals will be held Saturday, February 17, 2024, at 8 a.m., in the Governor’s Ballroom.  
  • A mandatory preparation meeting and roll call beginning at 7:30 a.m. will be held in the Governor’s Ballroom at the front of the stage for all Friction Division Finals contestants.  
  • A new number will be drawn by each of the top twelve (12) finalists and the reigning Grand National Friction Division Champion immediately before the finals competition begins. The contestant drawing number one (1) will immediately draw a second number. They will call in both positions. Only the score derived while calling the second calling position will count for score. Please note: If number one (1) is not drawn by a contestant, then a re-draw will be held until the number one (1) is drawn.

Time Limits

  • There will be a one-minute per-call time limit (5 calls, 5 minutes, etc). The clock will begin on the first note of the first call and stop on the acknowledgment of the caller that they are finished with their last call.
  • The NWTF reserves the right to use a clock showing the time remaining. A 3-point penalty will be added to the final score of any contestant going over the time limit.

Calls 

  • Contestants will be judged on a minimum of four (4) calls in the contest.  
  • Calls will be posted in front of the calling contest stage at 5 p.m. the day before the contest.
  • The calls will be selected from among the following: plain yelp of the hen, cutting of an excited hen, adult hen assembly call, fly-down cackle, kee kee run, kee kee run of a lost hen, kee kee run of a lost young gobbler, cluck and purr, yelp of an excited hen, tree call, fighting purr and gobbler yelp.

Scoring

  • Judges will score on a 1-20 scale, with 20 as the highest score possible.
  • Scorers will calculate each judge’s score after each caller.
  • The highest and lowest scores from the seven (7) judges will be discarded.
  • The five (5) remaining scores will be calculated for a final score.

**Prizes

  • Prize money will be 80% of the entry fees collected for the division and distributed to the five (5) highest-scoring contestants. Trophies will be awarded to the top five finishing contestants.