World Class
Taxidermy Judges

Over the years, the WTC has earned a reputation for having consistent judging, year after year. Ribbons are earned solely on the quality of the work. With this consistency comes validity; an award earned at the World Taxidermy Championshps will mean something, now, and twenty years from now. It is not impossible to win, as hundreds of competitors have demonstrated, but the judging is always of the highest calibre.

The world-class judges working at the 2011 show will be among the largest group of taxidermy judges ever assembled for a single competition. The following judging assignments have been established for the 2011 World Taxidermy Championships. Changes are possible and will be based on the actual workloads for various categories.

11 Mammal & Gamehead Judges
Cary Cochran (Ohio)
Darin Flynn (Louisiana)
John Matthews (Maryland)
Joe Meder (Iowa)
Skip Skidmore (Utah)
Barry Smith (Colorado)
Alexander Sokolov (Russia)
Don Stevens (Alabama)
Jessica Stevens (Alabama)
Marcus Zimmerman (Pennsylvania)

8 Bird Judges
Simon Blackshaw (Netherlands)
Dave Luke (Louisiana)
Frank Newmyer (Michigan)
Danny Owens (Texas)
Lennart Pettersson (Sweden) Stefan Savides (Oregon)
Gary Senk (Wisconsin)
Shane Smith (Alabama)

5 Fish Judges
Richard Abraham (New Zealand)
Simon Blackshaw (Netherlands)
Rick Krane (New Hampshire)
Jeff Mourning (Colorado)
Garry Senk (Wisconsin)

3 Reptile Judges
Simon Blackshaw (Netherlands)
Jeff Mourning (Colorado)
Skip Skidmore (Utah)

1 Freeze Dry Judge
Rod Connelly (Pennsylvania)

2 Novice Judges
Don Stevens (Alabama)
Jessica Stevens (Alabama)

Master Division Judging Procedure
For 2011, each entry in the Master Division will be independently scored by three judges and the scores averaged together. Once first places are determined in the subcategories, a competition supervisor will gather all category judges (five for most categories) to vote for eligible entries for Best in World titles. They will each cast a secret ballot for Best in World. The judges will be allowed to discuss and confer about the eligible entries before casting their ballots. If two entries receive equal votes the judges will be asked to vote again on those two entries only. The results will be kept secret and announced at the World Show awards banquet.