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Champion Duck Callers Flock to Stuttgart

Duck callers competed for the world title in the Duck Calling Championships in Stuttgart on Nov. 24, 2018
Ann Kenda
/
ARKANSAS PUBLIC MEDIA
Duck callers competed for the world title in the Duck Calling Championships in Stuttgart on Nov. 24, 2018

Champion duck callers gathered in Stuttgart this weekend to compete for the title of best in the world.  It was the 83rd year of the World Duck Calling Championships in the Arkansas town with a population of under 10,000.

Many practice all year for the 90 second duck call.  In the field, hunters adopt a softer and less aggressive call to lure the ducks to their hunting grounds.  But on the stage, the calls must be louder and executed in perfect detail.

Contestants blow into a small, woodwind-type instrument for the call, but many said duck calling is far more comparable to sport than to music.

"You could easily go from first to last, just like a NASCAR race," said contestant Seth Fields from Jackson, Tennessee.

"Very calm and patient," said contestant Chase Wall from Four Oaks, North Carolina of the mental state that's required for the high-stakes competition.

55 contestants qualified for the final world championships.  There was also a women's competition, a state championship and a junior's event.

This story is produced by Arkansas Public Media. What's that? APM is a nonprofit journalism project for all of Arkansas and a collaboration among public media in the state. We're funded in part through a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, with the support of partner stations KUAR, KUAF, KASU and KTXK. And, we hope, from you! You can learn more and support Arkansas Public Media's reporting at arkansaspublicmedia.org. Arkansas Public Media is Natural State news with context.

Copyright 2018 Arkansas Public Media

Ann Kenda joined Arkansas Public Media in January 2017 from Sudbury, Massachusetts. She is a graduate of Syracuse University and previously worked in public radio, commercial radio and newspaper in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. She focuses on health, justice, education and energy as part of the Arkansas Public Media team. Her stories can be found on the airwaves, ArkansasPublicMedia.org and social media.