The 2013 RMEF World Elk Calling Championships were held this past weekend (March 1-2) in Las Vegas, Nevada. Callers from all across the U.S. and Canada descended upon the Las Vegas Convention Center for the 25th Anniversary of the World Championship Elk Calling Contest.

On Friday, all callers participated in the preliminary rounds in 5 divisions (Peewee, Voice, Women, Men, and Professional). The Youth division had fewer than 6 callers, so no preliminary rounds were held and all contestants in that division automatically advanced to the Finals. The top 5 callers in the preliminary round, along with the returning Champions from the previous year, were invited back to call in the Final rounds on Saturday.

The objective of the callers is to replicate authentic elk sounds. Callers are given 45 seconds for cow sounds and 45 seconds for bull sounds to impress the judges. A panel of seven judges award scores from 1-20 for cow sounds and 1-20 for bull sounds. The highest score along with the lowest score for each contestant are thrown out, leaving 5 judges and a total of 200 possible points for each caller.

When the dust had settled, several members of the Elk101.com Pro Staff were in the top spots. Congratulations to the following:

Isaac Jacobsen, 10 – Peewee Division Champion

Kailee Brimmer, 9 – Peewee Division 5th Place

Sam Jacobsen, 6 – Peewee Division 6th Place

Misty Jacobsen – Women’s Division Champion

Dirk Durham – Men’s Division Champion

Corey Jacobsen – Professional Division 2nd Place

Rockie Jacobsen – Professional Division 3rd Place

Matt Brimmer – Professional Division 5th Place

Here are the video clips of the Final rounds for the Peewee, Women’s, Men’s, and Professional divisions:

PEEWEE DIVISION

WOMEN’S DIVISION

MEN’S DIVISION

PROFESSIONAL DIVISION

To commemorate 25 years of World Championship Elk Calling, the RMEF added a special event to this years contest – the Champion of Champions. All previous Professional World Champions over the past 25 years were invited to participate to determine who was the best of the best. Six past World Champions showed up to compete for the $2500, winner-take-all event. Additionally, the winner would receive a free elk hunt to be filmed for RMEF’s Team Elk TV show.

The six Champions (Bryan Langley, Corey Jacobsen, Walt Ramage, Joel Turner, Al Morris, and Rockie Jacobsen) were sequestered into a closed room where they were required to wear headphones to prevent them from hearing what was going on out on the stage. One by one, each were led out to the stage where actual audio of cow elk (20 seconds) and bull elk (20 seconds) was played. They were then instructed to replicate those sounds. At the end of their routine, they were given 30 seconds for “freestyle” calling, and a panel of judges awarded scores based upon their accuracy.

After the initial round, there was a 3-way tie between Corey Jacobsen, Al Morris, and Rockie Jacobsen. The callers were brought back to the stage and given 30 seconds for a freestyle routine. After the second round, a tie still existed….between father and son Rockie and Corey Jacobsen. The two callers were again brought to the stage for a 30 second freestyle round and the tie was broken. However, the callers would have to wait 8 hours to find out who the winner was.

Later that evening, at the RMEF Grand Banquet, the six previous World Champions were brought onto the stage and the Champion of Champions trophy, check, and free hunt were awarded to Elk101.com’s Corey Jacobsen!

Here is the official press release from the RMEF:

LAS VEGAS, Nev.—The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation crowned a series of champions at the 25th annual World Elk Calling Championships in Las Vegas.

Winners are listed below:

PeeWee Division
1. Isaac Jacobsen, Boise, Ida.
2. Sutton Callaway, Maricopa, Calif.
3. Kason Hulsey, Eagar, Ariz.