HARRINGTON—Saturday’s festivities at the Delaware State Fair kicked off as sounds of cackling quacks and howls reverberated through Harrington’s state fairgrounds.

The Delaware State Duck and Goose Calling Championships, hosted by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control in partnership with Delaware Ducks Unlimited, invited over a dozen competitors vying for the title of state champion. The event was held on the main stage in Hertrich Plaza, just outside of the M&T Bank Grandstand.

During the event, a total of six competitions were held: the Junior Goose Calling Championship, the Junior Duck Calling Championship, the State Duck Calling Championship, the State Goose Calling Championship, the Open Duck Calling Championship, and the Open Goose Calling Championship.

In each competition, callers were given a one-minute time limit to perform their respective calls, though each was given a warmup call beforehand. The panel of judges varied by competition, though the scoring system was the same, as each call was graded and combined into a cumulative score to determine a winner. The judges were unaware of the identity or appearance of each caller as they were left to determine callers’ scores in a tent next to the main stage.

In each competition, judges were tasked with assessing aspects of each call to determine each participants’ score. The criteria of judgment included clarity, loudness, and type of the call. Each caller has their own technique and base their sounds off of the variety of duck and goose calls in the wild, such as a feed call, greeting call, a hail call, and more.

The day of competition began with the Junior Goose Calling Championship, which saw three teens battle it out for the title. The judges for the competition, Al Dager, John Walls, and Justin Blevins, all competed in a variety of the calling competitions throughout the day. In the championship, Josh Elchynski, of Avondale, Pa., came out on top, but that was just the beginning of a long day for the 16-year-old.

In the next competition, Mr. Elchynski won his second championship of the day, defeating four other junior competitors in doing so. The win was Mr. Elchynski’s 4th overall calling championship in six tries, which he attributes to long hours of daily practice sharpening his craft.

“It’s a lot of practice and it’s hard to explain to people what goes into it. You kind of just have to figure it out as you go along, it’s a lot with your tongue, your presentation, your diaphragm, it’s a lot,” Mr. Elchynski said.

“A lot of hard work goes into it so it’s awesome to win. State championships are big, so to be a Delaware state champ, it’s a big trophy and a big name to hold, and I’m really proud of that.”

Much like the junior competitions, the senior championships for both the state duck and goose calling championships, and the open championships, were each won in a clean sweep. In the state championships, both titles were won by John Walls, an accomplished competition caller who, with the win, has won the Delaware Goose Calling State Championship 10 times, also competing in numerous world championships throughout his 16-year calling career.

Mr. Walls said the wins were special as it marked his first ever Delaware Duck Calling Championship victory. Since he is no stranger to calling competitions, preparation comes second nature to Mr. Walls, he said.

“I’ve been doing this so long that it’s kind of like riding a bike,” Mr. Walls said. “The biggest thing I have to prep for is getting my air back, building my lung pressure up. I’ll usually start picking up my call preparation about a week out, but it depends on what type of competition it is, it can vary.”

Saturday’s competition was a hunting-call championship, meaning that competitors were to perform their calls as they would in a typical hunting setting. Other calling championships can differ from the hunting-style and allow for callers to showcase their unique calling tricks and techniques.

In the open championships, Teddy Hoover took home the trophies in both competitions. The open competition allowed for competitors of all ages to showcase their skills, including Mr. Elchynski, who placed third in the Open Duck Calling Championship and sixth in the Open Goose Calling Championship. Mr. Hoover, who served as a judge in the State Duck Calling Championship earlier in the day, has a long history of championship wins, including six Maryland state goose calling titles.

As an extension of their building on Harrington’s fairground, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control began their partnership in hosting the event in 2019. Patrick Emory, the Department’s director of their division of community affairs, said that as calling championships started to fall off in the state, the department contacted callers in Maryland and Delaware to put together an event to showcase their talent. He said the event has continued to grow, despite hurdles brought by the pandemic, and hopes that this year will be a launching point for the competition.

“This year was great, especially considering how hot it was out here. We had some really good callers come this year and we’re hopeful that will attract more callers in the future. We want to attract more of the junior callers and get some more of the kids involved. We’re hopeful that people will take interest in the event and get involved,”

“When we started, everybody said this was one of the best calling contests in the area. We hit a bump with the pandemic, but I think we’ll have even more participation in the future, we’re really excited.”