NTA
Est. 1972  ·  Preserving the Craft
National Taxidermists Association National Taxidermists Association · Est. 1972 Become a Member
Home Winners
Roll of honour

Taxidermist of
the Year.

The highest award the association gives. Won on the floor, against the best work in the country, judged on correctness of specimen, craftsmanship and degree of difficulty.

The award

What Taxidermist of the Year means.

Taxidermist of the Year is the single highest honour at the NTA national competition. It carries the NTA Lion Sculpture on a walnut base with double brass plates and a $1,000 cash prize, and it is drawn from the entries achieving Gold, Silver or Bronze in the Distinguished division or Gold in North American.

It is not a popularity award and it is not judged in private. Entries are scored by credentialled judges on an NTA-approved score sheet, against correctness of specimen, taxidermy craftsmanship and degree of difficulty. Ninety points and above takes a medallion.

Recent winners

Winner names are held by the association and are not reproduced here. This page is built and ready — supply the Taxidermist of the Year, Best of Show and championship winners for each year and they will be published as a permanent, indexable record, one section per year.

The awards a winner can take

  • Taxidermist of the Year — NTA Lion Sculpture, walnut base, double brass plates, $1,000 cash
  • Best of Show — Breakthrough Best of Show Plaque, $1,000 cash; requires a minimum score of 90 and a North American entry
  • Distinguished Taxidermist Champion — Gold, Silver and Bronze medallions at 90 points and above
  • North American Champion — champion title medallion, champion hat, crystal medallions and cash
  • Charlie Haynes Memorial Award — voted by Distinguished and North American competitors, honouring the association's 1972 founder
  • Taxidermist's Choice — voted by every competitor across six categories

The full award list, including the memorial awards and the habitat and innovation challenges, is on the awards page.