Scoring System
The TTAI Scoring system is basically the same as the NTA scoring system. The TTAI has added the Winners Ribbon to the Professional and Masters Divisions.
Points are accumulated as follows:
Winners Ribbon
95-100
1st Place
90-94
2nd Place
80-89
3rd Place
70-79
Honorable Mention
65-69
Paul Provenzano Points Value:
Winners Ribbon
5 points
1st Place
3 points
2nd Place
2 points
3rd Place
1 point
Honorable Mention
0 points
*Note*
Educational Division will not receive a score or ribbon, but will receive a Certificate of Participation.
Amateur Division will receive only 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place ribbons.
Professional and Masters Divisions are the only with Winners Ribbons.
Paul Provenzano Award
Paul Provenzano was one of the founding members of the Texas Taxidermy Association Inc. This award is named in his honor, for the wildlife artist who has continually demonstrated his or her skills through competition achievements.
Categories:
Mammals
Gameheads
Birds
Fish
Reptiles/Amphibians
Reproductions
Taxidermists will receive only the highest point value award of one piece per category, per year.
A taxidermist must, in a single category, win a total of 10 points with at least a Winners or First Place ribbon.
TTAI Provenzano Master Award:
A taxidermist must win the above Paul Provenzano Award in three different categories to qualify.
Tips for Competition:
The following is a list of "tips" that may help in preparing a mount fot competition.
Reference.
Pick a good specimen.
Pay attention to symmetry and balance.
If you enter something out of the ordinary, provide reference for judge. Judges would rather have reference than guess.
Rebuild any shrunken areas.
Don't overpower the mount with the base.
Use as natural habitat as possible.
Make sure odors from base materials are gone.
Take mount out in the sunlight to inspect for flaws.
Have a friend look at the mount.
If enclosed in a glass case, make sure case is removable.
Check closely for overspray of painted areas.
Make sure mount is mechanically sound.
Reference, reference, reference.
How to Make Competition Work for You
Competitions have been held in conjunction with the annual Texas Taxidermy Association Convention since its beginning in 1979. The concept is simple...have a well qualified, respected wildlife artist explain how the competitor can improve his or her mounts. Sounds easy enough, but in the years simce competitions were started the explosion of new supplies and high tech equipmeny has transformed the "just a deer head on the wall" into truly incredible works of art.
Although the advancement in taxidermy is welcomed, one aspect had been left behind...the ability of new competitions to enter a mount and not be "hammered" by the judge. This is usually the result for a firt-time competitor who has misconceptions of what competitions are meant to be. Competitions are a great opportunity to learn how to improve your taxidermy. Keep in mind that you are not in direct competition with any other competitor, your only competition is the score sheet.
What we have tried to do in the TTAI competitions is return to the orginal concept of learning. By having the Educational Division and the Amateur Division (along with the Professional and Masters Divisions), anyone at any skill level can enter a piece and feel confident that they will go home with a full review of their work. These two divisions were created for taxidermists who would like to bring their own personal mounts or customer mounts and be judged on a less critical scale than the upper divisions.
For the taxidermist who feels more confident in their skills and is prepared for much more intense judging, the Professional Division is for you. In this division the pieces are judged more on the artistic merits, with a high degree of accuracy in detail. There is still a great deal that can be learned in this division.
For the competitor who has won two Blue ribbons in any particular category we have the Masters Division. This is the toughest level of comptetion, and is for the taxidermist who is prepared for stiff competion. Basically the learning is over, and he or she knows what is expected of a world-class mount.
The bottom line is, competitions are what you make of them.If you approach them as a learning tool, you are almost assured of satisfaction. Careful consideration of which division to enter will have a lot to do with how happy you are after the show.
