May 22, 2014 (Kalispell, Mont.)– If you haven’t voted already, now is the time to help choose which six semi-finalists in the Extreme Huntress Competition presented by Brownells will be invited to compete in the head-to-head hunting and outdoor skills competition at the famed 777 Ranch in Hondo, Texas. The public is encouraged to go to ExtremeHuntress.com, or download the Extreme Huntress app, to read the semi-finalists essays and then cast their vote for their favorite Extreme Huntress. Online voting for this segment of the competition will close at 11:59 pm MDT on June 1, 2014.
Now in it’s sixth year, the competition has exploded in popularity, attracting a respectable pool of serious female hunters from all over the globe. This year, the twenty semi-finalist include eleven women from the United States, three from Canada, as well as six international contestants.
The semi-finalists are Mary Windschmitt from York, PA; Maggi Kouffeld from Anderson, CA; Amanda Caldwell from Bozeman, MT; Jeanette Hall from Alberta, Canada; Beka Garris from Hamilton, OH; Kasi Geraci from Fort Worth, Texas; Helga Wimmer from Austria; Kristie Wagner from Des Moines, Iowa; Erika Bergmark from Sweden; Margaret Botha from South Africa; Danielle Bergen from Saskatchewan, Canada; Candy Yow from La Pine, OR; Ashley Westphal from Philipsburg, MT; Liz Caddell from Fort Smith, AR; Stephanie Wottrich from Buda, Texas; Christie Pisani from Australia; Amanda Morgan from Clancy, MT; Michaela Fialova from Czech Republic; Nikita Dalke from British Columbia, Canada; and Sandra Mas from South Africa.
A panel of five celebrity judges, including Jim Zumbo, Olivia Nalos Opre, Brittany Boddington, Larry Weishuhn and Melissa Bachman, scored the entries to determine the top twenty essays based on a weighted set of criteria. When judging, the least important factor was how many animals or the trophy quality of the animals taken. According to the contest organizer, Tom Opre, the judges were more interested in the reasons why the women hunt. All five judges scored a large number of entries, narrowing the field to twenty incredible semi-finalists.
The Extreme Huntress Competition continues to set the bar for serious outdoors women, while at the same time providing positive role models for women who are new to hunting, shooting and other traditional outdoor sports.
“Online voting is not a popularity contest. We gauge each huntress’s ability to broadcast a positive message about the woman who hunts,” stated Opre.
The top six finalists will travel to the famed 777 Ranch for the head-to-head competition that will test the women in their physical fitness, shooting, tracking, and hunting skills. All of the activities at the 777 Ranch will be filmed to produce thirteen exciting weekly episodes to be aired this fall on ExtremeHuntress.com. Once again, the public will be invited to watch the episodes and then vote online for their favorite Extreme Huntress. Online voting will run from October 1, 2014 through January 1, 2015. A combination of the judges’ scores and online votes will determine the new Extreme Huntress.
The Extreme Huntress winner will be announced at the Dallas Safari Club convention during a major black-tie awards dinner in January 16, 2015. Also new for this year, respected artist Mark James, www.markjamesart.com, has been commissioned to sculpt an exclusive Extreme Huntress Award.
The Extreme Huntress Competition Presented by Brownells is generously sponsored by the 777 Ranch, Brownells, the Dallas Safari Club, the U.S. Sportsman’s Alliance, Camp Chef, Coppersmith Global Logistics, artist Mark James, Girls with Guns, Norma USA, and Mossberg.
Download the official Extreme Huntress app on iTunes for iOS or on Google Play for Android devices.
The official competition rules, can be found at http://www.extremehuntress.com.
About the Extreme Huntress Competition
Now in it’s sixth year, the Extreme Huntress Competition Presented by Brownells is about preserving our outdoor heritage. Our goal is to create positive role models for all women who want to participate in hunting. With a fifty-percent divorce rate, there are a lot of kids who won’t get into traditional outdoor sports unless mom does. We feel if mom goes hunting, so will her children– and the whole family.
Media contact:
Sue Bookhout, SB Media Group, LLC, suebmedia.com, 315-333-0360, sue@suebmedia.com
###