Duck calling
Ritson Galloway is one of 15 finalists in the NZ Rural Sports.
Galloway is the only Manawatu¯ finalist in the Fonterra Young New Zealand Rural Sportsperson of the Year for duck calling which is a first for the sport.
Galloway was introduced to duck calling at just 3 years old.
Quickly discovering his passion for the sport, he practised hard and by the age of 9 entered his first duck calling competition.
He won his first Manawatu¯ title at 11 years old and beat callers with years of experience.
After taking out his first national title in 2018, coming first in all four categories he entered, Galloway set his sights on the World Duck Calling competition in the United States.
Unfortunately he had to withdraw due to schooling.
In 2019, the rising talent took out his second national title, winning four out of five of the categories he entered.
Finally getting his chance to head over to compete in the United States, he became the first non-American to be crowned the Junior World Duck-Calling Champion.
Galloway’s dedication to the sport shows no bounds, with the teenager now looking to place in the top three duck callers in the world by 2022.
The five categories in the sports awards will be announced in Palmerston North at the awards dinner on March 13.
The finalists are leaders in both traditional rural sports like shearing, fencing, wool handling and dog trials, and newer sports like treeclimbers and duck calling.
NZRSP awards convener, rower and Olympic medallist Nathan Twaddle said the range of rural sports and the quality of nominees represented this year was fantastic.
“It has certainly made the judging panel’s job very difficult, something we take as a healthy sign of the quality of rural sport at the moment.”
He added that the sports awards were all about honouring people from young athletes who were just starting, to the lifetime achievers, and those who worked away in the background to make sure rural sports survive.
The award in honour of the late Sir Brian Lochore, who died in 2019, has been renamed the Sir Brian Lochore Memorial Award for an Outstanding Sportsperson from a Rural Background.
The judging panel includes rural sports icon and president of Shearing Sports NZ Sir David Fagan, fencing legend Paul van Beers, Taranaki-King Country MP Barbara Kuriger, founder and trustee of the Ford Ranger New Zealand Rural Games Steve Hollander, and agricultural journalists Craig ‘Wiggy’ Wiggins and Tony Leggett.
Tickets for the awards dinner can be purchased at ruralgames.co.nz/sportsawards and speakers at the dinner will be announced mid-February.