Coonhound World Championship

OPEN TO QUALIFIED DOGS ONLY

Important Documents and Information

2026 Coonhound World Championship Event Ad (PDF)

Zones

Date of Event: September 18 & 19, 2026

Advanced Entry Open Date: Monday, July 7, 2026
Advanced Entry Deadline: Monday, September 7, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. (EST)
Advanced Entry Fee: $125
New for 2026: Late entries will be accepted through Monday, September 14 for an additional $100 fee.

Zone Locations

Zone 1: Monroe County Fairgrounds, 6393 170th St, Albia, IA 52531
Zone 2: Williams County Coonhunters Association, 11600 CR-J, Montpelier, OH 43543
Zone 3: Deer Creek Coonhunters Inc., 6144 S CR-25 E, Cloverdale, IN 46120
Zone 4: West Virginia Northern Panhandle Coon Hunters Club, 2540 McAdoo Ridge, Wellsburg, WV 26070
Zone 5: Thurmond Community Center, 1563 US-21, Thurmond, NC 28683
Zone 6: North Alabama Coonhunters Association, 33636 AL Hwy 99, Anderson, AL 35610
Zone 7: Mark Twain Coon Club, 122 Oriole Dr, Chadwick, MO 65629
Zone 8: Southern Oklahoma Coon Hunters Association, 504 N 2nd Ave, Marietta, OK 73448

Finals

Date of Event: October 1-3, 2026
Location: Jay County Fairgrounds, 806 E Votaw St., Portland, IN 47371

About Coonhound World Championship

The most prestigious title in Coonhounds.

This event offers three days of world-class competition. Participants compete for prizes provided by the event sponsors, as well as prestige; the World Nite Hunt Champion and World Bench Show Champion are crowned.

Competitors in this annual competition start as part of a group of thousands of World Champion hopefuls, representing entries from all over the U.S. and Canada.

The field of hopefuls is narrowed to the best-of-the-best coonhounds and handlers during the more than 150 Regional Qualifying Events that take place across the country throughout the year.

These qualified entries are again required to show their merit by competing in one of seven semifinal events, also scattered throughout the country. Semifinal events challenge the participants from each region to ensure only the top contenders make it to the World Championship Finals.

The Road to the World Championship

Reaching the World Championship is a yearlong endeavor.

First, a dog must earn a plus-point cast win at any UKC Regional Qualifying Event (RQE) within the competition year. RQE hunts are scattered throughout the country from January-August.

RQE plus point cast winners are eligible for the next stage: the semi-final round, called Zones.

Zones take place in September two weekends prior to the World Championship. This is where the field of RQE plus-point cast winners is narrowed considerably. There are 8 Zone hunt locations in 2026. Owner/handlers of qualified dogs must submit an advanced entry for the Zone of their choice. The dog must advance from Zones to have a spot in the World Hunt.

Up to 108 dogs will advance from the Zones to the World Finals.