The WRANGLER Horse and Rodeo News is an equine and rodeo publication with circulation in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, Utah and Idaho.
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4 The Wrangler, Annual Team Roping and Rodeo Edition • May 20 -June 4, 2018 WCRA ANNOUNCES FOUR $1 MILLION RODEOS, A REVOLUTIONARY WORLD RANKING SYSTEM, INDUSTRY ALLIANCES, AND INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY TO GIVE RODEO ATHLETES GREATER OPPORTUNITIES. LAS VEGAS (May 4, 2018) – WCRA (World Champions Rodeo Alliance), formed in coopera on with PBR (Professional Bull Riders) to develop new opportuni es for rodeo, today announced rodeo events that will award $6 million to compe tors, an innova ve virtual qualifica on and world ranking system for athletes to qualify for high-payout rodeos, and other growth ini a ves for the industry. The announcements were made at an unprecedented Rodeo Summit open to all rodeo compe tors, organizers, and industry stakeholders at South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas ahead of the WCRA Rodeo Showdown, a $400,000 rodeo at The Thomas & Mack Center at UNLV on May 5 and 6. The $6 million in payouts will be comprised of four large rodeos each featuring a $1 million purse. Four semi- final qualifier events will provide the addi onal $2 million in prize money. Qualifying will be based on points, rather than dollars won, through a new world ranking points system that WCRA introduced today. The first WCRA $500,000 semi- final event is scheduled for November at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, OK, followed by the first WCRA $1 million rodeo in Sacramento, CA in January 2019. Addi onal 2019 WCRA large- payout events will be announced at a later date. Addi onally, WCRA unveiled new technology, including the WCRA Virtual Rodeo Qualifier (VRQ), available for every rodeo athlete to access a mobile nomina on system to qualify for the $6 million in payouts. Through the VRQ, athletes can track their own and all other compe tors' performances in rodeos and single discipline events throughout the year. This new free mobile web App for rodeo athletes was unveiled to put the administra on of the sport in the hand of athletes, stock contractors, and commi ee members. For more informa on visit www.WCRARodeo. com and h ps://youtu.be/lVEM 4dJiI Each athlete's first opportunity to qualify through the VRQ is less than 70 days away at the $1 million Komatsu Equipment Days of '47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo presented by Zions Bank held July 19-21, 23-24, 2018 in Salt Lake City. WCRA also announced new mul -year alliances to bring new opportuni es to rodeo athletes, grow rodeo's fan base and increase coverage for the sport: • Days of '47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo: The Komatsu Equipment Days of '47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo presented by Zions Bank held each July in Salt Lake City will be the first $1 million rodeo in 2018 in which athletes can u lize the newly unveiled WCRA Virtual Qualifier to earn one of 20 spots in their respec ve discipline. The only excep on is in the bull riding: due to a previously announced partnership with the PBR, only four bull-riding posi ons will be available via the WCRA Virtual Qualifier. Addi onally, the event champions of the WCRA Rodeo Showdown at Helldorado Days (May 5 and 6, 2018) will receive an automa c invita on into the 2018 Days of '47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo. The 2018 Days of '47 will be streamed on RidePass, PBR's western sports digital network, providing the event expanded coverage and reach. In 2019 and 2020, the Days of '47 will also produce a $500,000 semi-final event as part of the WCRA Major Event Series. For more informa on on Days of '47 visit www.daysof47cowboygames.com • Interna onal Professional Rodeo Associa on (IPRA) will provide its members many opportuni es to virtually qualify for the rodeo events paying out $6 million, including a path for the 2018 IPRA World Champion to enter the first 2019 WCRA $1 million rodeo in Sacramento in late January. The IPRA will hold four "Win and You're In" events during each of four WCRA series segments, giving members a direct route into a semi- finals event. The IPRA is the second- largest professional rodeo associa on, sanc oning nearly 400 rodeos across the na on for more than 60 years. • Na onal Barrel Horse Associa on (NBHA): The NBHA is the largest barrel racing organiza on in the world, with more than 20,000 members worldwide and over 150,000 barrel racing entries each year, each of which will provide members eligibility for nomina on and opportuni es to virtually qualify for the WCRA's $6 million rodeos. Through four designated "Win and You're In" events, NBHA event champions will automa cally progress into a WCRA $500,000 semi-finals event. • Indian Na onal Finals Rodeo (INFR) has more than 20 tour rodeos annually. More than 2,000 INFR members will have the opportunity to u lize the WCRA Virtual Qualifier at their INFR-tour rodeos to earn points towards qualifying for the $6 million rodeos. The 43rd Annual Indian Na onal Finals Rodeo event in October 2018 will be a "Win and You're In," with world champions receiving a berth into the November 2018 WCRA $500,000 semi-finals event held at the Lazy E in Guthrie, OK. Consistent with WCRA's mission to align a fragmented sport, rodeo athletes will have instant access to a new world ranking point system based on a proprietary formula created by WCRA to rank all rodeo, worldwide, regardless of event loca on or sanc oning body. The formula also evaluates rodeo events by discipline, allowing athletes to earn appropriate points for their respec ve independent disciplines. The new standings rank rodeos based on objec ve data such as athlete opportunity, strength of field, overall exposure and event history. To rank rodeos more effec vely the system breaks the en re sport into four Divisions of compe on with points awarded based on the appropriate Division assigned to each rodeo. "WCRA was formed to create alliances and opportuni es to help rodeo athletes earn more money at marquee events that will excite fans, while making a path to a full- me rodeo career more a rac ve and accessible to talented, aspiring western sports athletes," said Gary McKinney, CEO, WCRA. "We're very excited to bring the industry under one roof to share our ideas, seek solu ons and collaborate to grow a tradi onal American sport that deserves a bigger fan base, more sponsors, events in all corners of the country, and expanded coverage." About WCRA - WCRA is a professional sport and entertainment en ty, created to develop and advance the sport of rodeo by aligning all levels of compe on. In associa on with PBR, WCRA produces major rodeo events, developing addi onal opportuni es for rodeo industry compe tors, stakeholders and fans. To learn more visit worldchampionsrodeoalliance. com. About Professional Bull Riders (PBR) The world's premier bull riding organiza on began as a dream of 20 bull riders 25 years ago and now operates in five countries. On its elite tour, the organiza on features the top 35 bull riders in the world and the top bulls in the business. The televised 25th PBR: Unleash The Beast, along with the PBR Real Time Pain Relief Velocity Tour (RVT), the PBR Touring Pro Division (TPD) and the PBR's interna onal circuits in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico have paid nearly $184 million in earnings to its athletes. Thirty bull riders have earned more than $1 million, including two- me PBR World Champion J.B. Mauney who is the top-earning athlete in Western sports history with more than $7.2 million in career earnings. PBR is part of the Endeavor (formerly WME | IMG) network. For more informa on on the PBR, go to PBR.com, or follow on Facebook at Facebook.com/PBR, Instagram at Instagram.com/PBR, and YouTube at YouTube.com/PBR World Champions Rodeo Alliance formed in cooperation with PBR rodeo