AUSTIN, TEXAS- The 2020 schedule for the World Champions Rodeo Alliance (WCRA) begins a stretch-run that will see the world’s top rodeo athletes battling it out for their piece of the $5,000,000 in total purse. Each one-day $1,000,000 WCRA Major Rodeo will be coupled with a Professional Bull Riders (PBR) elite series event in a major U.S. market.
The 2020 schedule includes four major rodeos beginning at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri followed by a late-May early-June soon to be announced location. WCRA will then return to Salt Lake City, Utah for the multi-performance Days of ’47 Cowboy Games and Rodeo and wrap up at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington.
The first one-day $1,000,000 WCRA Major Rodeo of 2020 will be hosted on February 28 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri – The WCRA Royal City Round Up. This WCRA Major Rodeo will be preceded by a timed events semi-final in Guthrie, Oklahoma at the legendary Lazy E Arena, January 8-12 and a rough stock semi-finals event at the Lewis Feild Bulls & Broncs February 7-8 at Mavrick Center in Salt Lake City. These two semi-finals events combined will award a guaranteed purse of $500,000.
“We are excited about announcing this 2020 schedule so early in the year,” said WCRA President Bobby Mote. “We have experienced rapid growth with the Virtual Rodeo Qualifier and it is evident that we are positively impacting the sport of Rodeo.”
Additionally, tie-down ropers will compete for a total of $161,000 purse at the Royal City Roundup, which includes $50,000 carried over from the Title Town Stampede as a result of no qualified times during the showdown round in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
In support of the new February Kansas City event, Mote says WCRA will also move the previously scheduled October 2019 semi-finals to a later date that is closer to the newly selected major.
“This extension of the nomination period will only benefit all rodeo athletes to earn more points and qualify for the Royal City Round Up,” Mote said.
The WCRA will then return to the Lazy E Arena for a $500,000 spring semi-finals May 13-17 where athletes in all disciplines will again compete for eight positions at the late-May early-June TBA $1,000,000 major.
For the third year in a row, WCRA will revisit the $17.5-million-dollar Days of ’47 outdoor arena July 20-24 for the Days of ’47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo. The top WCRA Athletes on the leaderboard will have the chance to win a gold medal along with a piece of the $1,125,000 payout at the Salt Lake City event.
Tacoma, Washington will play host to the final major of 2020 when the inaugural WCRA Puget Sound Showdown takes place on August 28 at the Tacoma Dome. The world’s best will compete for more than $111,000 per discipline, with the champions walking away with a minimum of $50,000 each.
“For our major events, it’s a balancing act between the best interest of the athlete, the sport, and the fans,” said Mote. “The move to Kansas City is a result of our effort to develop a seasonal approach to our qualification platform and host all events in the series in the same calendar year.”
Athletes from around the globe have the opportunity to compete in the WCRA Major Events Series after qualifying through the WCRA Virtual Rodeo Qualifier (VRQ). All rodeo athletes interested in learning more about the VRQ should be directed to wcrarodeo.com.
All plans for broadcast will be announced at a later date.
Since launching in May of 2018, the WCRA and its partners have awarded more than $4,565,000 in new money to rodeo athletes.
2020 WCRA Schedule:
– Jan. 8-12 WCRA Timed Events Semi-Finals Guthrie, OK
– Feb. 7-8 Lewis Feild Bulls and Broncs WCRA Rough Stock Semi-Finals Salt Lake City, UT
– Feb. 28 WCRA Royal City Roundup $1,000,000 Major Kansas City, MO
– May 13-17 WCRA Spring $500,000 Semi-Finals (Timed Event and Rough Stock) Guthrie, OK
– May-June To Be Announced $1,000,000 Major To Be Announced
– Jul. 20-24 Days of ’47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo $1,125,000 Major Salt Lake City, UT
– Aug. 28 WCRA Puget Sound Showdown $1,000,000 Major Tacoma, WA
