–$2500 IFR51 Top Hand Cash Bonus Award Announced–
The WCRA (World Champions Rodeo Alliance) and the IPRA (International Pro Rodeo Association) are pleased to announce that all WCRA events will continued to be co-sanctioned by the IPRA. All athletes who earn money at WCRA events are allowed to count up to $10,000 of those earnings towards their 2021 IPRA World Standings.
“Our motto is all for rodeo, and we’re lucky enough to have the opportunity to work with other organizations to sanction and co-sanction events in an effort to break down the lines of division which have held rodeo back,” said WCRA President Bobby Mote. “We are ecstatic to watch the continued growth of rodeo and continue the mindset of improving the sport as a whole.”
In order to be IPRA eligible, athletes who compete in WCRA events must be IPRA members prior to the start of competition and must compete in more than 10 IPRA events in 2021 for their WCRA earnings to count towards 2021 IPRA World Standings. The early May Rodeo Corpus Christi will be the first WCRA event where earnings will count towards the IPRA World Standings.
WCRA also announced a $2,500 cash bonus award- The Top Hand Award. The award will be given to the athlete who earns the most amount of prize money in a single discipline during the International Finals Rodeo (IFR51) event. The total prize money earned from all rounds of competition at the IFR51 and the aggregate will be combined to determine an athlete’s total event earnings.
The IPRA has become the sport’s second largest professional rodeo association sanctioning nearly 450 rodeos with a membership base of over 2,400. The Organization sanctions rodeos across the United States along with 40 Canadian events
Since launching in May of 2018, the WCRA and its partners have awarded more than $8,500,000 in new money to rodeo athletes.
Rodeo athletes from all over the globe are eligible to nominate their efforts and qualify to compete at the first WCRA Major of 2021- Rodeo Corpus Christi. Athletes can nominate and earn points through the innovative WCRA Virtual Rodeo Qualifier (VRQ). The top athletes on the WCRA Leaderboard in each discipline will compete for their piece of the over $500,000 purse. For athletes interested in learning more about the VRQ, visit wcrarodeo.com.