By: Kyle Jones
–Additional Incentive Provides Direct Benefit To All Rodeo Athletes—
The World Champions Rodeo Alliance (WCRA) announced today that the number one athlete on the WCRA Leaderboard in each discipline from each segment will automatically advance to WCRA One-Day $1,000,000 Major Rodeos.
This incentive will take effect immediately, giving the top athlete in segment four direct advancements to the first one-day $1,050,000 WCRA Major Rodeo of 2020. The event will be hosted on February 28 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri – The WCRA Royal City Roundup. Athletes from around the globe have the chance to earn the number one spot on the leaderboard when nominating their efforts through the WCRA Virtual Rodeo Qualifier (VRQ) until December 1 at 11:59 p.m. CT
“Historically we have rewarded those in the upper portion of the leaderboard going into a semi-finals with placement into the later rounds,” said WCRA President Bobby Mote. “Feedback from athletes has helped us offer this new ultimate incentive if you are ranked number one. Athletes can now advance directly to the major, regardless of your performance at the Semi-Finals. We believe this will reward top athletes whom earn points through successful competition and participation in the VRQ.”
Mote also stated that athletes who place first on the leaderboard may still choose to compete in the semi-finals for additional earnings. Along with this new number one incentive for VRQ Users, there are additional incentives related to leaderboard positions at the upcoming Please see WCRA Segment Four Semi-Finals Positions below:
| Leaderboard Position | Seeded at Timed Event Semi-Finals |
| 1 | Advances to WCRA $1,000,000 Major- Royal City Roundup |
| 1-8 | Final Round of Semi-Finals Competition |
| 9-16 | Progressive Round of Semi-Finals Competition |
| 17-64 | Two Preliminary Rounds of Semi-Finals- Attempting to Advance |
Additional info: Nine (9) Total Athletes in Each Discipline Advance From Semi-Finals to Royal City Roundup
*Includes The Number One Athlete From The WCRA Leaderboard And Eight (8) Athletes From The Final Round Of The Semi-Finals
| Leaderboard Positions | Seeded at Rough Stock Semi-Finals |
| 1 | Advances to WCRA $1,000,000 Major- Royal City Roundup |
| 1-12 | Seeding in 7 p.m. Competition |
| 13-24 | Seeding in 1 p.m. Competition |
Nine (9) Total Athletes in Each Discipline Advance From Semi-Finals to WCRA Royal City Roundup
*This includes the number one athlete from the WCRA Leaderboard and eight (8) athletes from the Semi-Finals (Four from LFBB and four from PBR OKC UTB)
In addition, the WCRA Royal City Roundup will feature an extra $50,000 in the Tie-Down roping discipline due to no qualified times in the Showdown Round at the June WCRA Titletown Stampede in Green Bay. This prize money will carry forward to make it a $100,000 payday for the WCRA Royal City Roundup Tie-Down Champion, with a qualifying run. All other disciplines will compete for $111,000 per, with the champions opportunity to earn $50,000 in each discipline.
Since launching in May of 2018, the WCRA and its partners have awarded more than $5,600,000 in new money to rodeo athletes.
