Elite Rodeo Athletes announces 2017 qualifying race

BOERNE, TX (November 4, 2015) – The much-anticipated 2017 ERA Qualifying Race will provide rodeo athletes an opportunity to earn their way onto the tour and compete against the ERA’s League of Champions. This innovative system has never been executed in the history of rodeo, proving that it’s a “New ERA in professional rodeo.”  Much like in other professional sports, the ERA Qualifying Race and the ERA Tour will be point based, with heavier point values associated with winning at a higher level of competition (ERA Tour).

ERA TOUR AND TOUR CUTS

A 15 stop 2017 ERA Tour will consist of 10 athletes in each event and will have tour cuts before tour stops 1, 6 and 11 where the bottom 3 contestants in each event’s standings will fall off and the top 3 contestants from the Qualifying Race will be promoted onto the tour. This will ensure that the world’s top rodeo athletes will be competing at each and every ERA tour stop and give future talent a way to quickly rise to the top based on their ability. The contestants that find themselves in the bottom 3 of the ERA Tour will have the ability to rise again through the ERA Qualifying Race. Contestants on the ERA Tour are not eligible for Qualifying Race points, while they are on tour.  After ERA Tour stop 15, the 10 ERA Tour contestants in each event will be joined at the World Championships by the top 2 ERA Qualifying Race contestants that advanced to compete at the World Championships. Those qualifiers will have a shot to compete against the other tour members for the 3 million dollars in added money at the ERA World Championships held in Dallas at the American Airlines Center in 2017.

ERA QUALIFYING RACE 

The 2017 Qualifying Race will begin November 14, 2016 (the day after ERA’s First World Championships in Dallas, Texas). Rodeo athletes can earn points by placing at any rodeo they choose that fits the ERA’s definition of a qualifying rodeo (see definition below). The qualifying system can be broken down into 5 steps:

1. Join: Any athlete desiring to earn their way onto the ERA Tour will join by going to erarodeo.com and registering to become an ERA Qualifier. Each athlete will be given a secured login to his or her Qualifier page. The registration process will begin during the 2016 ERA Tour.
2. Declare & Compete: On their personal qualifier page, each athlete can declare the rodeos they would like for ERA to count towards their qualifying points. This must be done 24 hours before the beginning competition in the event you are designating and meet the ERA’s qualifying rodeo requirements. Athlete can only designate 10 rodeos per Qualifying Race Quarter (definition of Qualifying Race Quarters below).
3. Win=Points: After the completion of the declared rodeo, the qualifier will earn points based on any paid place they receive. Points will be given in all rounds where they won a paid place.
4. Get on Tour: Athletes that find themselves in the top 3 of their discipline’s Qualifying Race at the designated time of ERA Tour Cuts will be promoted onto the ERA Tour.  
5. Compete at Dallas: Athletes that find themselves in the top 2 of their discipline’s standings at the end of the qualifying race will advance to the 2017 ERA World Championships in Dallas, Texas.

BENEFITS OF THE QUALIFICATION SYSTEM

The structure of the ERA Qualifying Race will potentially revolutionize the sport of rodeo as a whole, as it will encourage the production of high quality events and increase contestant participation at those events regardless of organization type. It will also ensure that fans will be watching the top talent in rodeo at each and every ERA Tour stop.  Contestants will be able to qualify for the tour by declaring rodeos in their own area. These rodeos will be events they are already competing in, which will not extend their schedules and benefit both their families and animals.  Bobby Mote, 4-time World Champion Bareback Rider and ERA Athlete, served on the committee that developed the qualification system. He said, “The fact that the ERA qualifying race is limited to 10 rodeo’s per quarter does two things. First, it means that the maximum number of rodeos you’d have to go to in order to qualify to the ERA World Championships is 40. Secondly, we wanted to give the qualifiers twice the chances to get on tour as the athletes on tour had and since the athletes on tour can not count qualifier race points that levels the playing field.”  Mote also explained the reasoning behind why qualifiers can declare their rodeo up to 24 hours before the rodeo he said, “We wanted to take “luck of the draw” out of the equation as much as possible so the qualifying athletes will be able to get their position and stock call backs before they decide to designate that rodeo for ERA points.”  “By introducing a unique concept like the ERA, it is our hope to increase the awareness of the sport of rodeo on a national stage” said 21-time World Champion Cowboy and ERA Athlete, Trevor Brazile upon the launch of the ERA in February.  “Enhancing the sport of professional rodeo and building something greater for the future generations of rodeo cowboys and cowgirls is the goal of the ERA. We look forward to working with the entire rodeo industry.”

DEFINING QUALIFYING RACE QUARTERS: 

1^st Quarter- November 14, 2016 through cut before ERA Tour Stop 1
2^nd Quarter – Tour Stop 1 through cut before Tour Stop 6
3^rd Quarter – Tour Stop 6 through cut before Tour Stop 11
4^th Quarter – Tour Stop 11 through promotion of Top 2 Event Qualifiers to World Championships.

DEFINING QUALIFYING RODEOS

-Must have all 7 standard rodeo events , unless competition is an ERA approved event.      

• Bareback Riding
• Steer Wrestling
• Saddle Bronc Riding
• Tie-down Roping
• Team Roping
• Bull Riding
• Barrel Racing

 - Must have a minimum of $5,000 added money in the event that you are declaring points in.
- Can be any organization or open rodeo whose results are public and verifiable.

Click the link to learn more about the 2016 ERA Qualifying Race to Dallas.