The Cinch World Championship Junior Rodeo is right around the corner, July 23–27, 2024, in Guthrie, Oklahoma, meaning there is less than a week for team ropers to finalize their entries into the event that’s slated to pay out more than $385,000.
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Entering vs. Qualifying for WCJR
There are three ways to participate in the 2024 WCJR. Competitors can either:
- Qualify via the WCRA DY Leaderboards
- Qualify via a DY Qualifier Series Event
- Or flat-out enter the 2024 WCJR
*Note: There are two divisions at the WCJR:
- Junior Classification: 19–16 years old
- Youth Classification: 13–15 years old
- *Youth athletes can opt out of the Youth Division and enter up into the Junior
Why is qualifying worth it?
A main perk of a WCRA DY24 Leaderboard qualification is an automatic seed into the Semi-Finals and paid entry fee. Athletes can nominate their rodeo efforts using the Virtual Rodeo Qualifier (VRQ) system until Sunday, June 23, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. The top 16 on the leaderboard will qualify.
Didn’t qualify via the leaderboard? Still nominate!
All entered athletes who have a minimum of 15 VRQ points will be eligible to earn Event World Points toward the WCRA DY World Champion Leaderboard.
So, even if an athlete didn’t earn enough points to earn a qualification into the WCJR, it’s worth having some points in their pocket to be eligible for the cash bonuses.
World Champions will be crowned in all disciplines along with All-Around World Champions from both the 19-and-under Junior Leaderboard and the 13-15 Youth Leaderboard. Each World Champion will be awarded a piece of the $56,000 in cash bonuses.
What’s up for grabs at the WCJR?
the 2024 World Championship Junior Rodeo is projected to pay out over $385,000 in prize money.
World Champions will be crowned in all disciplines from both the Junior Leaderboard and the Youth Leaderboard with $10,000 added per discipline in the Junior Division, while the Youth Division will have $5,000 added per discipline.
How can I enter?
At this point, only late entries are being taken for the 2024 Cinch WCJR. Late entries will close on July 22, at 5 p.m. CT. Entry fees for the Junior Division (ages 19-13) will be $400, while the Youth Division (ages 15-10) will be $300 per entry. All athletes participating in the event through Open Entry will begin their competition in the qualifying rounds.
2024 Cinch WCJR Format
This information is pulled from the ground rules, which can be found HERE.
- COMPETITION FORMAT:
- Qualifying Rounds – all disciplines – 2 Rounds
- Buy Back Round – all disciplines – 1 Round – any athlete that did not advance from the Qualifying Rounds will be eligible to enter the Buy Back Round for $100 per entry.
- Semi-Final Round – all disciplines – 1 Round (clean slate, no previous times advance except for tie breakers)
- Championship Round – 1 Round (clean slate no previous times advance except for tie breakers) – 9 athletes.
- ADVANCEMENT TO SUBSEQUENT ROUNDS:
- Advancement from Qualifying Rounds to Semi-Final Round:
▪ All Disciplines – Qualifying Round 1 Top 3 Fastest Times/Highest Scores, Qualifying Round 2 Top 3 Fastest Times/Highest Scores, Top 8 from Qualifying Rounds 2 head Aggregate
▪ Advancement from Buy Back Round to Semi-Final Round: Top 2 Fastest Times/Highest Scores
▪ Advancement from Semi-Final Round to Championship Round: Top 8 Fastest Times/Highest Scores.
- Advancement from Qualifying Rounds to Semi-Final Round:
2024 Cinch WCJR Advancement Chart
2024 Cinch WCJR Preview
Ahead of the 2024 WCJR at the Lazy E, the organization announced the roster highlighted by nearly 900 entries.
In a highly competitive leaderboard race, two breakaway athletes have risen to the No. 1 position on the all-around rankings. Junior competitor Rylie Edens (Hillsboro, Texas) has distanced herself from the rest of the Junior field by more than 2,000 points, while Youth Drew Ellen Stewart (Normangee, Texas) will begin the event leading her peers in the All-Around by 3,000 points. Junior All-Around World Champions will earn a $4,000 bonus, while each Youth All-Around World Champion will take home $2000 each.
Athletes entered at the WCJR are eligible to earn Elevated Bonus Event World Points (4X multiplier). They will automatically be eligible to earn Event World Points without a nomination for any disciplines at the event. All WCJR point information can be found here.
According to WCRA President Bobby Mote, there are 6,900 points available. The Qualifying Rounds have 800 points available for a round win. The round champions in the Semi-Finals can earn up to 1200 points and 2700 points in the championship round.
2024 WCJR Junior team roping roster, as of July 17
2024 WCJR Youth team roping roster, as of July 17
2024 Cinch WCJR Schedule
