Canadian Finals Rodeo
The Canadian Finals Rodeo is the national championship rodeo in Canada. The CFR takes place in November and is the final event of the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association season. The event has been held at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta every year since 1974 and offers one of the richest purses in Canadian rodeo, usually worth over C$1,000,000.[1]
Format
Currently, the CFR features the 10 leading money-winners in each event throughout the Canadian rodeo season, as well as the first- and second-place finishers in each event during the last 10 rodeos of the Canadian Tour season. Each CFR event is contested over five days, featuring six rounds. Before 2006, only Canadian residents were able to compete in the CFR. However, international contestants are now eligible to compete, granted they qualify.[2]
From its inception through today, the CFR had a unique sudden-death format in which none of the prize money the competitors had earned during the season carried over to the finals. Competitors who finished in the first four places in each round of the CFR received points on a sliding scale from 40 points to 10 points. At the end of the rodeo, the top four places in "the average" (i.e., average time or score throughout all the rounds) also earned points on the same scale. The performers with the most points in each event were crowned Canadian champions.[2]
In 2008, at the request of the competitors, the CFR adopted a format similar to that of the National Finals Rodeo in the United States. The competitors now carry over their money earnings during the Canadian season, and the money they earn during the CFR is added to their season total, with the leading money-winner in each event at the end of the CFR crowned as season champion. The contestants argued that the amount of money on offer at the CFR made it impossible to clinch a season title before the CFR, and that adopting an NFR-style format would encourage more entries at smaller late-season rodeos.[2]
Events
Championship titles are awarded to the individuals who earn the most money in his or her event:[3]
- Bareback riding
- Steer wrestling - Also known as Bull Dogging
- Team roping - Divided into "Headers" and "Heelers" in 1995
- Headers - Cowboys who rope the steer's head
- Heelers - Cowboys who rope the steer's hind feet
- Saddle bronc riding
- Tie-down roping - Also known as calf roping
- Barrel racing
- Bull riding
See also
- Festivals in Alberta
- National Finals Rodeo in the US
- Calgary Stampede, Canada's largest rodeo
- Raymond Stampede, Canada's oldest rodeo
- List of Canadian Rodeo Champions
References
- ↑ "CFR officials yee-haw fan roundup". Edmonton Journal. 2007-11-12. Retrieved 2009-11-25.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (2008-11-03). "New format for Canadian Finals Rodeo". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
- ↑ http://www.rodeocanada.com/rodeo_event_descriptions.htm1