Alex Fraser Park will be buzzing this weekend with the sights and sounds of rodeo, but only competitors will be able to enjoy it. The provincial high school rodeo senior finals are set for June 11 - 13.
The rodeo was only given the go-ahead on May 26, leaving organizers scrambling to pull together an event in time to have it be a qualifier for nationals in Des Moines, Iowa.
READ MORE: Quesnel will host High School Rodeo senior finals in June
“You could say our hair is blown straight back,” Organizer Bonny Mills said. “We are tapped out busy.”
Spectators will not be allowed to attend the event.
“The kids and their families are ecstatic,” Mills said. “I think it’s super important for their mental health, and with this being a nationals qualifier, it is a big deal.”
Public health requested a few changes to their initial plans.
“There are people coming from different corners of the province,” Mills said. “Luckily we’re not crossing any health regions, because everybody is pretty much from the Northern and Interior Health Regions.”
Camping and parking areas are being designed so competitors and families from the same community are closest to each other.
“You follow the rules as if that is your home,” Mills said. “Our members and their families understand if we want to go forward, we have to follow these rules… It’s all part and parcel of the year we’re dealing with.”
The only full rodeo to come to Quesnel in 2020 was a combined high school junior and senior co-approved event. The junior provincial finals are scheduled for Merritt from June 18-20.
PHOTOS: High School Rodeo takes centre stage in Quesnel
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