Rodeo teams from all over the Pacific Northwest will gather in Ellensburg this weekend– from Friday, April 21 to Sunday, April 23– for a chance to qualify for the College National Finals Rodeo in Wyoming.

The CWU Rodeo Team returns to the Kittitas County Fairgrounds Rodeo Arena for the 19th annual CWU Rodeo. Seven years after the inaugural event in Ellensburg, the rodeo took on its current name: the Todd Anderson Memorial Rodeo in memory of Todd Anderson, who died in an apartment fire in 2003.

The team –who competes as a member of the Northwest division of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association –returned from the Northwest Regional No. 3 and No. 4 competitions in Milton-Freewater, Oregon which took place April 15 and 16.

Each day will begin with the slack portion of the competition, which features events like: calf roping, team roping, barrel racing and steer wrestling.

After the slack events conclude, the three-day event will feature performances by the rodeo team on April 21  from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., a performance and silent auction on April 22 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. followed by a tribute to Anderson that evening.

The proceeds from the silent auction will all go to benefit the Todd Anderson Memorial Rodeo Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded annually to a current or incoming student who wishes to be a part of the rodeo program and participate in events for the CWU team.

The lone event on April 23 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. will be a championship round of events to qualify for nationals.

The entire weekend of events is free to the public.