ANDREWS, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) – This weekend, the Ace Arena in Andrews will be hosting the American Rodeo Contender Qualifiers. Local rodeo athletes will have a chance at becoming one step closer towards qualifying for the big stage next year, at the American Western Rodeo in Arlington, Texas.

Although the rodeo itself does not have the allure or the notoriety as baseball, football, or basketball, the athletes still feel the energy from the crowd once they enter the arena.

Katelyn Scott who competed in barrel racing in her past says had this to say about the electricity from the crowd:

“You can hear the crowd just yelling and screaming it’s electric, it’s electrifying for you. It’s just… really unexplainable but the energy that you can feel in there, most of the time you’re so focused in on what you’re doing but you can like hear it from the back and it’s pretty cool.”

Another note that should be taken into consideration with this weekend’s event is that it is also a memorial for one young lady who lost her life to cancer. One of the last statements she said to her mother was to live life to the fullest, and that’s exactly what Lex Crawford says the competition has been.

The Contender Qualifiers run both Saturday, October 21st and Sunday, October 22nd and is open to the public.