How Is the Average Calculated in Team Roping?

Team roping is a popular rodeo sport where two cowboys on horseback rope the front and hind ends of a steer and stretch him between their horses to subdue the animal. This sport evolved from the practice of roping and securing a steer so that he could be branded or doctored. A team roping run is timed by the arena judge and is usually performed in under 15 seconds. The team that successfully completes the task in the shortest amount of time wins the event. Rodeo competitions will often require each team to perform four roping runs with the final score being the average of the times.

Things You'll Need

  • Timer
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Instructions

    • 1

      Start the timer when the horse and rider cross the timer line to begin roping. Ropers are not allowed to cross the timer line until the steer has been given a 10- to 15-foot head start down the arena. This head start is called the barrier distance.

    • 2

      Wait for the ropers to complete their run and successfully secure the steer.

    • 3

      Stop the timer once the steer has been roped and the ropers are in the correct position. Both the front and hind end of of the steer must be roped. The ropes between the horse and steer must be taut and each ropers' horse must be facing the steer.

    • 4

      Record the team's total time for the run.

    • 5

      Calculate the time for any penalties during the run. Add 10 seconds to the time if the team begins chasing the steer before the animal has traveled the length of his allotted head start area. If only one hind foot of the steer is roped, add five seconds to the time. If either roper misses the steer, the team receives no score for the run.

    • 6

      Total the run time plus any penalties incurred. This is is the total time used for scoring the individual run. The team that has the lowest time including penalties wins the competition for that run.

    • 7

      Continue to time each run using the steps above. Most roping competitions include four runs for which the scores are averaged. Each team must complete four consecutive runs in the competition. If a team misses just one steer, they are out of the competition.

    • 8

      Calculate the final score by adding the times for each of the four runs together and dividing the total by four. This will give you the final average score. The team with the lowest average score that completes all four runs wins the competition.