BLACKFOOT — A local rodeo official vows the Idaho High School Rodeo Association championships will exceed state standards for protecting the public from COVID-19 in their new home at the Eastern Idaho State Fairgrounds in Blackfoot.

However, the event, scheduled for June 16-19, apparently won’t be planned in consultation with Southeastern Idaho Public Health. Furthermore, the rodeo official, Kelly Duffin, said he’d be surprised if the prestigious championships ever return to the Bannock County Event Center in Pocatello, where they’ve been hosted for several years.

The Bannock County Commission recently reversed a prior decision to host the championships, based on safety concerns voiced by Southeastern Idaho Public Health officials. Following Bannock County’s announcement, rodeo organizers confirmed an agreement to move the championships to the Eastern Idaho State Fairgrounds.

Though the championships are under contract to be hosted in Bannock County through 2021, Duffin, who is the Pornteuf Rodeo Committee chairman and adviser to the Highland/Poky/Century High Schools Rodeo Club, predicted, “I would be absolutely shocked if it ever comes back to Pocatello.”

Duffin said the upcoming championships will be shortened to four days, with some events hosted at an alternate site, in the interest of safety.

“We’re going to follow what the governor has put forth, and we’re going to do our best to go above and beyond,” Duffin said.

Duffin said the Pocatello area business community, especially owners of restaurants and hotels, has been discouraged by the news.

However, Maggie Mann, director of Southeastern Idaho Public Health, said the plan rodeo organizers submitted to her office on May 29 entailed vague bullet points and lacked specific details on how the event would meet safety guidelines. Mann said the Bannock County Commission asked Public Health for its input but was under no obligation to follow the advice.

“My big concern is this is bringing a lot of people from all over the state and outside of our state to our communities at a time when our cases are sort of increasing, and we want to be able to limit the spread of the virus,” Mann said.

Mann said every individual has a different tolerance for risk, and she advises people to carefully considering if attending or participating in the event is the best idea.

“We’re not just arbitrarily rejecting events just to reject events,” Mann said. “We’re trying to work with people if at all possible, and different groups are taking different approaches on how to handle these situations.”

The Eastern Idaho State Fair Board governs events at the Eastern Idaho State Fairgrounds. Brandon Bird, manager of the Eastern Idaho State Fair, believes the onus of adhering to state health guidelines falls mainly on the rodeo organizers.

“When this opportunity was presented to us, we got excited about holding such a great event,” Bird said. “It’s a great opportunity for rodeo and it’s great for the youth who participate in rodeo, and we feel as though it’s very special for us to have been chosen for the venue for that event.”

Bird is confident the event organizers will adhere to the governor’s COVID-19 standards, acknowledging guidelines have rapidly evolved and presented a moving target. Bird said rodeo organizers have demonstrated an ability to host safe events during seven district rodeos that were held during the past month.

Bird said the fact that rodeo is an outdoor event should help make it safe, and personal responsibility will be a key aspect of the safety plan.

“I completely understand everyone’s efforts to have safe events. That is a key component of us returning to some sense of normalcy,” Bird said.

As of Friday night, Southeast Idaho had 77 confirmed COVID-19 cases, counting 27 people who have already recovered. Bingham County had three new cases confirmed on Friday, bringing the county’s total number of cases to 20. Bannock County had 38 COVID-19 cases through Friday.

Idaho confirmed 57 new cases on Friday, bringing the statewide total to 3,111 cases and 83 deaths.