There won’t be any ropes, bucks or bulls at this rodeo.

That’s because it’s a “Roadeo.” (Get it?)

Bus drivers from the Central Kitsap School District and several other districts from around the Olympic Peninsula will converge in the Kitsap Mall parking lot — with buses — to compete in the annual School Bus Roadeo.

But don’t expect the same level of craziness that usually accompanies a rodeo.

“We call it a ‘Roadeo,’ but ... it’s a safety competition,” CKSD Transportation Director Bill McEnerney said.

Nevertheless, it’s competitive.

“It’s our sport,” CKSD driver Melinda Knapp said.

Knapp, also a driver trainer for the district, is one of the most experienced out of CKSD’s five drivers that will be appearing today. She burst onto the competitive bus driving scene in 1993, scoring rookie of the year honors and has competed in every Roadeo since, but for three. She’s a former state champion and finished 14th and placed 10th in the international competition.

Needless to say, she knows what’s required of drivers and she’s had a good many experiences on the asphalt.

“It’s really competitive, very competitive, especially when you get to the state level,” she said. “It’s pretty intimidating out there.”

The Roadeo involves a written test along with various obstacle course tasks. For example, drivers have to maneuver buses through two narrow lanes that are only about 10 feet wide. The course takes them in a weaving pattern, making the drive all the more difficult. If a driver hits one of the metal structures that flank the lanes, a “demerit” is noted and the driver will lose points.

Parallel parking, backing into a space and straight-line driving also are involved.

Drivers have practice facilities set up at the district’s transportation headquarters, near Central Kitsap Junior High.

“Precise, very precise” is how CKSD driver and driver trainer Brenda Boice described the driving at the Roadeo.

Boice also is well decorated, having finished second in the state competition in 2006 and having competed in 11 of 13 bus competitions she’s been eligible to participate in.

Despite her experience, she’s not above the pressures of the competition.

“Give me my Tums and I’m ready to go,” she said.

The competition isn’t just fun and games, however. CKSD’s transportation department emphasizes precision driving on a daily basis.

McEnerney believes the Roadeo serves as a sort of carrot to encourage drivers to stay sharp.

“It instills a competitiveness within the new drivers to want to do that and the win-win is that you get real good, real safe drivers,” he said.

He pointed to a 2002 study by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, which found that only about 3.5 percent of school-related driving injuries or deaths happened on or around school buses. By comparison, 72 percent occurred on or around other forms of transportation.

“There’s a reason why students are safer riding in a bus than in a car,” McEnerney said.

That’s a point of pride taken by CKSD’s drivers and they don’t just have study statistics on their side.

If there’s a favorite heading into Saturday’s competition it has to be CKSD — they’ve held the regional trophy since 2000, “and off and on before that,” Boice said.

So the Roadeo isn’t entirely cutthroat.

“Even though we’re competing against each other, we want each other to win,” Knapp said.

“You compete against yourself a lot, too,” Boice added.

Today’s Roadeo will kick off at 9 a.m. and will have some fanfare attached to it, along with the usual competitive events. A silent auction will be held along with a raffle for a chainsaw-carved bear that Boice created herself.

And if there’s something exceedingly appealing about the whole thing, McEnerney notes that the district is looking to hire substitute drivers at the moment.

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