The focus of the competition has always been on the "fun" aspect of the sport, in order to encourage participation from novice paddlers. This is mirrored in the prize-giving ceremonies, where the best prizes are saved for the novice and intermediate categories. However this is not to say that competition in the expert finals is not fierce. Many of the UK's best freestyle paddlers have competed at the event, former and current GB Freestyle Team members, loads of sponsored team paddlers and even more up-and-coming talent. The now legendary NSR parties were thoroughly compered and DJ'd to death by the Extreme Events crew, with waffle, banter, gibberish and occasionally the odd bit of useful information from DJ's Al, Shifty, Disco Dave and Tea Boy Tom. Extreme Events retired from the Rodeo in 2016 after a decade of brilliance.