Craig Baker

Manitoba's best junior curlers are in Altona this week for the 2018 Canola Provincial Championships.

16 mens teams and 16 womens teams will compete for the chance to represent Manitoba at the national championship in Quebec next month.

This is the first time the event has been hosted in Altona, and the second time in three years it has been held using arena ice. The town of Rivers was the first to do so two years ago.

"In all honesty, hosting the Juniors in Altona is tremendous," said Craig Baker, Executive Director with Curl Manitoba. "I walked in this afternoon and saw the arena ice and saw all the smiles on the faces of these young adults and it just tremendous."

Some provinces are taking arena ice away from the mens and womens events, according to Baker, while Manitoba to doing just the opposite.

"It shows the commitment our volunteers and host committees have for putting on great events. This is the third provincials in four or five years that have been hosted in Altona. These communities get behind it whole-heartedly. We know they're going to put on good show," said Baker.

The Provincial Junior Curling Championships will wrap up on Sunday.