The best junior curlers in the province enjoyed the best Altona has to offer during the 2018 Canola Juniors Championship which wrapped up Sunday afternoon. Host Committee Co-Chair Keith Stoesz says many of the participants and their families were very complimentary of the Millennium Exhibition Centre, where the event was held, and the community as a whole.

"This facility is the thing we get the most comments on," explains Stoesz. "It's just a fabulous facility for hosting this kind of event. We have parents who've come to us and say, 'You should host this every year'. We've had parents come to us and say, 'I didn't know you had this out here'. This facility was really showcased, and I thank the leaders from fifteen years ago who had the foresight to build it, so we could put on such a great event."

Stoesz is extremely happy with how the event turned out, noting despite the time of year it was, volunteers still stepped up to help out whenever needed. He adds it was somewhat challenging to get people to commit ahead of time to volunteer due to the Championship happening during the Christmas season, but when crunch time arrived and help was needed, the volunteers came out.

The numbers are still being tabulated, but it's already clear the event will make a profit for the Altona Curling Club.

"We set out a budget early in summer, and the attendance figures are almost bang on to what we thought, the sponsorship figures are bang on to what we thought, now we'll crunch all the expenses," notes Stoesz. "We will make some money for the Curling Club, which we will then in turn donate some back to the Altona Community Foundation."

The Altona Community Foundation has supported the Club several times over the years, including providing a grant for a new ice plant and support for its junior curling program.

The Altona Curling Club has now successfully hosted multiple provincial championships over the past several years, and according the Stoesz, that opportunity will continue in the future.

"From a curling aspect, and from a Curl Manitoba standpoint, they will let us host another provincial event any time," says Stoesz. "They've said the door is wide open, tell us what you want, and we'll see what we can get."