Bonnyville officially submitted their bid to host the World Jr. A Challenge last week, complete with the backing of both Town Council and the MD of Bonnyville Council.
The bid, which included a letter of support from Minnesota Wild forward Justin Fontaine, was sent to the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) and Hockey Alberta for review. The provincial organizations looked over the application last week and then forwarded it on to Hockey Canada for official consideration.
Each year the best Jr. A players from across Canada, the United States, Russia and Europe faceoff against each other in a week long tournament.
Since 2006 nine different Canadian communities – Yorkton and Humbolt, SK, Trail and Nelson, B.C., Camrose, AB, Summerside, P.E.I, Pentiction, B.C. Langley, B.C., Yarmouth, N.S., and Kindersely, SK – have hosted this prestigious international hockey tournament.
Bonnyville’s quest to host the world-class tournament received a huge boost last week when the Town and MD Council’s unanimously supported their bid with hefty financial commitments.
Along with becoming official team sponsors – a $15,000 commitment – the Town and the MD agreed to split the rental costs of all Centennial Centre facilities used during the event.
The financial support given by both councils came at the request of local tournament’s organization committee members Robb Hunter and Richard Wurst, who approached both local councils last week.
“It really would put Bonnyville on the map if we could host this international event,” said Hunter. “It would be great for the community.”
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