The World Junior A. Challenge (WJAC) is coming back to Bonnyville, and the committee in charge of organizing the event feel they have a bit of an advantage.
“Having done it before gives us a little bit of a leg up on knowing what we have to do and the timeline of when we have to get things done,” said Robb Hunter, chair of the Bonnyville WJAC organizing committee.
It also means their industry partners, such as hotels, restaurants, caterers, and transportation, have a better idea of what they’re getting themselves into.
Hunter explained, “When you go back to the same partners as before, they know exactly what it entails because they have done it before, they know what it’s all about... Everyone is more familiar in what the scope of work actually is for what their industry needs to be able to do to provide us their services for the WJAC.”
The committee is in charge of organizing food, lodging, and transportation for the participating teams from Dec. 9 to 16.
According to Hunter, the 2016 tournament had an estimated $2-million spin off in the community, a number they’re hoping to match or beat this winter.
“That’s part of our goal this year, is to push this event out and make as big of an impact as we can on the whole region,” he added.
Right now, the committee is focusing on lining up their industry partners and sponsors.
During the City of Cold Lake’s latest council meeting, they agreed to match their 2016 contribution to the event, a $25,000 sponsorship.
What this means, is the city will be hosting an exhibition game Dec. 7, where either Team Canada West or East will face-off against an international opponent.
Two years ago, Cold Lake was lucky enough to have a Canadian team go head-to-head against U.S.A. for their exhibition match up. The game was a hit in the community, which is one of the reasons why council decided to bring it back for another year.
Copeland said, “Bonnyville has gotten their name out there for hosting the WJAC in 2016. We’re just glad they offered us the game. It brings high-level hockey to Cold Lake and the area... We’re really excited to be a part of it.”
Hunter was thrilled to announce the Bonnyville Brick have agreed to support the tournament. During the 2016 WJAC, they sponsored the Brick Hockey House, a place for adults to watch the hockey action live.
“People had such a great time there in 2016, I know a lot of people keep calling the space the Brick Hockey House,” expressed Hunter.
The committee is estimating over 26,000 people will be coming through the Bonnyville Centennial Centre’s doors throughout the tournament, whether they’re international or local fans.
It could have been the community spirit that brought the WJAC back to Bonnyville, but whatever it was, Hunter knows it will be another success.
“Obviously we put on a very successful tournament in 2016, and we’re really excited about not only making sure this tournament is a great hockey tournament, but a tremendous community event, not just the community in Bonnyville, but for the surrounding areas as well,” he expressed. “Our community did such an amazing job putting this all together, our army of volunteers that we had come together, we were just so welcoming. We showed them Bonnyville is a community that can host a world class event.”
