WINNIPEG, Man. — After a year hiatus, both the 2010 Manitoba Professional Truck Driving Championship and 2010 National Professional Truck Driving Championship are back on track for this year.

“We have been working on organizing these events since last year,” says Darcy Olson, committee chair. “We are moving into high gear now as these dates approach. As far as this committee is concerned, this is an exciting time. We are really looking forward to both of these events.”

The 2010 Manitoba Professional Truck Driving Championship will be held June 26, with the driving challenge, written test, and defects station all held at Peterbilt Manitoba (1895 Brookside Blvd. in Winnipeg). The 2010 Manitoba Professional Truck Driving Championship Driver Awards Banquet will be held later that evening, where awards for winners of the day’s events will be presented, as well as awards for Rookie of the Year, Team Award, Bjornson Memorial Award, Grand Champion, and MTA-Volvo Trucks Canada Driver of the Year Award. The banquet will be held at Canad Inns Polo Park.

Plans for the 2010 National Professional Truck Driving Championship, to be held Sept. 16-19, are also underway. The event is back after being cancelled last year because of lack of sponsors. “At this time, all of the provincial and regional trucking associations plan to send participants to the Nationals. That is really positive news as that will make this truly a national event,” says Olson. The written test and defects station will be held at Canad Inns Polo Park, and the driving challenge will be right across the street at Canad Inns Stadium.

“We have already had a number of past volunteers and participants get in touch with us about the 2010 events. People are eager to be a part of things this year, which is really rewarding. These events are very important to the Manitoba Trucking Association as it is one way we can show out thanks to the drivers. We have some excellent sponsors who have made it clear, year after year, that they also support this event. We are always grateful to work with them,” says Susan Green of the Manitoba Trucking Association.

Registration forms for the 2010 Manitoba Professional Truck Driving Championship can be found on the Manitoba Trucking Association’s Web site (www.trucking.mb.ca) on the homepage and under “Events & Seminars.” Participants must submit a driver’s abstract dated no earlier than May 14, 2010. The registrationdeadline is June 14 for the provincial event.

For more information, contact the MTA office at 204-632-6600.