WINNIPEG — Organizers for the 2010 National Professional Truck Driving Championship are indicating that the event is going ahead as planned.

Although some provinces in Canada held their regional professional driving championships in 2009, the national event was cancelled due to economic reasons.

The 2010 National Professional Truck Driving Championship is scheduled to be held in Winnipeg from Sept. 16-19, and everything is unfolding as planned.

“At this time, all of the provincial and regional trucking associations plan to send participants to the Nationals,” says committee chair Darcy Olson. “That is really positive news as that will make this truly a national event.”

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,” says Susan Green of the MTA. “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.”

While the national event is scheduled for September, most of the regional events take place in June:

B.C. Professional Truck Driving Championships – June 26, Abbotsford
Alberta Professional Truck Driving Championships – June 19, Red Deer
Saskatchewan Professional Truck Driving Championships – June 5, Regina
Manitoba Professional Truck Driving Championships – June 26, Winnipeg
Ontario Professional Truck Driving Championships – July 9-10, Campbellville.
Quebec Professional Truck Driving Championships – Aug 14, St-Jerome
APTA Professional Truck Driving Championships – June 12, Masstown, N.S.