Members of the planning committee for the 2017 Viterra Provincials Curling Championship spoke to Portage Rotary Club to update the progress of preparations to host the event, which is set to take place in February at the PCU Centre in Portage la Prairie.

Planning committee promotions chair Jared Munro says preparations are underway and volunteer response has been strong to this point, with about 140 already involved, but an additional 50 to 75 volunteers are still needed.

"We're probably ahead of where we need to be so we're in really good shape," Munro says. "The volunteer response has been excellent. But we still will be looking for a few more volunteers so we'll be having volunteer recruitment, and our sponsorship campaign will be beginning shortly."

Munro says the PCU Centre setup will be similar to the when Portage hosted the 2012 Scotties, and five curling sheets will be installed in the main arena for the duration of the event. He says the planning committee considered using the second arena, too, but decided its accessibility for other needs while Viterras take place was important to the community.

"We know that when we host a curling event in the rink, that takes away ice time from minor hockey, skating and lots of other activities in the community," Munro says. "We decided for this year we would just use the one arena so there is skating and hockey available in the other one."

Any surplus from the 2017 Viterras will be split between the Portage Regional Recreation Authority (PRRA) and the Portage Curling Club, Munro adds. "We wanted to make sure that if the event was successful that the PRRA would benefit from that as well," he says. "And eventually it will be used to maintain curling club operations and put into our building fund to look at future facility options."

Munro notes, the community received a lot of positive feedback after hosting its last major provincial curling championship, the 2012 Scotties, and thinks having the Viterras is a big opportunity for Portage.

"It really raises the profile of curling and the community, and provides some good entertainment."

The 2017 Viterra Provincial Championships take place Feb. 8-12, 2017.