CurlManitoba has announced that the 2027 Manitoba Men’s Bunge Championship will be played in Altona, home of a vibrant curling club as well as being home of a major Bunge oilseed processing facility.
The Bunge Championship will be played in the Sunflower Gardens Arena in Altona’s Millenium Exhibition Centre, January 26-31, 2027.
“We are pleased to be bringing the Men’s Championship to Altona in 2027 as part of the Altona Curling Club’s 100th anniversary celebrations,” says CurlManitoba Executive Director Craig Baker. “I think it is also significant that we are going to be Altona in the 25th year of Bunge’s presence in the community.”
“Since 2000, Altona has hosted every CurlManitoba championship except for the Men’s and Master Men’s categories,” Baker says. “The energy and imagination of the Altona curling volunteers and the support of the entire community have always provided us with successful and memorable events.”
The Altona host committee will be Co-Chaired by Quinn Hildebrand and Keith Stoesz who have advocated for an Altona-hosted championship for about the past three years.
“Curling started in this community in a one sheet curling rink in 1927. It is important to celebrate that heritage on the 100thh anniversary,” says Stoesz. “What better way could there be to kick off our centennial year in curling than by hosting the best men’s curling teams in the province in the Bunge Championship.”
Braden Calvert’s Heather team (Corey Chambers, Kyle Kurz, Brendan Bilawka, Rob Gordon), as 2026 champions, are the first team identified to compete in the Altona event. Twenty-three other teams will qualify over the next season in their attempt to become Team Manitoba at the 2027 Canadian Championship Montana’s Brier.
Hildebrand says background planning has been underway for some time. The host committee will become very active as this curling season winds down and will be working through the summer to prepare for a great championship event.
“We’re pleased to continue our longstanding support of this premier event, which is always an excellent showcase of competitive curling in Manitoba,” said Kyle Jeworski, head of Bunge in Canada. “Bunge has a significant presence in Altona through our oilseed processing facility, and we’re excited that CurlManitoba has selected its curling club to host the Bunge Championship in 2027.”
<><><>
Past CurlManitoba championships hosted in Altona include:
- 2004 Manitoba Credit Union Diamond Ladies (won by Team Elaine Jones, St. Vital)
- 2007 Mondetta Senior Ladies (won by Team Joyce McDougall, Souris)
- 2011 Scotties Tournament of Hearts (won by Team Cathy Overton-Clapham, Fort Rouge)
- 2014 Chicken Chef Mixed (won by Team Jared Kolomaya, Deer Lodge) –
- 2015 Strathcona Senior Men (won by Team Neufeld, La Salle)
- 2018 Canola Junior Men (won by Team JT Ryan, Assiniboine Memorial)
- 2018 Canola Junior Women (won by Team Shae Bevan, St. Vital)
- 2023 Provincial U18 Men (won by Team Jace Freeman, Virden)
- 2023 Provincial U18 Women (won by Team Dayna Wahl, Altona)
