BC Professional Truck Driving Championships

The organizing committee for the 2009 National Professional Truck Driving Championships regretfully announces the official cancellation of this year’s event, which was scheduled to be held in Abbotsford and Surrey in September 2009.

“We had such optimism for hosting the 2009 event, when we left Ottawa last September. Sponsors were already committed to support our event and the venues were in place”, said Shaun Garvey, chairman of the BC organizing committee. “Then, the bottom dropped out. The economic crisis hit everyone hard: our sponsors, our industry – everyone was affected. After months of open consultation with our National group, hearing what the other provinces were experiencing with their provincial events, we had no other choice but to cancel this year’s event.”

Garvey added that many of the provinces still intend on staging their provincial championships this summer, including BC, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and the Atlantic provinces. While registrations are down in most jurisdictions, mainly due to poor economic conditions and partially due to the fact that this year’s provincial winners will not be attending a National event, each province is still committed to hosting first class events.

The BC Championships will take place on June 27, 2009 at Tradex, Abbotsford. “With the reduction in sponsorship commitments, we looked at every option to allow us to continue with the event this year”, he said. “When other provinces weighed in, some were not holding their provincial events; others were not supportive of a National competition without attendance from all of the provinces. We crunched the numbers again and again, but each time, the viability of the event was in question. We owed the sponsors that stuck with us, the fleets that send their drivers to compete and the drivers that would attend full value for their dollars. The economics just weren’t there!”

“On behalf of the organizing committee, I wish to thank all of our sponsors and the BC Trucking Association for their support this year”, Garvey added. “With the 2010 National Truck Driving Championships slated to take place in Manitoba next year, we are hopeful that things will improve for our industry and its stakeholders in the year to come, and that our sponsors will be there again for us next year. This is a worthwhile event and we want to ensure its ongoing success and stability.”

For more information, contact: Michele Nicol, BC Trucking Association (604-888-5319)

Tags: 2009 National Competition, Cancellation, National Committee, National Event

The 2009 BC Professional Truck Driving Championships will be held Saturday, June 27, 2009 at the Tradex Centre in Abbotsford.

Information and Registration Forms are now available and can be accessed on the Competition Page.

BC Professional Truck Driving Championship 2009 Competition Flyer

Rob Balan has been participating in the Professional Truck Driving Championships since 1994 and in his first year he was awarded the title of “Rookie Of The Year”.

In last year’s provincial competition Rob placed first in the tandem-tandem category and was awarded Grand Champion of the competition. Rob went onto the Nationals held in Ottawa last September where he placed third in his category.

You can read more about Rob and previous Grand Champions on the BC Professional Truck Driving Championship “BC Champions” Page.

The BC Professional Truck Driving Championships are organized to recognize and promote safe driving and professionalism in the transportation industry.

The British Columbia Professional Truck Driving Championship competition attracts approximately 50 of the best professional drivers from across the province.  Each year’s winners compete with other Provincial winners at the National Truck Driving Championships. The National Truck Driving Championships are held in various cities throughout Canada in September of each year.

 A dedicated group of volunteers participate on the BC Professional Truck Driving Championship Committee to organize this yearly event.  This includes up to 50 volunteer judges and committee organizers from within the industry who contribute their time to make this event a success. 

All spectators are welcome to come and watch this event which will be held on June 27th, 2009 at the Tradex Centre in Abbotsford.