Skip to content

Airdrie skip ready for Boston Pizza Cup

It’s all eyes on the Brier for Airdrie’s Aaron Sluchinski, as he gets set to curl at the 2020 Boston Pizza Cup in Westlock, Alta., from Feb. 5 to 8.

Though he has ample experience competing against Alberta’s best curlers at the provincial championships, the skip of the Airdrie Curling Club-based Team Sluchinski rink has not yet curled at a Tim Hortons Brier – Canada’s national men’s curling championship. The Boston Pizza Cup winner will represent Alberta at the 2020 Brier, held this year from Feb. 29 to March 8 in Kingston, Ont.

“This will be my and [teammate Dylan Webster’s] eighth try at [winning the Boston Pizza Cup], and that’s always what your goal is,” he said. “There’s a pool format this year, so the top two from each pool of six make it to a page playoff. The first hurdle is being one of the top two in your pool.

“Anything can happen from there.”

The tournament will feature the top rinks in Alberta, including the likes of Team Bottcher – currently ranked seventh on the World Curling Tour – and Team Harty, currently ranked 25th.

While Sluchinski and Webster have curled together for nearly a decade, the rink’s other members joined more recently. University of Alberta alumnus Jason Ginter and J.D. Lind, who coached Japan’s national curling team, comprise the other two spots.

“I needed a few extra guys right before provincial playdowns, so I reached out to [Lind and Ginter],” Sluchinski said. “It’s kind of a brand new team, actually, but we haven’t lost yet, so we have that going for us.”

The team qualified for the Boston Pizza Cup by winning the provincial qualifier at the Inglewood Curling Club in Calgary earlier this month.

Though the rink has found immediate success, Sluchinski said improving its chemistry will be necessary in Westlock.

“Just playing as a team will be the biggest challenge,” he said. “We haven’t really gotten to know each other that well, but everyone seems easygoing and everyone is pretty talented. We definitely have the makings of a good team, so we’ll just have to see how that unfolds at the championship.”

Along with the Boston Pizza Cup, Sluchinski is competing with Brittany Tran at the senior mixed doubles provincials, taking place Feb. 21 to 24 in Lethbridge, Alta.

On top of his provincial competitions, Sluchinski competes in the Airdrie Curling Club’s Super League. His team currently tops the league standings, with a 12-2 record.

“It’s not the same team I play with on the competitive circuit,” he said. “It’s more just some of my friends that like to curl and have fun, though they also played competitively before, so there’s lots of talent there.”

Having competed at Westlock’s curling club before, Sluchinski, who originally hails from Drayton Valley, said he’s looking forward to getting back to the small town located north of Edmonton.

“They had the Boston Pizza Cup there a few years ago and did a really good job,” he said. “There’s a good atmosphere and good people from there, so it should be a good time, if anything else.”

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks