Boston Pizza Cup Explained

Boston Pizza Cup
Established:	1928
Current Host City:	Hinton, Alberta
Current Arena:	Bill Thomson Arena
Current Champion:	Aaron Sluchinski
Current:	2024 Boston Pizza Cup

The Boston Pizza Cup is the Alberta provincial championship for men's curling, run by Curling Alberta. The winner represents Team Alberta at the national men's championship, called the Montana's Brier. Currently sponsored by restaurant chain Boston Pizza, under former sponsors, the championship was known as the Alberta Kia Cup and the Safeway Select. Prior to obtaining a title sponsor, the tournament was called the Alberta Tankard.

Qualification

In the current format, twelve teams compete in the provincial tournament. The following teams qualify:

• The defending champion(s) automatically qualify(ies) – either or both the previous year's Boston Pizza Cup winner and/or an Albertan-based "Team Canada" that failed to defend a Brier title the previous year can be entered as a "defending champion." If for whatever reason no defending champion enters the tournament (for example, because they qualified automatically for the Brier as the defending national champion) then an additional Alberta Tour team qualifies as described below;
• The top Albertan team as determined by the Canadian Team Ranking System qualifies – if this team is entered as the defending provincial champion and/or is the defending national champion (or otherwise does not participate) then the next ranked team qualifies, if that team is also qualified (or does not enter) then the next ranked team qualifies, and so on;
• The team(s) with the most Alberta Tour points not already qualified also qualify(ies) – the number of teams that qualify by this method can be one, two or three depending on how many "defending champions" enter;
• The remaining eight spots are determined through the "traditional" route, that is, through zone and district playdowns. As of 2020, four teams qualify from the Southern Zone, three from the Northern Zone and one from Peace River Country.

Past champions

Listed below are the provincial champion skips for each year.^[1] Alberta did not participate in the 1927 Brier.

Starting in 2015, teams that win the previous year's Brier have been automatically entered into the national championship as "Team Canada." Any such Albertan-based teams do not participate in that year's provincial championship. Such teams have the right to enter as a "defending champion" in the year following any failed defence of their Brier title, although as of 2020 both teams eligible to qualify in this way so far have declined to enter - Simmons' team disbanded after failing to win the 2016 Brier, while Koe qualified for the Olympics after failing to win the 2017 Brier. Starting in 2018, the top two CTRS teams not otherwise qualified play a "Wild Card Game" for an additional main draw Brier entry.

In another change to the qualifying format, as of 2024, 2 teams (in addition to Team Canada) automatically pre-qualify for the Brier field based on the previous season's Canadian Team Ranking Standings (CTRS), which meant they bypassed the provincial qualifiers. As well, a fourth qualifying team will join the field as the top non-qualified team on the CTRS standings following provincial and territorial playdowns.^[2]

	Won Brier
	Won World Curling Championships (1959–present)
	No Brier that year

Year	Skip	Winning Club	Other AB Brier Skips
			Brendan Bottcher Kevin Koe
			Brendan Bottcher Karsten Sturmay
2021	Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta.^[3] Team Brendan Bottcher* represented Alberta (and won) at Brier.^[4]		Kevin Koe
	Brendan Bottcher	Saville Community Sports Centre	Kevin Koe
2019	Kevin Koe	The Glencoe Club	Brendan Bottcher
2018^[5]	Brendan Bottcher	Saville Sports Centre	None
2017^[6]	Brendan Bottcher	Saville Sports Centre	Kevin Koe
2016^[7]	Kevin Koe	Glencoe Curling Club	Pat Simmons
2015^[8]	Kevin Koe	Glencoe Curling Club	Pat Simmons
2014^[9]	Kevin Koe	Glencoe Curling Club
2013^[10]	Kevin Martin	Saville Sports Centre
2012^[11]	Kevin Koe	Glencoe Curling Club
2011^[12]	Kevin Martin	Saville Sports Centre
2010^[13]	Kevin Koe	Saville Sports Centre
2009	Kevin Martin	Saville Sports Centre
2008	Kevin Martin
2007	Kevin Martin	Saville Sports Centre
2006	Kevin Martin	Saville Sports Centre
	Randy Ferbey	Granite Curling Club
2004	Randy Ferbey	Avonair Curling Club
2003	Randy Ferbey	Avonair Curling Club
2002	Randy Ferbey	Ottewell Curling Club
2001	Randy Ferbey	Ottewell Curling Club
2000	Kevin Martin	Ottewell Curling Club
1999	Ken Hunka	Ottewell Curling Club
1998	Tom Reed	Granite Curling Club
1997	Kevin Martin	Ottewell Curling Club
1996	Kevin Martin	Ottewell Curling Club
1995	Kevin Martin	Ottewell Curling Club
1994	Ed Lukowich	Calgary Curling Club
1993	Greg Ferster
1992	Kevin Martin	Avonair Curling Club
1991	Kevin Martin	Avonair Curling Club
1990	Harold Breckenridge	North Hill Curling Club
1989	Pat Ryan	Ottewell Curling Club
1988	Pat Ryan	Ottewell Curling Club
1987	Pat Ryan	Ottewell Curling Club
1986	Ed Lukowich	Calgary Winter Club
1985	Pat Ryan	Ottewell Curling Club
1984	Ed Lukowich	Calgary Curling Club
1983	Ed Lukowich	North Hill Curling Club
1982	Gary Morken	Grande Prairie Curling Club
1981	Mel Watchorn
1980	Paul Gowsell	Calgary Winter Club
1979	Paul Devlin	Crestwood Curling Club
1978	Ed Lukowich	Medicine Hat Curling Club
1977	Tom Reed	Crestwood Curling Club
1976	Wayne Sokolosky	Calgary Curling Club
1975	Tom Reed	St. Albert Curling Club
1974	Hec Gervais	St. Albert Curling Club
1973	Mel Watchorn	Fairview Curling Club
1972	Mel Watchorn	Fairview Curling Club
1971	Matt Baldwin	Derrick Golf & Winter Club
1970	Hec Gervais	Granite Curling Club
1969	Ron Northcott	Calgary Curling Club
1968	Ron Northcott	Calgary Curling Club
1967	Ron Northcott	Calgary Curling Club
1966	Ron Northcott	Calgary Curling Club
1965	Nick Lashuk	Calgary Curling Club
1964	Ron Northcott	Calgary Curling Club
1963	Jim Shields	Calgary Curling Club
1962	Hec Gervais	Alberta Avenue Curling Club
1961	Hec Gervais	Alberta Avenue Curling Club
1960	Stu Beagle	Calgary Curling Club
1959	Herb Olsen	Edmonton Curling Club
1958	Matt Baldwin	Granite Curling Club
1957	Matt Baldwin	Granite Curling Club
1956	Matt Baldwin	Granite Curling Club
1955	Hugh Brown	Claresholm Curling Club
1954	Matt Baldwin	Granite Curling Club
1953	Len Haw	Glencoe Curling Club
1952	Art Simpson	Bassano Curling Club
1951	Bill Gray	Granite Curling Club
1950	Cliff Manahan	Royal Curling Club
1949	Stu Beagle	Blackie Curling Club
1948	Walter McLaws	Glencoe Curling Club
1947	Howard Palmer	Calgary Curling Club
1946	Billy Rose	Sedgewick Curling Club
1945	Cliff Manahan	Edmonton Royal Curling Club
1944	Cliff Manahan	Edmonton Royal Curling Club
1943	Cliff Manahan	Edmonton Royal Curling Club
1942	John Slavik	Viking Curling Club
1941	Howard Palmer	Calgary Curling Club
1940	Cliff Manahan	Royal Curling Club
1939	Howard Baker	Calgary Curling Club
1938	Cliff Manahan	Royal Curling Club
1937	Cliff Manahan	Royal Curling Club
1936	George Wanless	Granite Curling Club
1935	Robert Alexander	Calgary Curling Club
1934	Orwell Stewart	Macleod Curling Club
1933	Cliff Manahan	Royal Curling Club
1932	Art Hallonquist	Three Hills Curling Club
1931	Robert Welliver	Red Deer Curling Club
1930	Bob Munro	Edmonton Curling Club
1929	Arnold Johnson	Edmonton Curling Club
1928	Joe Heartwell	Rosetown Curling Club (SK)

Notes

1. Koe assembled a new team following his 2014 Brier win, and won the 2015 Boston Pizza Cup after re-qualifying with his new team. His former team, skipped by Pat Simmons, competed in the 2015 and 2016 Briers as Team Canada.
2. Qualified for the Brier as Team Canada.
3. Qualified for the Brier as Wild Card.
4. Qualified for the Brier as either a pre-qualified team, or the top non-qualifying team on the CTRS.
5. Due to World War II, the Brier was not held from 1943 through 1945.
6. Since there was neither a Team Canada nor a Wild Card in the 2014 or prior Briers it was not possible for more than one Albertan team to play in those tournaments, therefore this column is left blank for 2014 and all prior years.

References

1. Web site: Past Provincial Champions. Curling Alberta. 2019-03-29.
2. News: Early Brier Qualifiers!. Curling Canada. July 11, 2023. December 20, 2023.
3. News: Heroux . Devin . Curling Alberta cancels provincial championships . January 9, 2020 . CBC Sports . January 8, 2020.
4. News: Heroux . Devin . Alberta selects Laura Walker, Brendan Bottcher for Scotties, Brier. January 18, 2020 . CBC Sports . January 18, 2020.
5. https://www.curlingzone.com/event.php?eventid=5205 CurlingZone
6. https://www.curlingzone.com/event.php?eventid=4351 CurlingZone
7. https://www.curlingzone.com/event.php?eventid=3909 CurlingZone
8. https://www.curlingzone.com/event.php?eventid=3736 CurlingZone
9. https://www.curlingzone.com/event.php?eventid=3342 CurlingZone
10. https://www.curlingzone.com/event.php?eventid=2882 CurlingZone
11. https://www.curlingzone.com/event.php?eventid=2661 CurlingZone
12. https://www.curlingzone.com/event.php?eventid=2368 CurlingZone
13. https://www.curlingzone.com/event.php?eventid=2749 CurlingZone

External links

• Past winners