Victoria curling team headed to national Brier cup

A young curling team from Vancouver Island is hoping to become national champs at this year's Brier competition.

The team, which includes three men from Victoria and a player who lives in Edmonton, recently became B.C. champs, which let them qualify for the national cup.

"It really hasn't set in yet," said curler Alex Horvath.

If you're a kid curler in Canada you dream about making the shot that wins the Brier.

The team has been crowned junior national champs before, but it's the first time they're heading to the men's national competition.

"It's been a goal of ours for years, since we were kids," said Horvath.

The full team consist of islanders Horvath, Sterling Middleton and Jason Ginter, as well as Edmonton resident Jacques Gauthier.

With one player living a province away, getting to practice can be tricky.

"It's a lot of flying early to events or staying a couple days later to get some practice in," said Horvath

The team will be heading to the 2023 Brier in London, Ontario, in six weeks.

"There's nothing better than sliding out of the hack and making the perfect shot when the pressure's on," said Middleton.

And the pressure certainly is on. British Columbia isn't exactly a curling powerhouse and has only won the Brier four times out of the past 96 years.

This young island team is ready to make that five times.

They plan on staying as cool and collected as the ice they play on, especially since all curling teams have mics on during the event.

"Have we had any F-bombs dropped before?" asked Middleton.

"Yeah, unfortunately I've had a few," said Horvath. "I let one drop and the commentators just went silent."