The 2020 World Championship won’t be 37-year-old mason Scott Arthurs’ first taste of competing in Las Vegas, even though this only time he’s officially qualified. Arthurs and his tender, Josh Shelley, took second place at the British Columbia Regional Series last season, but were allowed to advance when the original champion couldn’t make the event.

The national stage was eye-opening for Arthurs, he said “I couldn’t believe how many people were there, it was crazy!” But for Shelley this is nothing new. He’s about to experience his fourth World Championship, having tendered for former British Columbia regional winner Riel Voigt twice before.

Getting ready for the big day is a priority, but easier said than done. Especially when Arthurs has a year and a half year old daughter to chase after. “We tried to practice building leads for this year’s regional event, but I just didn’t have much time to devote to it,” he mentioned. But now he’s relying on his wife of five years to help him out in the babysitting department as he gear up for another run at Vegas. “You have to be ready, you have to have a plan and you have to stick to that plan. And also hope that nothing bad happens.”

Mason tender Josh Shelley is the owner of S&S Masonry, where Arthurs has worked for the past three years. The two have known each other for twenty years, when they met in high school. Shelley played a role in helping Arthurs find his first masonry job, and the rest is history.