Victoria curlers nearing international spotlight
One Victoria curler is heading to an international event in the coming year and there could be a second on the way.
Geoff Davis of the Victoria Curling Club will represent Australia at the World Senior Men’s championship in Sweden in April and former VCC curler Jody Epp is on his way to the Olympic men’s trials in Ottawa as coach for John Morris’s B.C. team that survived the Road to the Roar last week.
Morris’s crew — which includes Jim Cotter at third, Catlin Schneider at second and Tyrel Griffith at lead — heads to the nation’s capital, beginning Dec. 2, with hopes of qualifying for the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Davis plays second for Hugh Millikin’s team, which includes John Theriault at third and lead Steve Johns.
Born in Australia, but having moved to the Yukon as a fouryear-old with his teaching parents, Davis had his own team at last year’s Australian seniors trials, but was asked to join Millikin’s team for 2017-18. Curling fans will remember Millikin as the skip who nearly took out Randy Ferbey’s fabulous foursome back at the 2005 Worlds in Victoria.
“There are only about 600 curlers in the whole country, so there are less curlers in Australia than in all of our club,” Davis said with a chuckle. “You have some very good curlers and then you have others who have just begun, but they are very keen.”
Davis said the only curling rink in the entire Southern Hemisphere Geoff Davis curls in Victoria but will be wearing Australia green and gold at the world senior championship. is located in Naseby in New Zealand, a two-hour drive from Dunedin. This year, however, trials were held on arena ice in Erina, Australia, in New South Wales.
The ice was made by Canadian Jamie Bourassa and Davis even lent a hand with labourer’s work during the preparation. The arena ice was used for Australia’s senior men’s event and mixed doubles playdowns, but it was also the site for the Pacific Asian men’s championships with Japan, South Korea, China, New Zealand, Australia, Kazakhstan, Qatar and Chinese Taipei competing for three spots for the worlds set for Las Vegas.
Like Davis, Millikin has Canadian ties, born in Ontario before having moved 20 years ago.
Davis, with son Tanner at third, Matt Panoussi at second and lead Sam Williams, also attempted to qualify for the World men’s team, but fell to Millikin in three straight games in a best-of-five scenario.
“It would’ve been cool to be the [men’s] team competing for Australia, but Hugh is in accomplished curler,” said Davis, who was the Aussie skip in 2005.
But Davis — a 54-year-old who runs the family business, Digital Direct Printing in Victoria along with his dad, John, and Tanner — is more than satisfied having qualified for the World Senior Men’s in Oestersund, Sweden.
Davis became interested in competitive curling at age 50 when he attended a 4-Foot Curling camp run by Victoria’s Elaine DaggJackson that also featured the likes of Rachel Homan, Jon Mead and Rick Laing, among others.
“I had always been a relatively good club curler, but never a competitive curler,” said Davis, who then began reaching out to people in Australia in regards to representing the nation in which he was born.
“It’s the love of the game. I really love curling and the opportunity to travel,” said Davis, who heads to Sweden on his own dime. “Curlers all over the world are fantastic people.”
He has taken his challenge one step at a time and was finally invited to join Millikin’s team by the skip after last year‘s Australian seniors championship.
As for Epp, he now heads to the Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings in Ottawa, which just happens to be Morris’s hometown.
“It’s exciting,” said Epp, who joined the team as coach last season and was there for their Brier run. “How often do you get a chance to work with a team that may be going to the Olympics? They are one of nine teams now, so it’s a 1-in-9 chance.”
The foursome, which also includes Rick Sawatsky as the fifth man, made a run at the last Olympic trials, finishing second to Brad Jacobs. Sawatsky was second on that team.
“You can put the favourite’s label on certain teams, but really it comes down to who’s hot that weekend and who’s going to win the final on the weekend,” said Epp, who has been a fifth man for Morris in some past events, but is now focused on coaching.
“You don’t often get a chance to go to the Olympics from smalltown Victoria. [Dagg-Jackson has] so if I can help these guys in any way to reach their goals and reach their dreams, that would be awesome.”
Morris is a former Olympic gold medallist, having won with skip Kevin Martin, second Marc Kennedy and lead Ben Hebert in 2010 in Vancouver.