Meet the Team – Junior Men

This week, 22 junior men’s teams and 24 junior women’s teams take to the ice in Lohja, Finland for the 2022 World Junior B Curling Championships, in the hopes of securing a spot at the 2023 World Junior Curling Championships. Flying the flag of Saint George on the men’s side will be Team Waring – let’s Meet the Team!

The junior men’s team won the right to represent England earlier this year when they won the ECA Junior Men’s Championships – having come runners-up to the formidable Team Sugden previously. Those might be big shoes to fill, but this young team are brimming with enthusiasm and are ready to take on the very best the world has to offer.

The team came together through the junior club at the Flower Bowl a couple of years back, competing in the 2021 ECA Championships where they came in as runners-up. Oliver joined the following year, following Rick asking him to join.

Skip Matthew Waring and his team of George Watmough, Oliver Ablett, Ollie Johnson, and Niall McLoughlin have been working hard over the past months, taking on some of England’s top curlers in Preston, as well as venturing north of the border to play in the Asham junior tour events in Scotland. Under the watchful eye of coach and ECA President Rick Hills, they’ve come on in leaps and bounds.

Matthew himself has been curling since January 2019, having seen an advert for a junior curling club at the Flower Bowl. He went along to the first session he could and, a few weeks later, met Ollie and George. He’s played at the Flower Bowl since, entering his team for various open events there too.

He’s a young skip, for sure, but he’s also one with a cool head and a love for the pressure that competition brings. His win at the 2022 ECA Juniors is a stand-out moment for him, having enjoyed the competition with all its extreme highs and lows. Despite his cool head, his love for the game also comes from meeting new people and enjoying the uniquely sociable aspect of the game.

Asked what he’s looking forward to most of all about this week, Matthew is looking forward to playing curlers from all over the world and soaking in the experience of playing a full week of curling whilst representing his country.

The team’s Third player George has been playing for a similar length of time as Matthew, having become interested through seeing it on the television at the Olympics, first in 2014, then again in 2018. Not long after the 2018 Olympics, George’s mum took him curling at the Flower Bowl and he’s never looked back.

It’s the social aspect of the game that appeals to George. An outgoing member of the team, he loves being able to chat with other players during and after the games. He also loves getting to tell people about such a niche sport – hey, it’s a conversation starter!

He’s looking forward to getting to spend the week with his teammates, but also eager to put on his England jersey and take on the challenges of the week. Interestingly, his favourite curling memory is the ECA Championships where they came in as runners-up. It was his first national championships and he took a lot of lessons away from it. Getting a similar learning experience and improving are among his goals for this week.

Oliver throws the second stones and has been curling with Matthew and George for the past four years or so, having gone along to a four week introductory course with his Nan as a present for his 11th birthday – I can think of no better gift! His mum also went along to the course and, though they’ve been playing the same length of time, Oliver reckons he’s just a little better than his mum! Perhaps a grudge match when the team gets back from Finland?

Oliver has also thrived with the sociable atmosphere in curling and loves the spirit of the game. “Everyone seems to want to help each other grow and improve […] it’s not like your Saturday morning on the football pitch!”.

He also remarks about the ECA Junior Championships this year, noting that the team managed the win despite the skip being ill and their lead having broken his arm. He knows that there will be challenges this week, but he’s looking forward to the experience of playing other teams, seeing how other countries play and perform and, crucially, what he and the team can learn from them.

Lead player is Ollie Johnson, who has been curling since January 2019 (having just turned nine at the time!). He loved watching curling on the television from a young age so, when the Flower Bowl opened up, he was desperate to give it a go at the first chance he could get. He’s been on the ice every week since!

For Ollie, the national championships were a mixed bag. The team won and earned themselves their England jerseys, but Ollie has to watch from the side-lines, having broken his arm on the way there. Despite being confined to the bench, though, Ollie got stuck in helping Rick with recording player stats and acting as fifth man. Ollie, go and ask anyone who’s played fifth man at a high level and they’ll tell you it’s the toughest job out there!

Ollie is looking forward to getting stuck in at the World Bs with his team. Despite being only 12, he brings a huge amount of grit and determination to the team – he’s also really been looking forward to showing off his England jacket as he walks through the airport!

Rounding out the line-up is the team’s fifth man, Niall. Niall has been curling for a little over a year, so to be going out to his first international already is a stunning achievement. He initially went along after hearing the George was curling and decided he ought to give it a go too!

Despite his short time curling, Niall has already won the Scottish Newcomers Trophy and has become enthralled with the tactics of curling. A student of the game, as well as a good communicator, Niall fits perfectly into the team. These skills will also be hugely important during fifth end breaks and time-outs.

They may be young, but this team have the passion and determination to make up for their lack of years. The whole team shares a real enthusiasm for the game and this is mirrored in their preparation for the championships.

The whole team have been on the ice weekly for the last year and, in the last few weeks, have upped their practice sessions even more. They’ve been playing in club games at Preston on top of their practice sessions. In those sessions they’ve been hard at work doing drills under Rick’s keen gaze – they’ve left nothing to chance!

Asked what the team goals were, Matthew was concise and realistic. “First, win an end […] and enjoy the whole experience as it’s our first time playing in a world event.” The team have already played two games, having lost to China and Kazakhstan in some tough games.

They play Denmark later tonight and you can follow all the results here.

We wish the team all the very best of luck in their remaining games!