The year 13 Otago Boys’ High School pupil has been selected for the New Zealand team for the Pacific-Asia championships.
Held in Sydney in November, the championships offer the top two teams the chance to progress to the world championships.
The 17-year-old was excited, although he is keeping his feet firmly on the ground.
"Yeah, it’s not bad," he said about making the team.
It was the latest in a list of impressive accomplishments.
He is in his third year with the New Zealand under-21 curling team, which finished 16th at the B world championships in Finland and Sweden the past two years. The team will head to the championships in Finland again late this year.
Walker has also finished second in the majority of the national under-21 tournaments he has been to and last month his team won the open national championships.
From Kyeburn in the Maniototo, Walker has been curling for 11 years.
Curling was a popular sport in the area, including with young people.
"The [indoor] ice rink opened up there, so I just sort of started going down there when I was little and got the hang of it and carried on."
He started at Otago Boys’ High School in 2013, living in the hostel, and joined the school’s curling team so he could keep playing the sport. The OBHS team often takes second place in big tournaments, with Maniototo being the team to beat.
Walker expects Maniototo will once again be its biggest competition at this weekend’s South Island secondary schools championships in Dunedin.
Maniototo contains almost the entire New Zealand under-21 team, except for Walker. Maniototo player Anton Hood also plays in the New Zealand men’s team.
That created something of a rivalry, as Walker is competing against players he grew up with.
He said it was good, though, and hopes Otago Boys’ can claim a win.
The Otago Boys’ team also includes Hamish Walker’s younger brother Hunter, seen as a promising youngster to keep an eye on.
Hamish Walker also plays flanker in the OBHS senior blues rugby team, as well as enjoying golf.
He is hoping to get a building apprenticeship in Dunedin next year and his ultimate goal is curling in the Winter Olympics.
