It is a lofty title in the curling fraternity and sorority but as with all titles, it carries responsibility.
M’Lord, aka Mr Davis, Lowburn Curling Club member, was presiding over 11 teams from Central and wider Otago taking part in an informal tournament to mark the official opening weekend of IceInLine’s two-lane indoor curling rink in Alexandra on Saturday.
Rain forced the traditional crampit variety of the game from the outdoor rink with some games to be played indoors, solely to the indoor lanes in time-limited games of 30 minutes each.
"My main role is to make sure we stick to traditions," Mr Davis said.
Curling’s traditions have changed little in the more than 150 years since it arrived with Otago’s Scottish immigrants. In curling parlance males are called brothers, females are sisters. Presiding over tradition is Mr Davis, who said he believed New Zealand might be one of the last places in the world to follow traditions to the letter.
In Scotland, where the traditions began at the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, health and safety regulations make maintaining those traditions fraught with difficulty.
The traditions included adhering to the Spirit of Curling where curlers play to win but to never humble opponents, and bad language on the ice, even words seemingly innocuous nowadays such as "bloody" guaranteed an appearance in curlers’ court.
A closed court open to only curlers and proceedings were shrouded in secrecy.
"If I was tell you I would have to shoot you," Mr Davis said.
He could confirm he was unaware of any death sentences imposed or carried out in the court but the title M’Lord was sentence of a different kind — a life sentence that was offered to him in 2009.
"I had to think about it for a week because any [with the title] I’ve known, and I’ve only known a few, have all died — it’s a poison chalice."
His national role covered 37 clubs from Otago and Canterbury all the way up to Auckland.
Another responsibility was to call the bonspiel if, and when, weather conditions allowed.
When that call came curlers had to be ready to play at the drop of a hand-knitted tam o’shanter with little more than 24 hours’ notice, he said.
The tournament wrapped up with a dinner featuring the traditional piping in of the haggis, toasts and speeches from New Zealand Curling president Graham Sinnamon and former New Zealand Cricket coach Warren Lees.
