Louise , Bill, Frances and Ian.

ICA members went up the Zugspitze during their summer break in Garmisch

Two rinks from the ICA took part in the summer bonspiel over in Garmsich-Partenkirchen, Germany, last week with the ‘Paddy Power’ team of Bill Gray, Louise Kerr, Ian Donald and Frances Donald winning the low road.

Arran, Johnjo and Gillian

The other team, called the ‘Green Giants’, consisted of Johnjo Kenny, Arran Cameron and Gillian Russell. They played their way into the top league but had a bad last day on the ice to miss out on top spot. Unfortunately, the fourth member of that team had to withdraw from the event due to illness in her family. The ice in the imposing Olympic stadium was a challenge for all the teams due to the very warm conditions outside, making the ice both heavy and frosty, and some of us had to re-boot our backswing delivery to get the stone to the other end! The ice did improve a little on the second and third days and the ice makers worked tirelessly to make it as playable as possible.

Curling titans Andrea Schopp and Johnjo Kenny

Eighteen teams took part this year including local German teams, teams from Switzerland, Luxembourg and the Ukraine.

The ICA party enjoy drinks beside the lake before dinner outside the hotel in Grainau.

The organisers did a fantastic job hosting the event with a drinks party the first evening, a barbeque the second night and a superb grand dinner at a hotel in Grainau, at the base of the Zugspitze mountain, on the final evening.

A special thanks from everyone to Arran Cameron who undertook the bulk of the organisation for the trip.