CONGRATULATIONS to Clare McCormick who received her 50th cap for Ireland yesterday in the game against the newly-crowned senior world champions Switzerland.

Clare’s first game was in the C League with the Irish women’s team in 2014 in Zoetermeer against Slovakia.

IRELAND’S senior women went out of the world championships in the play off game against Switzerland 8-5 yesterday morning after a great run in the competition.

They were in control of the game until the seventh end when the Swiss got stones behind cover and Irish skip Dale’s last stone, looking to lock the shot stone on the button to restrict the Swiss to a single, came up short. The Swiss then tried to draw for four but were happy to take three in a game that had been getting away from them.

The Irish were confident of getting a one or a two at the last end and Dale had a short run back with her last stone on an excellent draw from Swiss skip Christina Lysander behind an Irish stone just outside the 12 foot. After taking a time out, the Irish elected the run back option, with the outside chance the Swiss shot stone could also be angled back on to the second Swiss stone in the back 12, leaving Ireland lying two for the win, but Dale’s stone didn’t draw quite enough and the Swiss took a two and were into the semi finals after scrapping for their lives on the ice in Geneva.

So, it’s goodbye from the seniors and over to the young ones in green out in Lithuania for the C League.

THE last round-robin session tonight saw Ireland’s men go down 7-6 to the Czech Republic after a ding-dong battle. The defeat means the Irish can no longer progress to the knock-out stages, ten years after the epic victory in Taarby.

The game didn’t get off to the best of starts with the loss of a three, but after exchanging singles, Ireland hit back with a three in the fourth end. It really should have been a four with JJ attempting to catch the edge of a stone out side the rings to shuffle a daisy chain of stones forward to get the last one in the rings and roll his stone over for the four but it just missed catching the edge of the stone and sailed into the rings for a three.

After losing a two, Ireland ramped up the pressure on their opponents and after taking a one, stone a one in the seventh end to level the scores.

In the last end they could not get hidden anywhere behind cover and with the clock down to eight seconds, Johnjo’s attempt and a hit and roll behind cover hit and rolled out it was alla over for 2022 in Geneva.

The Irish women play Switzerland at 1pm in the playoff game for the semi final with the winner meeting Scotland later in the day.

THE Irish senior women qualified out of group A in third place after beating the Czech Republic 8-4 in the early morning session here in Geneva.

A two and then a stolen two in the first two ends gave them a big advantage over their opponents and they cemented their superiority with a three in the fourth end. The second half of the game didn’t go to plan as the Czechs did have a double take out opportunity for a three in the seventh, but only got one. With a four shot cushion it was a case of clearing any opposition stones out until we ran the Czechs out of ammunition in the last end.

We will now head into the ice rink at 8pm tonight to watch the Irish men play the same country, with a qualification spot in their group at stake. Play offs are at 1pm tomorrow against…….who knows!

THERE was an early start for the Irish women this morning against Italy but the team got a good start and took control of the game on the swingy ice to run out convincing winners.

The men’s team had a tougher time at noon when the faced Switzerland’s Christof Schwaller at noon losing 7-5.

Here’s more photos of the teams from the excellent WCF galleries.

IRELAND’S men had the only game of the day against Sweden and it was a brutal battering from the laser accuracy of Mats Wrana and his team.who won 10-3.

Tomorrow the women face Italy at 8am and the men play Switzerland at noon.

THE Irish women took the reigning world champions, Sherry Anderson’s Canadian team, to the last stone in an epic game last night in the round robin here in Geneva. The Canadians got off to a good start with a two in the first end but Ireland came right back at them with a super three in the second, with Irish skip Dale making an angled runback onto the only Canadian stone in the house.

This game of strategy and shot-making continued right up to the eighth end when Dale tried to get a gourd on the first shot behind the tee. It just needed to curl up half a stone to be lined up in front but left Anderson with an angle on a tricky double take out and stick against four for the game, which, like the double world champion she is, she made.

IRELAND’S senior teams are having a busy day here in Geneva. The men beat Norway 8-7 this morning and the women beat Denmark 14-1.

The men’s game hinged on a wonder shot from Johnjo in the sixth end. Thanks to Neil’s sweeping he shaved past a guard to make a tricky double take out of the Norwegian shots to lie four and out them ahead by one. Even JJ admitted it was a cracker. Video will follow! They stole in the seventh to go two up but had their supporters chewing their fingernails in the last end with Norway looking for two or three – but got just the single.

The women got off to a great start against Denmark with a four and never lost control to run out the winners in six ends. Next up is Canada this evening.

IRELAND’S women had the only game of the day against Scotland and lost 10-2.

We had a good first half to the game but a missed guard in the fifth end left Scotland with a double run back for four. After losing a three when gambling in the sixth it was fist bumps. It’s on to tomorrow with the men facing Norway at eight am and the women against Denmark at noon and Canada at night.

Some photos from the WCF gallery…..

THE two Irish senior teams were on the ice at the same time yesterday after noon with the women beating Sweden 7-3 and the man losing to Hungary 4-6.

The women, Dale Sinclair, Louise Kerr, Bernie Gillett and Clare McCormick were always in control of the game and now look forward to Scotland this afternoon. The men have Sunday off before facing Norway at 8am on Monday.

Bernie also met up with her pal John Brown who was her skip at her first ICA event – the Stranraer weekend in 2020. John is skipping the England men’s team in Geneva.