The competition between Irish Curlers and the Ardrossan Castle Curling Club has a long history dating back to 1861. On Sunday, the ICA team of Tommy Campbell, Christine Furey, Alison Barr and Clare McCormick set out to retain the Ardrossan – Belfast Trophy. They faced off against an Ardrossan team, skipped by Gordon Christie.

The ICA team started strongly leading 5-1 after three ends with Ardossan struggling with the speed of the ice. However, as they got their draw weight they picked up a 2 in the fourth end and a 4 in the 6th end to lead 7-6. The final end was tense with Tommy and his team leading 8-7 without the hammer. With all to play for, both teams produced some top class curling. With his last stone Tommy played a perfectly weighted double raise onto the button. This left Gordon with a very tricky run back to take the game to an extra end. The run back was unsuccessful and the ICA retained the trophy with a 9-7 victory.

Carolyn Hibberd, one of the founding members of the ICA, presented the trophy to the winning team. She said “It was an honour the present the Trophy to Ireland.”