A burst pipe at the Potomac Curling Club created huge melted areas in the curling ice.
The pipes carry tap water. The curling ice is made with de-ionized water. Those two freeze at different temperatures, creating a bad mix for the surface when one poured over the other on Monday, Jan. 25.
Potomac Curling Club, on Old Gunpowder Road, in Laurel, Maryland, is a nonprofit organization with no paid staff members and is 100 percent volunteer staffed. Volunteer ice technicians have been working more than 16 hours a day to restore the highly specialized ice back to playing conditions.
The head ice tech, Craig Markwardt, said that the ice will be ready ahead of schedule and possibly as early as Sunday. The ice team is confident that the ice will be ready before a large tournament being held Feb. 12-14. There will also be a Try Curling Open House on Feb. 21 for anyone to come out and try curling
Contributions for the repairs have come in from club members and curlers all over the U.S., Canada and Europe. A GoFundMe page was also set up to help cover the cost of repairs, as well as contribute to a thank you gift for the folks who have been working to repair the ice.
