Cheryl Bernard

Last updated
Cheryl Bernard
Curler
Susan O'Connor and Cheryl Bernard.jpg
Susan O'Connor and Bernard (right) at the Winter Olympics in 2010
Other namesCheryl Kullman
Born
Cheryl Bernard

(1966-06-30) June 30, 1966 (age 57)
Grande Prairie, Alberta
Team
Skip Cheryl Bernard
Third Carolyn McRorie
Second Laine Peters
Lead Karen Ruus
Curling career Curling pictogram.svg
Member AssociationFlag of Alberta.svg  Alberta
Hearts appearances4 (1992, 1996, 2007, 2009)
Olympic
appearances		2 (2010, 2018)
Top CTRS ranking 2nd (2009–10)
Grand Slam victories1 (2010 Players')
Medal record
Women's Curling
Representing Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Winter Olympics
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2010 Vancouver
Representing Flag of Alberta.svg  Alberta
Scotties Tournament of Hearts
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1996 Thunder Bay
Canadian Olympic Curling Trials
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2009 Edmonton

Cheryl Bernard (born June 30, 1966) is a Canadian curler from Calgary, Alberta. She represented Team Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics as the team's skip, [1] winning the silver medal in women's curling after falling to Sweden in the final. [2] Her first major tournament win came at the 2009 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials in Edmonton, Alberta. She also represented Canada again at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang as the alternate for Rachel Homan's team.

Contents

Career

Early career

Bernard was born in Grande Prairie, Alberta. She began curling at the age of eight. [3] In 1988, she lost in the Alberta provincial finals playing second for Jill Ferguson; however, four years later she would win the provincial title as a skip, earning a berth at the 1992 Scott Tournament of Hearts, Canada's national curling championship with her team of Allison Earl, Barb Davies and Bev Kellerman. The following year, Bernard won the provincial mixed title with spouse Terry Meek.

In 1995, Bernard lost the Alberta provincial final, but rebounded the following year to win it, sending her to the '96 Hearts, this time with an altered lineup. Her team of Karen Ruus, Barb Sherrington and Judy Pendergast had a 7–4 round robin record. In the playoffs, Bernard's rink won their first game in the 1 vs. 2 page playoff match-up against Ontario (skipped by Marilyn Bodogh). This sent her Alberta team to the final, where they faced Bodogh in a rematch, which they lost, 7–4.

1997 to 2006

Bernard started up her own insurance brokerage at the age of 23 and in the process, she failed to make it to another national championship for 11 years. In the meantime, she was a finalist at the JVC/TSN Skins Game in 1999, and made it to the provincial finals once again in 2000. She was also the Canadian Women's Curling Tour champion in 2004. In 2006, she lost in the first ever women's Players' Championships final against Jennifer Jones.

2007 to 2011

Bernard won her third provincial championship in 2007, defeating the two-time defending champion Cathy King rink in the Alberta final, 7–4. [4] At the 2007 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, her team of Susan O'Connor, Carolyn Darbyshire and Cori Bartel finished with a 6–5 record, tying them with Prince Edward Island and Ontario. Bernard's team beat Ontario in the first tie breaker, but were unable to beat P.E.I.'s Suzanne Gaudet (Birt) whom they lost to 5–4. In 2008, Bernard's team played in their first Grand Slam of Curling final, losing the 2008 Trail Appliances Curling Classic to Shannon Kleibrink's rink. In 2009, Bernard won her fourth Alberta title and represented the province at the 2009 Scotties Tournament of Hearts where her team finished with another 6–5 record. However, this would keep them out of the playoffs.

The Bernard team's success during this period qualified them for the 2009 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials. They were one of four teams to directly earn a spot at the event nicknamed "The Roar of the Rings". At "the Roar", Bernard's rink almost went undefeated, having lost only their final round robin game to Stefanie Lawton. Their 6–1 record earned them a direct spot in the final, which they won. They defeated Shannon Kleibrink in the final by a score of 7–6. The game came down to the final shot, where Bernard had to draw to the full eight-foot to win.

Bernard's team won the silver medal at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia. After completing the round robin in first place with just one loss to China, Bernard won the silver medal, losing to Sweden (skipped by Anette Norberg) in an extra end, 7–6.

Bernard wrapped up the 2009–10 curling season by winning the 2010 Players' Championships, her first Grand Slam victory in her career and was named 2010 MVP by her peers during that event.

Despite going to the 2010 Winter Olympics, The Bernard rink began the 2010–11 curling season without a corporate sponsor. The response of the team was to put up billboards around Calgary advertising their need for one. Within a month Dairy Queen announced they would be their main corporate sponsor. [5] In December 2010, the team lost to Stefanie Lawton's rink 7–3 in the 2010 Canada Cup of Curling.

Following losing the semi-final of the 2011 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts, on February 8, 2011, Team Bernard announced that they would disband the team. This had been a team agreement at the beginning of 2011.[ citation needed ]

2011–2014

Cheryl Bernard announced her new curling team for the 2011–12 season will consist of longtime third Susan O'Connor, Lori Olson-Johns who previously played with Crystal Webster, and Cathy King, and three time junior champion Jennifer Sadleir. [6] Due to the Sports Canada Funding the Bernard team received from their olympic appearance, all four members had to play the 2011–2012, which left Cori Morris and Carolyn McRorie having to join, or form a new team. [7] McRorie was the alternate for the Bernard team when appropriate. [8]

Although Bernard did not participate at the 2012 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, she was awarded the Joan Mead Builder's Award. The award is given to someone in the curling community that significantly contributes to the growth and development of women's curling in Canada. [9] Her rink failed to qualify for the playoffs at the 2012 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

In 2012, Sadlier was replaced by Shannon Aleksic at lead. Bernard's rink would not even return to the provincials in 2013, as her rink lost to Lisa Eyamie in the C Final of the Alberta Southern qualifier.

In her last season before retirement, Bernard won the 2013 Good Times Bonspiel and qualified for the 2014 Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts. There, the team had a successful run, making it to the final before losing to Valerie Sweeting.

Retirement

Bernard announced her retirement from competitive curling in June 2014. [10]

After retiring from competitive curling Bernard has dedicated her time to give back to the communities that supported her through her Olympic journey. In October 2014, Goodwill Industries of Alberta announced Bernard would become an ambassador and "Goodwillian". Bernard decided to join Goodwill after touring their operations in Calgary. She learned about Goodwill's Power of Work program, which provides individuals with disabilities the opportunity to enhance their lives through meaningful employment.[9]. [11]

In November 2014, Bernard was invited by TSN to be a guest analyst at the 2014 Canada Cup of Curling. Bernard remained with the TSN team for the rest of the 2014–15 Season of Champions and has remained a TSN curling commentator until retiring in 2022.

Post-retirement

Bernard briefly came back from retirement in 2016 to play in two events, making it to the finals of the Prestige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic (with O'Connor, Darbyshire and lead Lawnie MacDonald) and sparing for Jennifer Jones at the Colonial Square Ladies Classic. In 2018, she was named as the alternate player for the Canadian women's team (skipped by Rachel Homan) at the 2018 Winter Olympics. [12] At 51, she was the oldest athlete at the 2018 Winter Olympics. [13] She spared in two events for Team Casey Scheidegger with Scheidegger on maternity leave during the 2019–20 season. They were runners-up at the 2019 Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic and finished with a 2–4 record at the Canada Cup.

Bernard, with teammates Carolyn Darbyshire-McRorie, Laine Peters and Karen Ruus won the 2020 Alberta women's senior championship. [14] While the 2020 Canadian Senior Curling Championships were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, their win qualified them to represent Alberta at the 2021 Canadian Senior Curling Championships. [15]

Personal life

Aside from curling, Bernard also co-wrote Between the Sheets: Creating Curling Champions in 2005, a book about the mental aspects of curling, with journalist Guy Scholz. [3] After taking home a silver medal in her home country at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Cheryl teamed up with Scholz once again to co-publish an updated version of the book titled Between the Sheets: The Silver Lining through Canadian book publisher Polished Publishing Group (PPG), copyright 2011. [16]

Bernard lives with her common-law husband, curler Terry Meek, and stepson Connor Meek in Calgary, Alberta. She currently works as the President and Chief executive officer of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. [17]

Bernard does motivational keynotes for corporations, sharing the parallels between business and sport, as well as stories and lessons from the Olympics.

Grand Slam record

Key
CChampion
FLost in Final
SFLost in Semifinal
QFLost in Quarterfinals
R16Lost in the round of 16
QDid not advance to playoffs
T2Played in Tier 2 event
DNPDid not participate in event
N/ANot a Grand Slam event that season
Event 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14
Players' F SF SF SF C QF DNPDNPDNP

Former events

Event 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14
Autumn Gold SF Q F QF QF QF QF Q
Manitoba Lotteries QSF QF QF Q SF SF DNP
Colonial Square N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A Q DNP
Wayden Transportation QFQSFN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A
Sobeys Slam N/A Q Q N/ADNPN/AN/AN/A

Teams

SeasonSkipThirdSecondLeadEvents
1987–88 [18] Jill Ferguson Judy Pendergast Cheryl BernardSue Fulkerth
1989–90 [19] Cheryl Bernard Shari Demmon Allison RizosBonnie Pugsley
1990–91Cheryl BernardAllison Rizos Bev Kellerman Sue Fulkerth
1991–92Cheryl Bernard Allison Earl Barb Davies Bev Kellerman 1992 STOH
1995–96Cheryl Kullman Karen Ruus Barb DaviesJudy Pendergast 1996 STOH
1996-97Cheryl KullmanKaren RuusBarb DaviesJudy Pendergast
1997-98Cheryl KullmanKaren RuusBarb DaviesJudy Pendergast
1998-99Cheryl BernardKaren RuusBarb Davies Crystal Rumberg
1999-00Cheryl BernardKaren RuusBarb DaviesCrystal Rumberg
2001-02Cheryl Bernard Susan O'Connor Barb DaviesKaren Ruus
2002-03Cheryl BernardSusan O'Connor Joanne Sipka Karen Ruus
2003-04Cheryl BernardSusan O'ConnorJoanne SipkaKaren Ruus
2004–05Cheryl BernardSusan O'Connor Jody McNabb Karen Ruus
2005–06Cheryl BernardSusan O'Connor Carolyn Darbyshire Cori Bartel
2006–07Cheryl BernardSusan O'ConnorCarolyn DarbyshireCori Bartel 2007 STOH
2007–08Cheryl BernardSusan O'ConnorCarolyn DarbyshireCori Bartel
2008–09Cheryl BernardSusan O'ConnorCarolyn DarbyshireCori Bartel 2009 STOH
2009–10Cheryl BernardSusan O'ConnorCarolyn DarbyshireCori Bartel 2009 COCT, 2010 OG
2010–11Cheryl BernardSusan O'ConnorCarolyn DarbyshireCori Morris
2011–12Cheryl BernardSusan O'Connor Lori Olson-Johns Jennifer Sadleir
2012–13Cheryl BernardSusan O'ConnorLori Olson-Johns Shannon Aleksic
2013–14Cheryl BernardSusan O'ConnorLori Olson-JohnsShannon Aleksic
2016Cheryl BernardSusan O'ConnorCarolyn Darbyshire Lawnie MacDonald
2019–20Cheryl BernardCarolyn McRorie Laine Peters Karen Ruus
2021–22Cheryl BernardCarolyn McRorieLaine PetersKaren Ruus

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References

  1. ↑ "Bernard's win at Canadian trials a surprise". CBC. The New York Times Company. 2010-02-05. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved 2010-02-27.
  2. ↑ Michael Friscolanti (2010-02-27). "Cheryl Bernard loses the gold". Macleans. Retrieved 2010-02-27.
  3. 1 2 Sunny Dhillon (2010-01-27). "Cheryl Bernard took unique path to 2010 Olympics". CTV. Canada Inc. Archived from the original on 2010-01-30. Retrieved 2010-02-27.
  4. ↑ "King no longer queen". Edmonton Journal. January 29, 2007. p. C3. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  5. ↑ https://calgaryherald.com/Calgary+Bernard+scoops+curling+sponsorship/3902944/story.html [ dead link ]
  6. ↑ "Olympic medallist Bernard forms new team with O'Connor". Tsn.ca. 2011-03-24. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
  7. ↑ "Heart Chart" (PDF). 2011-02-19. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
  8. ↑ Bill says (2011-04-15). "Olympians eliminated, bid tearful farewell". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
  9. ↑ "Heather Nedohin named MVP at 2012 Scotties Tournament of Hearts". Canadian Curling Association. 2012-02-26.
  10. ↑ "Canadian Olympian Bernard retires from curling". Sportsnet. 17 June 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  11. ↑ "Cheryl Bernard - Goodwill Ambassador | Goodwill Alberta". Archived from the original on 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  12. ↑ "Olympic champs join Team Canada for mixed doubles curling's Olympic debut". 2018-01-08.
  13. ↑ Gelineau, Kristen (14 February 2018). "Wisdom and drive: Older Olympians becoming the norm". CTV News . Associated Press . Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  14. ↑ "Scores – Curling Alberta".
  15. ↑ "Olympic curler Bernard returns to Autumn Gold to prepare for senior nationals". 2021-10-11.
  16. ↑ "Marketwire Press Release". Polished Publishing Group (PPG). Marketwire. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
  17. ↑ Media Guide
  18. ↑ "Ferguson wants another shot at champ". Calgary Herald. January 11, 1988. p. 8. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Youthful rink claims A birth". Calgary Herald. January 7, 1990. p. 9. Retrieved April 12, 2020.

Sources

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