Team Bernard Exclusive

Soon to be found in their official gallery, this picture was taken at the airport in Manitoba before the Manitoba Curling Classic where our Girls rocked the ice and made the semi final: Graciously provided by our second, Lori.

Team Bernard is second on the CTRS ranking run. Lawton made a quart this weekend at the Colonial Square Ladies Classic and just passed them by .210 point. So, Lawton is 77.335 and Bernard is 77.125! Ouf, that’s tight. Close behind them are Webster and Overton-Clapham, followed by Middaugh and Jones.

Team Bernard is competing in 3 events in November: The red Deer Classic, the Brantford Sun life Classic and the Boundary Ford Classic. In the later, all members of the Olympic silver Medal team will be on the ice: Carolyn Darbyshire will skip her team, Cori’s team, Team Ferguson will also be there, and Team Sonnenberg, who as Kristie Moore as a second – if you didn’t know it already- will take part in that competition as well. Sonnenberg surprisingly won the Manitoba Lotteries Classic a couple of weeks ago.

Red Deer Classic Draw

Team Bernard will be heading to Red Deer, Alberta, this Friday for the Red Deer Curling Classic. The draw is out and first match is at 9.00am (mt) on November 4th against Team Ogasawara from Japan. I’ll keep you posted with the score and stats, but if you feel to follow the livescore with us, visit the Asham world curling tour website.

Go Team Bernard!

The Gold Medal Plates

On Friday night, some of the best chefs in Calgary had an appointment to compete in a culinary experience “the gold medal Plates”. One of the goal of this special competition is to help raise funds for Olympic and Paralympics athletes in Canada. For this special occasion, 3 of our silver medalists reunited.

One of the competitors was chief Justin Labossiere from “Notable the restaurant”. I went there during my stay in Calgary this summer; the food was fabulous and the ambiance fantastic.

SierraSil Curling Clinic

This clinic “learn to curl” was held on September 27th at the North Shore Winter club in Vancouver and organized by SierraSil. Cheryl was there to give a hand to Team Bernard sponsor. I posted the video earlier this week but I thought it would be nice to add some images of the event. See more pictures on SierraSil facebook page.

Images of Cheryl on Global

It is always nice to keep aside some images of tv appearances. These are related to the interview Cheryl gave to Global BC on September 28th, 2011 that I posted a couple of day ago here.

Cheryl Bernard's SierraSil Curling Clinic

Cheryl Bernard on Global

Manitoba Lotteries results : Semi Finalist

Quarter match went okay – the 2 teams hold up like they could, i’d say none of them was playing their best curling, but Bernard came out stronger at the end and they recorded a win to advance in semi final. Team Bernard 4 Team Jones 3.

So, next opponent was Nedohin. It always been tight between those 2 skips and that was no different until Nedohin stole 2 in the fifth, then forced Bernard to take only one and confirmed by scoring two with the hammer. Team Bernard tournament ended there with a 6-2 loss but another qualification to the playoffs.

It is always a disappointment to lose. We are competitors, we want to win. And when you go back to the locker room without the trophy, that doesn’t mean you haven’t win anything but you have to look on the bright side to stay positive, learn from that and eventually be the one that brings back the trophy and in Team Bernard’s case, that not so difficult to do that :

That was a tough weekend: after two straight losses, they bounced back and despite the struggle, they managed to dig in, win five straight matches and made it to the playoffs. Winning without playing an A game, it can only gets better, especially when you are a new team.

A semi final: that’s a pretty good result! Even more so when you were part of the playoffs on the fourth other tournaments you’ve been competing in since the season started. That is consistency!

And, sometimes, you just got a bit lucky and things are settled in a way that you got just enough points to get back on top of the CTRS standings. But like they said, you gotta be good to be lucky!

Manitoba Lotteries Classic Update

One thing for sure, Team Bernard members got heart and the will to fight. On the first match, they were facing Team Hastings and for a moment, it looked like a sure thing for Team Bernard leading 6-2 after fifth end but all of sudden, Hastings tightened the battle by scoring 3 points. However, they didn’t let them get any closer and recorded a deuce in the following end to get a 3 points lead. The match ended 8-5.

So, they were one more match to win to make it to the playoffs and I don’t know for you, but that one was a tough match to follow. No steal in the entire game that needed an extra end. I am proud to say that Team Bernard defeated Team Sigfridsson 7-6 and qualified for the playoffs.

The quarter final matches start at 10.00am (ct). At this time, they are working on the playoffs draw but the other qualifiers are Team Jones, Team Robertson, Team Scott, Team Lawton, Team Sonnneberg, Team Nedohin and Team Overton Clapham.

Ladies, keep that up, you rock!

Manitoba Lotteries Classic

Oh my, that’s what I call living on the edge : that wasn’t an easy day for Team Bernard – not that they didn’t play good, but just a little bit below what they usually do. On the first match, they were facing Smith Dacey, the surprising bronze medalists at the Scotties in February and Bernard did start strong but weren’t able to limit their opponent to only one point and ended up losing in an extra end 7-6. So, it means that they slide to the C event and as you know, the C event is the last chance one team has to make it to the playoffs and that won’t be easy.

So, later today, they were facing Team Erika Brown from USA. Once again, Team Bernard did start strong and even had a lead 5-2 until they let Brown caught up by allowing them to score 3 to tie the game. The girls managed to score one and then steal to avoid the extra end.

Next match is tomorrow at 4.00 (ct). That let them time to recover and fill up their battery for a big Sunday, all that on a good feeling.

Manitoba Lotteries Classic Update

That was a surprising day! Team Bernard won their first match against Team Eberle 6-4 in a match that never really left doubt about who would win. As you know, our Ladies had a tough draw and at that point, I was amazingly surprised about how the way cleared itself as Nedohin and Overton Clapham lost their match.


Cleared itself – not really! Team Bernard slides to event B as they got robbed of 2 points in the last end losing their match against Team Robertson 3-5. Everything is still possible and their next opponent is team Smith Darcy and they will hit the ice at 12.00pm (ct).


Go Team Bernard.

Manitoba Lotteries Classic

It is going to be a weekend full of action at the Manitoba Lotteries Womens Curling Classic, second slam of the year. A lot of big team are competing and they all want to win. Team Bernard will start the competition in the bottom part of the draw in the company of Nedohin, Overton Clapham, Scott and Holland. It’s a triple knockout formula, 32 teams (8 qualifiers) and 60,000$ in purse. Above all that, there are lots of points at stake!

Interested by Manitoba Lotteries Womens Classic Team Bernard stats? Visit earlier posts here which also includes pictures, scores and video.

Team Bernard Exclusive Pictures

Some precious shoot for earlier this season, during a practice in Edmonton.

Special Request

A couple of weeks ago, one of our followers asked me if it was possible to post a particular video: it took me a little while but I finally manage to do it and as patience always pays off, it’s five for the price of one. Of course, as we miss the gals with stream no longer available that was certainly a pleasure to review some fun moments of the continental cup mixed double. Enjoy!!!

Between the Sheets Quotes

Reading between the sheets, is a delight, not only for his mental side of all sports, but also because it can be apply to many aspects of our life. There are things valuable for everybody in it. When it went out, the book was appraise by many, among them, the following :

“This is more than just a book on curling. Guy and Cheryl capture the psyche of the high-performance athlete and the beauty of sport in general – and that sport teaches leadership principles and personal skills that apply to anyone seeking to lead a successful life”
-Claire Carver-Dias, 2000 Olympic Bronze Medallist, four-Time Gold medallist, Commonwealth games.

Curling Tips by Cheryl Bernard

During the Autumn Gold and 2 crazy draws, Cheryl took the time to go down CBC station to give some curling tips. It was a great radio interview but I thought it would be pretty cool to add some images to it, some old, some new, hope you'll enjoy it!

The battle of sexes – The rematch

Yup, Team Bernard will do it again : after putting up a good fight and giving the big bear a scare at the Casino Rama Skins Game last January, Cheryl said yes without any hesitation to a rematch against Team Martin.

It will be another skins, and that event will occur on March 28th 2011 prior to the Victoria Classic at the Archie Browning Sports Centre in Esquimalt. Read more about it on this article from the Time Colonist.


For more pictures, video and info about the prior skins against these 2 olympian skips, click here.

Team Bernard Exclusive

A very special treat today as Team Bernard will answer a question asked about a week ago on this post by young Curler Mitchell – Mitchell, this is for you...

Hi Mitchell,

Thank you for the blog post and for following Team Bernard. I think you are doing all the right things by pursuing your passion for curling and seeking out opportunities for you to play. Try to surround yourself with good people and have fun while you learn and improve your skills. I know that Amber Holland runs an amazing summer camp that you can attend throughout your junior years and be exposed to valuable coaching. I would encourage you to seek out any opportunities in or around your area to continue getting feedback regarding the game of curling. It sounds like you are very passionate and play four times a week, that is fantastic. Try not to over extend yourself so that you continue to enjoy all aspects of our sport! Keep up the great work and good luck with your curling season.

Team Bernard

Cheryl is part of a new radio treat that airs on CBC radio during which she mentioned tips to improve our games. I'll post this interview during the weekend. Stay tuned!

Between the Sheets : The Silver Lining

Did you get your own copy of the new edition of Cheryl’s book “Between the Sheet: the Silver Lining”? If not, now would be a great time to get it: for a limited time only, all of those who will buy one get an autographed copy. Just make sure to buy it on Team Bernard website.

What’s up Carolyn ?

2010 Olympic Silver Medalist and unforgettable second played a couple of events with Team Kleibrink. Shannon, recovering from a surgery, asked Darbyshire to join her team for the Twin Anchors and the Autumn Gold: third and second moved up to include her. It went so well that the squad skipped by Amy Nixon won the Twin Anchors and go on winning 13 straight matches till they lost to Cathy O. in the Autumn Gold final this weekend.

What an impressive style she has! And I am not the only thinking this… Read Calgary Herald article about it and grab the original of this picture while you there.


Carolyn is supposed to play a couple of events with Team Bernard but I bet Shannon will keep her close for further replacements too. If Carolyn ever got to choose between the 2, maybe the outfit will make a difference? I would choose without any hesitation the DQ - Airdrie Dodge Jeep- Asham - SierraSil flashy jacquet over this grey/white dot shirt. That was the fashion minute! ;)

Autumn Gold : Quarter Final

Team Bernard came up a tiny little bit short in their match this morning, so tiny that it took Middaugh an extra end to defeat them 5-4 and ended their road at this 2011 edition of the Curler Corners Autumn Gold Curling Classic.


A quarter final ? With the strong field out there that's pretty well done. What makes it even better is that it is team Bernard third playoffs out of three tournaments. Of course, losing is never fun, we want to win them all but at this stage, when you played till the wee hours the evening before, this is good enough to carry on the momentum to the next tournament.

This said, I don't know if you are like me, but I missed curltv.com. Anything we can do to have it back?

Team Bernard off ice team hope you all had a lovely thanksgiving weekend.

Autumn Gold update

Team Bernard was back on the ice early on the morning to go against Team Overton Clapham. That was a tight match till the very end when Cathy O. Scored 3 to settle a win over our squad 7-3. So the long road it will be as Team Bernard slides to the C event but the important thing: they still had a chance to make it to the playoffs.

Later, they had an appointment with Team Scheidegger and didn’t miss it winning 6-4 to go on in the tournament setting up a meeting with Kelly Scott. The woman from Kelowna has a pretty good record against Cheryl and maybe that’s why things got a little complicated as Team Scott steal one in the eight end to force an extra but at the end, Bernard was stronger and scored 3 to win 8-5.

So, Ladies and gentlemen, our Girls have a spot in the playoffs. The action starts at 9.00am (mt) Monday morning.

Autumn Gold Update

First match was a big battle that Team Bernard managed to win 8-6 against Team Homan. It is a steal of 3 in the fifth that turned things around for the Squad.


Second match was another tight game and with Asham curling tour website having technical problem, it made the suspense last longer – we didn’t really needed that but that was a spectacular come back of our girls – It was 5-3 Thurston heading to the last head, Bernard with the hammer and they brilliantly scored 3 to get away with the win.


Next match Sunday morning at 9.00 (mt) and they will face Team Overton Clapham.

Here some thoughts of our Skip regarding this importance of this tournament for them: “It’s big for us. We want to get into the provincials, so this is a big event on the Alberta tour, and it’s big for us on the Order of Merit to get into the Players’ Championship, and it’s huge for the Olympic Trials qualifying points. “But it’s not close enough for me to start worrying about. A year out from it, the carrot starts to dangle pretty close and you get more focused on it. But right now, there’s so much to take our time that I don’t know that I’m really thinking about it.”

Autumn Gold Update

The day started pretty well for Team Bernard winning their first match 6-2 against Team Scheidegger. They took an early lead and hold on to it. Later on, they were back on the ice for the second match of the day – all that after dropping by CBC studio for a brief radio interview - and Team Bernard was a little slow to start the engine and lost this confrontation against Delia DeJong 5-3.


Bernard will continue in the B event and will play against Team Homan at 9.00 (mt) tomorrow morning.

As for interview, i got this one and am preparing a little something with it to show after the tournament.

Cheryl visits the old squad

I blew it: couldn’t have it for you guys. I learned about this radio interview just after it was done. Cheryl was at the radio station Country 105 and had a talk with the Odd Squad earlier today to talk about the Autumn Gold Classic.


You can visit the Odd Squad Facebook to grab your original and read about earlier meeting with them here.

Autumn Gold Classic Draw

The Autumn Gold Classic starts tomorrow. See below the draw. Lots of big teams present for this first slam of the year: that is going to be one hell of a battle! Go Team Bernard!

Wallpaper : Team Bernard

Team Bernard would like to thanks their sponsors: Dairy Queen, Airdrie Dodge Jeep, SierraSil, Asham and Priority Printing - your support is huge!

Wallpaper : Cheryl Bernard

Nope, this is not the last one: there is one more to go and not just any! Stay tuned!

Wallpaper : Susan O'Connor

During the Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Classic, the Ray Kingsmith award is given to a selected player for her outstanding contribution to women’s curling. In 2010, Susan O’connor was the recipient of this award. She does a lot for a sport. Read all about it on the event website.

Wallpaper : Lori Olson Johns

We are on a roll! Enjoy more exclusive stuff while waiting for team Bernard next event “the Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic” starting this Friday, October 7th.

Wallpaper : Jennifer Sadleir

Did you enjoy our new treat ? Well, we got some more exclusive stuff coming your way guys. During the following days, we will share some special goodies especially created for Team Bernard. Hope you will enjoy them as much as our web designer enjoyed doing them.