Cheryl Bernard

Canadian Olympic Curler

Olympian Cheryl Bernard is best known for her long list of curling accomplishments, as well as her unrelenting sense of perseverance. Bernard’s competitive spirit started to shine when she began curling as an eight year old. The instructor told her that if she could push the rock down to the other end of the sheet – she was in. As Bernard put both feet in the hack and heaved hard, the 44lb rock got to the other end, and the rest is history. Bernard and her teammates won the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials in Edmonton in 2009, and Team Canada brought home a silver medal at the Vancouver 2010 Games. Bernard spends much of her time doing motivational speaking for corporations and schools, sharing the lessons learned from sport and life.

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Olympian Cheryl Bernard is best known for her long list of curling accomplishments, as well as her unrelenting sense of perseverance. The silver medal winner at the Vancouver 2010 Games, Bernard is also a four-time Alberta Women’s Champion, Canadian Runner-Up and TSN Skins finalist. For the past eight years, she has maintained a top-five status on the World Curling Tour, protecting her team’s position as one of the most competitive curling groups in the world.

Bernard’s competitive spirit started to shine when she began curling as an eight year old. The instructor at the Northill Curling Club in Calgary told her that if she could push the rock down to the other end of the sheet – she was in. As Bernard put both feet in the hack and heaved hard, the 44lb rock got to the other end - the rest is history.

Curling has not always been at the top of her “to do” list. At the age of 23, Bernard started an insurance brokerage in Calgary. By creating a dynamic agency culture that empowered others, she and her staff propelled the agency to six million dollars in sales in 11 years. At that time, Bernard decided it was time to re-focus on curling, writing and fundraising – so she sold her agency to Western Union Insurance.

In December 2009, Bernard and her teammates won the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials in Edmonton and headed to Vancouver to represent Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics. After a gruelling ten days, Team Canada brought home a silver medal, and at the same time earned the countries respect with their poise, conduct and teamwork at those games. Two months after the Olympics, Bernard was nominated by her peers as the 2010 Most Valuable Player in Women’s curling.

Throughout her life, Bernard has never lost site of the need to give back. She has volunteered on a variety of boards, as well as for the Canadian Curling Association and the World Curling Tour. Following the death of her father from a brain tumour, Bernard created the annual “Curl for a Cure” in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. In the five years that this event ran, over 1.3 million dollars was raised in support of the CBCF. Bernard was the spokesperson for the 2010 Terry Fox Run and has done promotional work for the Alberta Children’s Hospital, Children’s Miracle Network, Dairy Queen Miracle Treat Day, Microsoft and the Toronto Children’s Hospital. She is currently the spokesperson for The Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada.

In 2005, Bernard co-authored and published Between the Sheets Creating Curling Champions, which describes the mental side of the game of curling. She is currently adding a final section to the book titled “The Silver Lining”, which will be released Feb 2011.

Currently, Bernard spends much of her time doing motivational speaking for corporations and schools, sharing the lessons learned from sport and life. She also attends adult and junior curling clinics in Canada and the US, continuing to compete in the game she loves - curling.

6. There Is A New "Normal" - Life after Vancouver 2010
5. Stories from Home

Bernard & her husband Terry Meek (Canadian Champion as 5th man for Kevin Martin) tell the funny and serious stories from a curling family...
4. The Road to Silver - Sometimes Life Gets in the Way

The story of becoming an Olympian at 43 years of age...
3. Giving Back - The Responsibilities of the Medal
2. The Importance of Sport for Youth
1. Lessons Learned From Sport - How Bernard Applied Them to Her Business & Personal Life

·    Importance of Teamwork and Relationships
·    Pursuing your dreams
·    Importance of Perspective

Our Economic Partnership Breakfasts, which started in 1992, provides a forum for Alberta’s International Region to address economic development issues. Your presentation on the “Importance of Sport and the Lessons We Can Learn from It” was enjoyed by all and helped fuel our ideas on an active, healthy community lifestyle. Thank you for helping to make our “Support the Sport” Economic Partnership Breakfast a great success!

Leduc-Nisku Economic Development Authority
Our community recently had the pleasure of having Cheryl Bernard speak to an audience of business and community leaders. Cheryl spoke not only of her Olympic experience and the impact of curling and sport on her life, but also related her experiences directly to our community. Her message was entertaining, insightful and moving. A standing ovation topped off a great presentation!

Community Development and Service Planning, City of Leduc
Cheryl wowed our clients with her sincerity, sense of humor and charm. She went above and beyond our expectations by interacting and posing for pictures with our guests both before and well after the event ended. We would definitely call on her again, not only because we loved her, but because our clients would demand it!

Mawer Investment Management
I found Cheryl’s presentation to be inspiring, motivational, and fun. Our group enjoyed the many references to her teams' path to the Olympic Games and ultimately the last rock heartache that led to the Silver Medal. Cheryl's delivery and message were extremely positive and outlined the work necessary to achieve great results. Her presentation was a great fit for my advisors who run a complex business and need great work ethic to be successful. We all enjoyed her fun yet sincere approach to the presentation and I would highly recommend her to other groups who are looking for an Olympian to motivate, teach about team building, and inspire.

Great West Life
Cheryl entertained the audience with personal stories of her Olympic experience and the teamwork involved and provided many valuable lessons which can be applied to everyday life. She was engaging and professional. Cheryl’s presentation was well received and the evening concluded with a standing ovation and an impromptu rendition of the national anthem.

Ontario Pork Producers Association

February 2011
Between the Sheets: The Silver Lining
After taking home a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, BC, Cheryl L. Bernard presents her latest sports psychology book titled Between the Sheets: The Silver Lining (updated from the first edition titled Between the Sheets: Creating Curling Champions, published in 2005). The newest edition of this inspirational sports psychology book combines poignant stories about Team Bernard’s emotional Olympic experience in their home country with valuable information about the mental, technical, and motivational aspects of this compelling team sport.

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Cheryl Bernard

Canadian Olympic Curler

6. There Is A New "Normal" - Life after Vancouver 2010

5. Stories from Home

4. The Road to Silver - Sometimes Life Gets in the Way

3. Giving Back - The Responsibilities of the Medal

2. The Importance of Sport for Youth