Photo: Tricia Affleck
Vancouver Olympic silver medallist and curling heroine Cheryl Bernard is one of 13 female athlete models unveiled today in the new 2011 Women of Curling Calendar, an all-Canadian product now on sale for charity.
The glossy wall calendar features Calgary’s Bernard, Winnipeg’s four-time and defending Canadian champion Jill Officer (from Team Jennifer Jones) and even the legendary Colleen Jones, the five-time national women’s champion from Halifax, who has returned to competition this fall after a brief hiatus from the sport.
The 2011 Women of Curling Calendar, which features curling ladies from coast to coast, also includes national-level athletes, former junior champions and even a novice recently attracted to the sport following the excitement of Vancouver 2010.
“I know I said definitely not, no posing in a calendar,” laughed Bernard. “I think I said never, actually. But this one is not so much risqué, at least not in my case. At least I don’t think so!
“My image promotes fitness and health for all women. That’s what I want to project and that’s what this project offered.”
The first “Fire On Ice” women’s curling calendar debuted in the fall of 2005 and was an international media and pop culture sensation right through the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy.
That calendar, and more recent efforts, have all featured a majority of European curing stars. The 2011 edition, produced by The Curling News and aimed as a charitable fundraising project, features an all-Canadian cast of strong, confident and beautiful female athletes.
“These girls designed their own photo shoots, found their own photographers, and everyone contributed to it for charity,” said George Karrys, publisher of The Curling News.
“Some of these ladies went all out in terms of the creative concept, and things like wardrobe, makeup, you name it. The commitment they made is unbelievable.”
The calendar costs $29.95 each and is available online at womenofcurlingcalendar.com. It is also available through thecurlingnews.com and will also be available through other curling websites, such as teamjenniferjones.com.
Curling clubs, in addition to the athlete models, can access product at a discounted rate, which also makes the calendar a fundraiser for their local communities.
“We’ll be promoting this wherever we go in the curling world,” said Kari MacLean. who is one of two members of Team Krista McCarville – the Ontario champions and third-place finishers at the 2009 Olympic Trials – to appear in the calendar.
“Maybe Ashley (Miharija) and I will have a team contest,” said MacLean. “Who can sell more, the blonde or the brunette?”
Proceeds will go to Shoot For A Cure Curling, the sport-focussed fundraising and awareness campaign of the Canadian and American Spinal Research Organizations (CSRO/ASRO).
Shoot For A Cure, which is also supported by the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) is committed to finding a cure for spinal paralysis. The campaign also strives to increase awareness of the Paralympic sport of Wheelchair Curling.
The 2011 Women of Curling are:
December 2010: Colleen Jones, Nova Scotia
January 2011: Ashley Miharija, Ontario
February: Cheryl Bernard, Alberta
March: Chelsea Carey, Manitoba
April: Jill Officer, Manitoba
May: Kari MacLean, Ontario
June: Sarah Wark, British Columbia
July: Andrea Leganchuk, Ontario
August: Tricia Affleck, Prince Edward Island
September: Sabrina Shibley, Ontario
October: Kristy Jenion, Manitoba
November: Teri Lake, Nova Scotia
December: Darah Provencal, British Columbia
