It's difficult for Canada's elite curlers to ignore the Olympic dream drifting through their psyche, but Team Alberta plans to do just that, at least for the next week or so.
Starting on Saturday, Alberta skip Cheryl Bernard, third Susan O'Connor, second Carolyn Darbyshire, and lead Cori Bartel will have their minds firmly wrapped around the Scotties Tournament of Hearts at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
"We love the Scotts," said Bernard, whose team has already qualified for the Olympic Pre-Trials in Prince George in November, but has a good opportunity to join Team Canada's Jennifer Jones at the Roar of the Rings final selection trials in December. "[The Olympics] is down the road. We just decided to focus on the Canadian championship, and I guess it'll all work out."
Getting through the tough province of Alberta undefeated was a start. Bernard beat defending champion Shannon Kleibrink twice, while dominating the field during the week. In the final, however, the ice changed, and the team lost track of draw weight against Edmonton's Heather Nedohin. Bernard missed a draw to win the game in the 10th end, but O'Connor saved the day with a run-back triple in the extra end, leaving her skip a hit to clinch the 9-7 victory.
"It was a scary final, but after the week we had, we'd have been crushed not to win it," Bernard said.
O'Connor has been throwing third stones for Bernard since the 2001-02 season, and Darbyshire and Bartel joined the team four years ago, when it was a regrouping of sorts for the Calgary skip. Bernard went to the Scotties in 1992 and '96, when she was runner-up to Marilyn Bodogh, but didn't make a return appearance until 2004.
"It had been years," said Bernard, who finished fourth in '04. "[To return this year] we're so excited. It's just unbelievable."
When asked about the key to winning the Scotties, Bernard laughed that she wished someone would tell her. Seriously, though, she believes what really counts is the cliché about taking one game at a time.
"You just can't really look past the game you're playing," she said, adding it's also important not to lose the games you shouldn't lose. If it happens, it's a challenge to avoid the mental fallout.
"You have to forget about it, and move on."
Through the highs and lows of the last four seasons, the Alberta rink has become a cohesive, supportive unit not given to getting down on themselves or each other when things go awry. O'Connor, the communications link between Bernard and the front end, has improved her game considerably over the last couple of years, and Darbyshire is a veteran who never gets rattled.
Bartel is the chatty one, who talks to everybody, including the opposition, the teams on the next sheet, the fans in the stands.
"She's kind of the funny man on the team. She lightens it up, when things get tense."
As athletes, they work extremely hard at their game. Besides a regime of daily practices, the team has competed in 10 World Curling Tour events this season, pocketing winnings of $36,050. Bernard is second only to Kleibrink in the race for those valuable Canadian Team Ranking System points which count toward Trials berths.
"We worked our butts off to get here," Bernard said, looking to be among the Scotties leaders by the end of the round robin. At the same time, she knows the stakes are high and field is tough, and it's important to keep things in perspective.
"It's not the end of the world," she said. "We have family, friends, and life, and that doesn't change if we don't win this."
IN THE HOUSE
- TEAM ALBERTA
Home club: Calgary Winter Club
Skip: Cheryl Bernard, 42
Third: Susan O'Connor, 31
Second: Carolyn Darbyshire, 45
Lead: Cori Bartel, 37
Fifth: Karen Ruus
Coach: Dennis Balderston
Last Scotties appearance: 2004, finished fourth
