Curling

Although there are less than two weeks until she walks in the parade of Canadian athletes to start the Olympics in Vancouver, Cheryl Bernard admits that it still hasn't sunk in.

She hasn't yet accepted the fact that she's an Olympian and will be competing for a gold medal on her home soil. In fact, the only thing about the Olympics that's definite for her involves another sport.

"I'm going to be looking for the hockey players to get autographs," she laughs. "I'm going to be a stalker."

While she might be more fan than participant at this point, Bernard knows this isn't the Friday-night mixed she's preparing for. She and her teammates Susan O'Connor, Carolyn Darbyshire and Cori Bartel have been pushed and pulled and prodded ever since winning the curling trials in Edmonton in early December.

Their time simply hasn't been their own.

"It's been crazy," the Calgary resident said.

"It's a life-changing experience. The four of us are used to running our lives ourselves, we're all very independent and this takes some getting used to."

As Olympians, the team has been required to do everything from get fitted for uniforms to work with sports psychologists to plan out every detail of their competition in Vancouver.

They've also had to deal with lots of extra attention from fans who have suddenly recognized them and stopped them everywhere from airports to lineups at the store. They've even had a visit from the drug testers.

"We were at home on a Saturday night and they just came to the door," Bernard said. "I was shocked. I thought it was someone collecting for something."

They were collecting, all right, but not money. All these distractions haven't taken the team's eye off the on-ice preparation. However, unlike their male counterparts, the Kevin Martin foursome who have had two Capital One Grand Slam events in which to play, the women's rink has had very little actual competition.

They did travel to Bern, Switzerland, to play in one event that featured many of the other Olympic representatives, but since then, it's been a case of find what they can.

"We've done a lot of two-on-two, a lot of game simulations," she said, "but I wish we had some spiels to play in. That would have been better."

It's generally acknowledged the women's field in Vancouver will be one of the deepest in international history. Any one of seven or eight teams could legitimately earn the gold.

Among the top contenders will be defending gold medalist Anette Norberg of Switzerland, current world champion Bingyu Wang of China and Switzerland's Mirjam Ott, a two-time silver medalist.

Although Bernard has played most of the other squads over the years in Canadian events, she is lacking in international experience.

This will be her first time wearing the Maple Leaf at a major competition. Doing it at the Olympics in front of a home-country crowd could be seen as a detriment to some, but not for these women.

"I think it's going to be a case of keeping it all in perspective," Bernard said. "We are going to do our best for Canada and we're going there to win a medal, but we're not putting everything on that. You know life will go on if we don't win a medal."

What the team lacks in experience, it makes up for in mental toughness. There are few teams that have spent as much time or prepared as well on the psychological parts of the game as Bernard's. It's where she sees her team's advantage.

"I think that's what we've worked really hard on," she said. "That's what got us through the trials. For the Olympics, we'll prepare as best we can, but I think in some ways, not knowing everything might actually help us."

As part of the orientation, the team, along with Martin's rink, spent last weekend in Vancouver, seeing the curling facility but not throwing any rocks.

Bernard described it as intimate and a great place for curling, a spot to where she'd like to bring her best. If that happens, she just might find some of the hockey players looking to get her autograph.