Jean-Michel Ménard (born January 19, 1976) is a curler from

Aylmer, Quebec Aylmer is a former city in Quebec, Canada. It is located on the north shore of the Ottawa River and along Route 148. In January 2002, it amalgamated into the city of Gatineau, which is part of Canada's National Capital Region. Aylmer's popul ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Ménard is notable for being the first Francophone born

skip Skip or Skips may refer to: Acronyms * SKIP (Skeletal muscle and kidney enriched inositol phosphatase), a human gene * Simple Key-Management for Internet Protocol * SKIP of New York (Sick Kids need Involved People), a non-profit agency aidin ...

from Quebec to win

the Brier The Tim Hortons Brier, or simply (and more commonly) the Brier (''french: Le Brier''), is the annual Canadian men's curling championship, sanctioned by Curling Canada. The current event name refers to its main sponsor, the Tim Hortons coffee and ...

- Canada's national curling championship- which he did in 2006. In 2022 he won the

World Mixed Curling Championship The World Mixed Curling Championship is the world championship for mixed curling. It is held annually in the autumn, and replaced the European Mixed Curling Championship The European Mixed Curling Championship was a mixed curling This is a glo ...

Career

While living in

and playing in leagues at the

Ottawa Curling Club The Ottawa Curling Club is an historic curling club located on O'Connor Street in the Centretown neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is the oldest curling club in Ottawa, established in 1851 by Allan Gilmour as the Bytown Curling Club. ...

and the

Rideau Curling Club The Rideau Curling Club is a curling facility and organization located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1888, the Rideau Curling Club maintains a rivalry with the Ottawa Curling Club. History The original club began operation in November, ...

, Ménard also represents the Club de Curling Etchemin in

Saint-Romuald, Quebec Saint-Romuald is a district within the Les Chutes-de-la-Chaudière-Est borough of Lévis, Quebec, Canada, located on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from Quebec City. The district was formerly a town (Saint-Romuald d'Etchemin) ...

along with his team of

Martin Crête Martin Crête (born March 12, 1985) is a Canadian curler from Lévis, Quebec. He was the long time third for Jean-Michel Ménard from 2007 to 2018. Career Crête played as a competitive junior skip near the beginning of his career, finishing as ...

Éric Sylvain Éric Sylvain (born June 16, 1971) is a Canadian curler from Lévis, Quebec. He was the long time second for Jean-Michel Ménard from 2003 to 2018. Sylvain joined up with Ménard in 2003, and qualified for his first Brier in 2005 as a member o ...

and brother

Philippe Ménard Philippe Ménard (born August 15, 1986) is a Canadian curler from Boucherville, Quebec. He currently played for his brother, Jean-Michel's team from 2011 to 2018. He is known for wearing a bandana during play. Career Juniors Ménard was a memb ...

. Ménard had a 5-7 record at the 1996 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, and would return to a national championships at the

2000 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship The 2000 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship was held January 8–16 at the Lethbridge Curling Club in Lethbridge, Alberta Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 municipal cen ...

. He would return to the mixed in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, winning the tournament. Ménard found himself on the team of

Guy Hemmings Guy Hemmings (born May 10, 1962) is a Canadian curler from Sorel. Hemmings gained prominence after reaching the final of the Brier in 1998 and 1999. He is considered an ambassador for the game, not only in his home province of Quebec but across ...

as his second in 2003, which they won the Quebec championships sending them to the 2003 Nokia Brier. At the Brier, they finished 6-5, just out of the playoffs. Ménard would return to the Brier at the

2005 Tim Hortons Brier The 2005 Tim Hortons Brier, the Canadian men's curling championship, was held at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta from March 5 to 13. The tournament consisted of 12 teams, one from each province, plus a team representing the Yukon and Northwest T ...

, this time as a skip where he finished the round-robin with a 7-4 record sending him to the playoffs. However, he lost in the 3-4 game to

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Shawn Adams Shawn Adams (born April 4, 1974 in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia) is a Canadian curler from Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia. Career Adams rose to curling prominence being runner-up at the 1992 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, and then the next yea ...

. Ménard returned once again to the Brier in 2006. His team finished the round robin in second place and an 8-3 record. In the playoffs they lost the 1-2 game, but went on to win the semi-final against Team Nova Scotia skipped by

Mark Dacey Mark Dacey (born June 22, 1966) is a Canadian curler originally from Saskatchewan. He was based at the Mayflower Curling Club in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Dacey is a former Canadian men's curling champion skip, having won the 2004 Nokia Brier. He ...

in a lacklustre game. In the final, against

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Glenn Howard Glenn William Howard (born July 17, 1962) is a Canadian curler who is one of the most decorated curlers of all time. He has won four world championships, four Briers and 17 Ontario provincial championships, including a record eight straight ...

team, Ménard and his Quebec foursome played a much better game, claiming victory- the first ever for a full

Francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

born team and the second ever for a Quebec team. Ménard's victory at the Brier qualified him for the 2006 World Men's Curling Championship in

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

. At the Worlds, Ménard's team went all the way to the finals, but lost to Team Scotland (skipped by

David Murdoch David Matthew Murdoch (born 17 April 1978) is a retired Scottish curler from Stirling. As the Scotland skip, he and his former team of Ewan MacDonald, Warwick Smith, Euan Byers and Peter Smith are the 2006 and 2009 World Curling Champion ...

) in the final. In 2007, Ménard lost the provincial championship to

Pierre Charette Pierre G. "The Duffer" Charette (born June 23, 1955) is a Canadian curler from Ottawa, Ontario. He currently coaches the Silvana Tirinzoni rink Career Born in Masson, Quebec, Charette has played in thirteen Briers, and was the first curler t ...

, ending his bid to repeat as defending Brier champions. In 2008, Ménard returned to the Brier, where he finished with a disappointing 4-7 record. He returned again in 2009 where he finished with a 7-4 record, but lost to Manitoba's

Jeff Stoughton Jeffrey R. "Jeff" Stoughton (born July 26, 1963) is a Canadian retired curler. He is a three-time Brier champion and two-time World champion as skip. Stoughton retired from competitive curling in 2015. He is one of the most successful Manitoba ...

in a tie-breaker. Ménard failed to qualify for the 2010 Brier, losing out in the semi-final of the 2010 Quebec Men's Provincial Curling Championship to

Martin Ferland Martin Ferland (born November 8, 1970) is a Canadian curler from Trois-Rivières, Quebec. Career Born in Drummondville, Quebec, Ferland was a member of the 2007 Quebec champion team, that was skipped by Pierre Charette. Ferland threw last stone ...

. He missed out on the Brier again in 2011, losing in the 2011 Quebec Men's Provincial Curling Championship final to

François Gagné François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

. Ménard missed out on the Brier for the third straight year when he lost in the semi-final of the 2012 Quebec Men's Provincial Curling Championship to

Robert Desjardins Robert Desjardins (born May 4, 1967) was a Canadian professional goaltender who had a stellar junior and university career but only a short professional career. Born in Verdun, Quebec, Desjardins played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League fr ...

. Ménard finally returned to the Brier when he won the 2013 Quebec Men's Provincial Curling Championship. At the

2013 Tim Hortons Brier The 2013 Tim Hortons Brier, the Canadian men's national curling championship, was held from March 2 to 10 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta. This edition of the Brier marked the thirteenth time that Alberta has hosted the Brier, and the sixth ti ...

, he had an average week, finishing the event with a 6-5 record. Ménard won another provincial title in 2014, sending his rink to the 2014 Tim Hortons Brier. He led his team to a strong 4th-place performance, losing to Manitoba's

in the bronze medal game. Ménard won the 2015 Quebec Men's Provincial Curling Championship, but had less success at the 2015 Tim Hortons Brier, going 6–5. He won another Quebec championship in 2016, and led Quebec to a 4–7 record at the 2016 Tim Hortons Brier. He won a final Quebec championship in in 2017, and led his province to a 7–4 record at the 2017 Tim Hortons Brier. Ménard stepped away from competitive curling in 2017, but returned in 2021 to win his second Canadian Mixed Championship, with teammates

Marie-France Larouche Marie-France Larouche (born June 5, 1980 in Lévis, Quebec) is a Canadian curler, who currently skips her own team out of the Club de curling Etchemin in Saint-Romuald, Quebec. In 2022 she won the World Mixed Curling Championship playing third f ...

, Ian Belleau and wife Annie Lemay. In 2022 he won the

for Canada, defeating host Scotland 7-4 in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Personal life

Ménard is married to eight-time (as of 2016) provincial women's curling champion Annie Lemay, and they have two children. He works as a human resources manager for the Government of Canada.

References

External links

Official website of Team Menard
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Menard, Jean-Michel 1976 births Brier champions Curlers from Quebec French Quebecers Living people People from Amos, Quebec Sportspeople from Gatineau Canadian male curlers World mixed curling champions Canadian mixed curling champions Continental Cup of Curling participants Canada Cup (curling) participants

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links