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

Aylmer, Quebec Aylmer is a List of former municipalities in Quebec, former city in Quebec, Canada. It is located on the north shore of the Ottawa River and along Quebec Route 148, Route 148. In January 2002, it amalgamated into the city of Gatineau, which is ...

. Ménard is notable for being the first

Francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

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 aiding ...

from Quebec to win the Brier - Canada's national curling championship- which he did in 2006. In 2022 he won the World Mixed Curling Championship.

Career

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. He would return to the mixed in

2001 The year's most prominent event was 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. The United States led a Participan ...

, winning the tournament. Ménard found himself on the team of Guy Hemmings 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. In 2003, Ménard teamed up with

François Roberge François Roberge (born June 18, 1968 in Saint-Romuald, Quebec) is a Canadian curler from Breakeyville, Quebec. He currently coaches the Laurie St-Georges rink. He is a and a 2006 Tim Hortons Brier champion. Personal life Roberge is employ ...

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

and

Maxime Elmaleh Maxime Elmaleh (born May 5, 1969) is a Canadian curler. He is a and a 2006 Tim Hortons Brier champion. Teams Men's Mixed Personal life Maxime Elmaleh attended Cégep de Lévis-Lauzon. He works as accounting supervisor at CDPQ Inc. At t ...

. Roberge and Elmaleh had been teammates for 18 years before Ménard joined with them. The team won the Quebec championship that season, returning Ménard to the

2005 Tim Hortons Brier The 2005 Tim Hortons Brier, the Canadians, 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 ...

. There, 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 a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

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 nex ...

. 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 the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Glenn Howard Glenn William Howard (born July 17, 1962) is a retired 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 s ...

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

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, United States. Alongside Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, it is one of two traditional county seat, seats of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in ...

. 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 Champions ...

) in the final. In 2007, Ménard lost the provincial championship to Pierre Charette, ending his bid to repeat as defending Brier champions. Following the season, the team broke up with Roberge being replaced at third with Martin Crête and Elmaleh being replaced at lead by Jean Gagnon. In 2008, Ménard and his new team 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. 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 currently the National Men's Coach and Pr ...

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. 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 * François Amoudruz (1926–2020), French resistance fighter * François-Marie Arouet (better known as Voltaire; 1 ...

. 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 The 2012 Quebec Men's Provincial Curling Championship (also known as the Quebec Tankard) was held January 24–29, 2012 at the Club de Curling Kénogami in Jonquière, Quebec. The winning team of Robert Desjardins (curler), Robert Desjardins, repr ...

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 The 2013 Quebec Men's Provincial Curling Championship (also known as the Quebec Tankard) was held from January 21 to 27 at the Complexe Sportif Victoriaville in Victoriaville, Quebec. The winning team represented Quebec at the 2013 Tim Hortons Brie ...

. 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 t ...

, 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 The 2014 Tim Hortons Brier was held from March 1 to 9 at the Interior Savings Centre in Kamloops, British Columbia. Unlike previous years, the winner of the 2014 Brier automatically qualified for the 2015 Brier as Team Canada, similarly to the Sc ...

. 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 The 2015 Tim Hortons Brier was held from February 28 to March 8 at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. In the final, the team of Pat Simmons (curler), Pat Simmons, John Morris (curler), John Morris, Carter Rycroft and Nolan Thiessen ...

, going 6–5. He won another Quebec championship in 2016, and led Quebec to a 4–7 record at the

2016 Tim Hortons Brier The 2016 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 5–13, 2016 at TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario. It is the fourth time the Brier has been held in Ottawa, and the fifth time the Brier has been held i ...

. He won a final Quebec championship in 2017, and led his province to a 7–4 record at the

2017 Tim Hortons Brier The 2017 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 4–12, 2017 at the Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. This marked the second time the Bri ...

. Ménard stepped away from competitive curling in 2017, but returned in 2021 to win his second Canadian Mixed Championship, with teammates Marie-France Larouche, Ian Belleau and wife Annie Lemay. In 2022 he won the World Mixed Curling Championship for Canada, defeating host Scotland 7-4 in Aberdeen, Scotland. In 2024, it was announced that Ménard would be returning to competitive curling for the 2024–25 season as the third for Team

Félix Asselin Félix Asselin (born November 17, 1994) is a Canadian curler from Montreal. He currently throws fourth stones on his team which is skipped by Jean-Michel Ménard. Career Asselin skipped Quebec at four Canadian Junior Curling Championships du ...

Personal life

Ménard grew up in Amos, Quebec and was introduced to curling by his parents, Robert Ménard and Lucie Gagné. His siblings all curled as well, including teammate Philippe. He moved to

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also p ...

, Quebec in 2001. While living in the Gatineau suburb of Aylmer and playing in leagues across the river in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Ontario at the

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

and the Rideau Curling Club, he also represented the Victoria Curling Club in

Sainte-Foy, Quebec Sainte-Foy (; ) is a List of former municipalities in Quebec, former city in central Quebec, Canada alongside the Saint Lawrence River. It was 2000–06 municipal reorganization in Quebec, amalgamated into Quebec City at the start of 2002. Most ...

and later in his career, 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'Etchemi ...

. 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. At the time of the 2006 Brier, he was working as a human resources consultant for

Bowater Bowater Inc. was a paper and pulp business headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina. It merged with Abitibi-Consolidated in 2007, and the combined company went on to become Resolute Forest Products. History The North American assets of Bow ...

Produits Forestiers du Canada.

References

External links

Official website of Team Menard
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Menard, Jean-Michel 1976 births Brier champions Curlers from Quebec Living people Sportspeople 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