Jean-Michel Ménard reflects on family, retirement ahead of return to Brier

Watching Jean-Michel Ménard practice alone at the Ottawa Curling Club, you might not guess he was a handful of days away from playing in Canada's most prestigious men's curling tournament  — certainly not after eight years away.

The Gatineau, Que., curler's last appearance at the Brier was in 2017, his 12th overall. He'd also won back in 2006, making history as the first Francophone skip from Quebec to take home the trophy.

Ménard had "retired" from competitive play in 2018, intending to return in the seniors category when he hit 50. 

"It was just the amount of time I needed to put [into it]," said Ménard, now 49. "That was family time I wasn't able to put [into] my daughters and my wife." 

However, he didn't stray more than a stone's throw away from the sport, playing twice a week in local leagues — not to mention the occasional bonspiel. 

It wasn't long before that turned into wins at the 2021 Canadian Mixed Championships and the 2022 World Mixed Championships in Scotland, both alongside his wife, Annie Lemay.

Now, Ménard is coming off winning Quebec's provincial championship in January, which qualified his team for this year's Brier in Kelowna, B.C.

"We've had a pretty good season, and we really, really played well during the provincial," said Ménard. "Now if we can bring that level of play to the Brier, we'll not be fun to play against."

Skipping, but throwing third stones

In a break from convention, Ménard's return to the tournament sees him skipping the Quebec team but throwing third rocks for Félix Asselin.

He credited curling legend Randy Ferbey for popularizing that arrangement in the early 2000s. Ménard also said it's simply practical.

"I practice a lot, but I would need to practice even more if I want to be more consistent and able to throw the final two rocks," said Ménard. "Félix is pretty young and he's almost on the ice every day, so he gets more reps. It's kind of natural."

We have full-time jobs, so we are real amateur curlers. But we can still hold our own when we play the best.- Quebec skip Jean-Michel Ménard 

Despite what he says, Ménard hasn't been slacking on practice. He's been nailing shots daily at his local club for close to two weeks, after some time recovering from provincials.

Absent were his teammates, however, as they're based out of Valleyfield, Laval and Quebec City.

"That's the reality of most competitive curling teams in Quebec," said Ménard. "Our [recruitment pool] is not very big, so we've got to form teams with people who are committed and are pretty much all around the province.

Now that his daughters are 10 and 15, Ménard says he feels more comfortable with the idea of leaving the province to compete far from home.

"They're very quiet [and] easy to deal with, so when I leave for an event, I don't feel as bad for mommy being stuck at home with the two kids," he joked. "I know everything will be fine. It's more peace of mind, so it's easier for me to just go play my games and focus on the games."

The Montana Brier kicks off tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET. Ménard and Team Asselin play their first game Saturday afternoon against Ontario's Sam Mooibroek rink.

"The top teams in the world and some of the top teams in Canada, they have either part time jobs or are full time curlers. We have full time jobs, so we are real amateur curlers," Ménard jokes.

"But we can still hold our own when we play the best."