Alberta skip Cheryl Bernard captured the Ford Hot Shots title before Saturday's opening draw in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts Canadian women's curling championship.

And she did it in style at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria, posting one of the highest four-round totals in Hot Shots history en route to pocketing the keys to a new Ford Flex.

Bernard beat Saskatchewan's Sherri Singler 23-19 in the final of the skills competition, which asks curlers to throw six skill-testing shots: hit and stay, draw the button, draw the port, raise, hit and roll and double takeout. Each shot is awarded points on a scale from 0-5, rating the success of each.

In advancing to the final Bernard posted single-round scores of 25, 25 and 26 for a four-round total of 99.

"And I'm normally horrible at things like this," said Bernard afterwards. "It's amazing, it's awesome, and it's way better this way, doing it as a team (third Susan O'Connor called the line, while second Carolyn Darbyshire and lead Cori Bartel handled sweeping duties). If anybody's vehicle breaks down, we have an extra one, and we'll use it to drive to all our team bonspiels. It will be great."

Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited, will provide the winner of the Ford Hot Shots at the Scotties with a two-year lease on a 2009 Ford Flex SEL FWD. The all-new Ford Flex was recently awarded the 2009 Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year by the Automotive Journalist Association of Canada (AJAC). A two-year lease on a 2009 Ford Flex SEL FWD has a value in excess of $20,000 and is full of class-leading technologies, including Ford Sync™, voice-activated navigation with reverse camera system, new premium sound from Sony and innovative, surprise-and-delight features like EasyFuel™ capless refueling and an exclusive refrigerated console.

Previous Ford Hot Shots winners at the Hearts are Saskatchewan's Kay Montgomery, Gerri Cooke of Manitoba, British Columbia's Sherry Fraser, New Brunswick's Allison Farrell (Franey), Alberta's Marcy Balderston, British Columbia's Kelley Law (twice) and Kristy Lewis, Prince Edward Island's Suzanne Birt (Gaudet), Ontario's Andrea Lawes and Jenn Hanna, Nova Scotia's Colleen Jones, Yukon/NWT's Kelli Turpin and last year's winner Jill Officer of Manitoba.

Singler was presented with a runner-up cheque for $2,000, while third-place finisher Nancy Belanger of Quebec received $1,000.

To mark the 15th anniversary of Ford's support of the Ford Hot Shots competition, Ford, in collaboration with the Canadian Curling Association, has launched an exciting and interactive on-line version of the Hot Shots skills competition to be enjoyed by all curling fans this season. Fans can go to FordHotShots.curling.ca and play like the pros for a chance to win like the pros a two-year lease on a 2009 Ford Flex, with a retail value in excess of $20,000.

The Ford Hot Shots On-line game has drawn an overwhelming response with more than 400,000 games played to date. When the contest closes on March 31, 2009, the top two players will be determined and will both receive an all expenses paid trip to the 2009 Ford World Men's Curling Championship in Moncton, N.B., where they will compete online in a one-game winner takes all playoff to be held Friday, April 10th to win their own two-year lease of a brand new 2009 Ford Flex.

All information, from player registration to playing the game, is available at FordHotShots.curling.ca.