Hub Staff

Preparations for the Battle of the Blades have begun as teams gathered at The Plex on Monday evening to meet and learn a little about each other and to start their practice sessions. It all leads to an event at the Port Elgin arena on April 1.

Public Relations Director of the Saugeen Shores Battle of the Blades and Saugeen Shores Skating Club, Ken Rhyno said the initial idea came from CBC's Battle of the Blades, a television show that brought two different styles of skaters together - hockey players and figure skaters - to perform figure skating routines.

Entry to the fundraising event, hosted by the Saugeen Shores Skating Club, will be by donation with 50 percent of the proceeds going to the Liv-A-little Foundation to help find a cure for Cystinosis.

“It's been talked around the club for a couple of years about wanting to do one and we just found we had the opportunity this year to put one together and hopefully it will be an ongoing thing that we do each year,” said Rhyno.

He explained that each routine will be set music, approximately two minutes in length, and choreographed either by the skaters themselves or by one of the skating club's coaches. “At the Battle of the Blades it's going to be judged and then there'll be winners chosen that night,” he said.

The teams are practicing twice per week on Monday and Thursday evening, between now and the April 1 event.

Event Chair and Saugeen Shores Skating Club Coach, Janet Dawson who was putting participants, hockey players in particular, through some basic moves, said she had hoped they would have 12 teams sign up but ended up with 15 registered and had to turn some away who were wanting to sign up after the February 5 deadline.

See also: Battle of the Blades casting call

“This is the very first time we've hosted this event here in Saugeen Shores and it's really taken off,” she said. “We've had a really great response from it. I think it will be fun, the intent is good and it will be a good time.”

Teams will perform in different age categories: Under 12, 13 to 18, Adult as well as a Family category with competing participants ranging in age from 7 year old Sawyer Inkster to 59 year old Stanley Kollontay, who will be skating with his daughter Quinn, a coach with the skating club.

The event will see a variety of skaters with several Saugeen Shores Skating Club members taking part and also several Saugeen Shores Winterhawks players, both past and present, including Chad Little of the Liv-A-Little Foundation who played for the Winterhawks for four years.

Little said he was excited to be competing and about the skating club partnering with the Liv-A-Little Foundation. “It's going to be a great time. We're going to have lots of fun.”

The event also sees other skaters such as Saugeen Shores Councillor, John Rich and ex-Toronto Maple Leaf and Bruce Power firefighter, Nathan Perrott competing in the event.

President of the Saugeen Shores Skating Club, Steve Clarke, who is also competing, said he was really looking forward to the event. “Janet [Dawson] and the committee have done a great job throwing this together.”

So mark your calendars for April 1 at 7 p.m. As well an After Party, hosted by Lakeshore Recreation, is planned after the event, at 9 p.m. in the Rotary Hall.