Event Chair and Saugeen Shores Skating Club Coach, Janet Dawson; and Master of Ceremonies Dave Middleton (both left) stand with the Battle of the Blades competitors at Thursday night's dress rehearsal at the Plex.
Hub Staff
It promises to be a fun filled, action packed show at the Plex in Port Elgin tonight (Friday) as Saugeen Shores gets to witness hockey-meets-figure-skating in the Battle of the Blades.
Coined 'Not your average day at the rink', the Battle of the Blades event consists of teams - each with one figure skater and one hockey player, past or present - who have been choreographing and practicing their routines for several weeks now.
Thursday night was dress rehearsal and Event Chair and Saugeen Shores Skating Club Coach, Janet Dawson ran the teams through what they can expect at Friday's event.
“I'm super excited,” said Dawson. “Everybody is really positive and they're all having a good time.”
Entry to the event, hosted by the Saugeen Shores Skating Club, is by donation with half the proceeds going to the Liv-A-Little Foundation and a cure for Cystinosis, a rare metabolic disease that effects just 75 children and young adults in Canada.
Erin Little of Liv-A-Little said it has been fun watching husband Chad, also a Battle of the Blades contestant, come out and practice each week and to see all the buzz on Facebook and in the community. “Not only is it good for the skating club but it's really good for the awareness factor for Liv-A-Little and Cystinosis,” she said.
The event starts at 7 p.m. with a social hour beforehand beginning at 6 p.m. Teams will perform in different age categories: Under 13, 13 to 18, Adult and Family with the show starting off with an opening number by all the teams followed by the Chantry Singers singing O'Canada before the individual teams perform.
Honoured judges will be Saugeen Shores Mayor, Mike Smith; Bruce Power CEO, Kevin Kelly; Saugeen Shores Hall of Famer, Gord Lamont; Saugeen Shores Hall of Famer, Sue Buckton and Canadian National Novice Dance Champion, Danny Seymour. Master of Ceremonies will be Dave Middleton.
An after party for everyone in attendance will take place at 9 p.m. in the Rotary Hall following the closing ceremonies.
Battle of the Blades contestant Amanda Allen, who will perform with her partner Dave MacKay, said she was excited. “It's going to be fun. I hope lots of people come.” Allen added that she was also a little sad. “We're this close to being over. It seems like it's been so long coming and now all of a sudden it's here.”
For more information about tonight's event, visit Saugeen Shores Skating Club's Battle of the Blades page.
For more information about the Liv-A-Little Foundation visit livalittlefoundation.com.
Related: Battle of the Blades practice nights get underway
Practices paying off for Battle of the Blades competitors
Battle of the Blades team, Chad Little (L) and Melanie Marshall give each other a high five after completing their routine at Thursday night's dress rehearsal.
Amanda Allen (L) and Dave MacKay perform their routine at the Battle of the Blades dress rehearsal. Just two of a variety of unique outfits and routines to be seen in the show.
(L-R) Erin, Harper and Olivia Little of the Liv-A-Little Foundation were watching the teams perform their routines for Friday night's Battle of the Blades event.
