Practices heating up for Battle of the Blades competition

Husband and wife duo Lee-Erin and Darryl Henderson will skate to Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” at the Battle of the Blades fundraiser April 20 at the Plex.

Hub Staff

The second Battle of the Blades fundraiser is just over a month away, April 20, and 18 teams continue to hit the ice, working their choreography, their lifts, and their toe picks to beloved songs.

Lee-Erin Henderson is just one of the skaters involved in the show. She has been skating for 30 years and has never before skated with a partner but found one in her husband, former Saugeen Shores Winterhawk Darryl Henderson. “It’s good because I can put him where I need to put him and not have to worry about it being a stranger, the comfort’s there,” said Lee-Erin at the March 12 practice at the Plex.

The duo will be skating to Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect”. The song was chosen by Coach Janet Dawson and was quickly approved by Henderson. “If we were getting married all over again it might be our wedding song,” she said. Dawson is also choreographer of the routine and has a few things planned for their performance. “Janet has this pair lift that she has in store for us, so that’s going to take a lot of practice and getting used to balancing,” Henderson added.

Darryl said the pair continues to practise at home and admits it’s hard. “To be on skates and have the nerve to do it, it’s going to be tough for sure,” he said.

The couple will have two very special family members cheering them on, their two sons aged 5 and 3. “They’re pumped that ‘mommy and daddy’ are skating,” said Lee-Erin.

Darryl said that whenever the kids hear “Perfect” on the radio they get excited and say, “That’s your song.”

Dawson said there will be a good mix of music at Battle of the Blades and something that everyone will love. The Blades teams are getting in as much practice time as they can with teams on the ice Monday and Thursday evenings with some teams also training early in the morning. “This is pretty competitive, that’s what I’ve found,” said Dawson. “Some of the teams are watching the other teams and seeing what they're doing and then they’ll up it. ‘We’ve got to try this now’ or ‘we’ve got to make this harder,’ some good healthy competition going on,” said the skating coach.

The event will see each team compete in one of four divisions: Under 12, 13-18, Family and Adult; and will get underway at 7 p.m., however Dawson wanted to remind everyone that the inaugural Battle of the Blades in 2016 saw capacity crowds and the doors at the Plex had to be locked so advised those wishing to attend to come early and attend a social hour in the Rotary Hall. Doors will open at 6 p.m.

Half of the proceeds for the 2018 Battle of the Blades event is going in support of the Caitlyn Cobean Community Crusaders (CCCC) who are joining the Saugeen Shores Skating Club in organizing the event. Crusader and brother of the late Caitlyn Cobean, Dylan Cobean, will be hitting the ice in the Adult division.

Entry is by donation and everyone is welcome to stay after the skating event for some refreshments and food provided by the Little Black Dog Catering.

Skater Ethan Primeau lifts partner Kara McGuire at the Battle of the Blades practice March 12.