When news came out that CBC was bringing back Battle of the Blades, the Prince Albert Skating Club wanted to put their own twist on it.
Their efforts were on display last Thursday at the Art Hauser Centre as Star 3 level skater Luke Vedress teamed up with Prince Albert Pee Wee Beachcomber Foxes hockey player Ashley Vezeau for a routine that they had been working on for three weeks.
“I like it a lot,” Vezeau said. “It’s a lot of fun and it’s very different from hockey. The skates are a big difference, along with the edges.”
“Ashley’s been doing really well,” Vedress added. “She’s a really hard worker.”
The club was inspired to have a figure skater team up with a local minor hockey player due to the return of Battle of the Blades, which aired previously from 2009-2013 before CBC revived the series on Sept. 19.
The show features hockey players such as Colton Orr, Sheldon Kennedy and Amanda Kessel teaming up with figure skaters such as Eric Radford, Kaitlyn Weaver and Ekaterina Gordeeva.
“Once we got an e-mail from CBC saying that that show was coming back, we decided to do this,” coach Shelia Fazio said. “Ashley had done a few skating programs with us before she started playing hockey and Luke is our entertainer here at the club, so I thought they would be a good match.”
“Luke and Ashley didn’t know each other but they worked together really well to get on the same page. Ashley did an awesome job of learning the moves and she got comfortable right away.”
Registration is ongoing at the Prince Albert Skating Club for the new season, which gets underway on Monday, Oct. 7.
More information can be found by visiting princealbertskatingclub.ca
