Battle of the Blades
Format	Interactive reality game show
Presented by	Ron MacLean Kurt Browning
Country of origin	Canada
Production
Running time	Varies
Broadcast
Original channel	CBC Television
Picture format	(480p) (SDTV) (1080i) (HDTV)
Original airing	October 4, 2009
External links
Official website

Battle of the Blades is a Canadian figure skating reality show and competition that airs on CBC Television. It is broadcast with a live audience at the historic Maple Leaf Gardens.

Premiering 4 October 2009, the series resembles the international reality show Dancing with the Stars. A number of former NHL players are paired with prominent female figure skaters and perform routines. The show was hosted by Hockey Night in Canada's Ron MacLean and four-time World Figure Skating Champion Kurt Browning.

The first competition was judged by two regular judges, Sandra Bezic and Dick Button, plus a guest judge for the week such as Kelly Hrudey, Don Cherry and George Stroumboulopoulos. The winners were Jamie Salé and Craig Simpson, who won $100,000 which was donated to spinal cord research.

The French-language CBC's counterpart, Télévision de Radio-Canada, is planning to air a Quebec version in 2010, but it is not yet decided if it will be an adaptation or a French-dubbed version.^[1] The show's executive producer thinks that it may also interest other countries like Russia.^[2]

Contents 1 Figure Skaters 2 NHL Players 3 Weeks 3.1 Elimination chart 3.2 Score chart 4 Weekly ratings 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Figure Skaters

On Wednesday, August 12, 2009, CBC announced the eight female competitors.

Skater	Former Competitive Partner	Notes
Shae-Lynn Bourne	Victor Kraatz	2003 World Champion and 10-time Canadian Champion
Isabelle Brasseur	Lloyd Eisler	1993 World Champion and two-time Olympic medalist
Marie-France Dubreuil	Patrice Lauzon	World Silver medalist, 2006 and 2007
Jodeyne Higgins	Sean Rice	Two-time Canadian bronze medalist
Kristina Lenko	Danny Moir	International dance competitor and professional skater
Jamie Salé	David Pelletier	World and Olympic Champion
Christine Hough-Sweeney	Doug Ladret	Canadian Champion and two-time Olympic competitor
Barbara Underhill	Paul Martini	World Champion and 5-time Canadian Champion

[edit] NHL Players

On Tuesday, June 23, 2009, CBC announced the show along with the first six male competitors. On August 13, 2009, CBC announced the remaining cast members. ^[3]

Player	Former Teams	Notes	Partnered with
Ken Daneyko	New Jersey Devils	Winner of three Stanley Cups and the Bill Masterton Trophy. Currently provides commentary and analysis for Devils' games and co-hosts "Ice Breakers" Radio Show on Sirius XM Radio.	Jodeyne Higgins
Glenn Anderson	Edmonton Oilers Toronto Maple Leafs New York Rangers St. Louis Blues	Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Winner of 6 Stanley Cups. Ranked fourth all-time in playoff points.	Isabelle Brasseur
Stéphane Richer	New Jersey Devils Montreal Canadiens Tampa Bay Lightning St. Louis Blues Pittsburgh Penguins	One of the all-time leading playoff overtime scorers and the last Montreal Canadien to score 50 goals in a season.	Marie-France Dubreuil
Bob Probert	Detroit Red Wings Chicago Blackhawks	One of the most prominent fighters in the history of the NHL with 285 fights throughout 16 seasons.	Kristina Lenko
Ron Duguay	New York Rangers Detroit Red Wings Pittsburgh Penguins Los Angeles Kings	Played in 864 career NHL games recording 620 points. Currently provides in-studio analysis for Rangers' games and co-hosts "Ice Breakers" Radio Show on Sirius XM Radio.	Barb Underhill
Tie Domi	Toronto Maple Leafs New York Rangers Winnipeg Jets	Has the third most penalty minutes in the history of the NHL as well as the franchise record for the Toronto Maple Leafs.	Christine Hough-Sweeney
Craig Simpson	Edmonton Oilers Pittsburgh Penguins Buffalo Sabres	Currently an analyst on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada.	Jamie Salé
Claude Lemieux	Montreal Canadiens New Jersey Devils Colorado Avalanche New Jersey Devils Phoenix Coyotes Dallas Stars San Jose Sharks	One of only eight players in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup with three different teams, and his 80 career playoff goals are the ninth-most in NHL history.	Shae-Lynn Bourne

[edit] Weeks

Week	Theme	Guest Judge	Eliminated couple	Bottom 2
1	Classic Rock	Kelly Hrudey	Kristina Lenko and Bob Probert	Marie-France Dubreuil and Stéphane Richer
2	Frank Sinatra	Don Cherry	Isabelle Brasseur and Glenn Anderson	Marie-France Dubreuil and Stéphane Richer
3	Latin	George Stroumboulopoulos	Barb Underhill and Ron Duguay	Christine Hough-Sweeney and Tie Domi
4	R&B	Lanny McDonald	Jodeyne Higgins and Ken Daneyko	Christine Hough-Sweeney and Tie Domi
5	Hollywood	Bret Hedican and Kristi Yamaguchi	Christine Hough-Sweeney and Tie Domi	Marie-France Dubreuil and Stéphane Richer
6	Canadian Hits and the couple's best performance	Katarina Witt	No couple eliminated this week due to Marie-France Dubreuil being unable to compete	Jamie Salé and Craig Simpson & Marie-France Dubreuil and Stéphane Richer
7	Freestyle (couple's choice)	Doug Gilmour	Shae-Lynn Bourne and Claude Lemieux & Marie-France Dubreuil and Stéphane Richer	Shae-Lynn Bourne and Claude Lemieux & Marie-France Dubreuil and Stéphane Richer

[edit] Elimination chart

Week:	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Contestants	Result
Salé / Simpson						Btm 2	WINNERS
Bourne / Lemieux							Second
Dubreuil / Richer	Btm 2	Btm 2			Btm 2	Btm 2	Third
Hough-Sweeney / Domi			Btm 2	Btm 2	Elim
Higgins / Daneyko				Elim
Underhill / Duguay			Elim
Brasseur / Anderson		Elim
Lenko / Probert	Elim

[edit] Score chart

Week:	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Contestants	Score
Salé / Simpson	16.8	17.3
Bourne / Lemieux	17.0	17.4
Dubreuil / Richer	16.2	17.0
Hough-Sweeney / Domi	17.0	17.0
Higgins / Daneyko	16.5	16.6
Underhill / Duguay	17.3	16.8
Brasseur / Anderson	16.9	16.3
Lenko / Probert	16.0

Red numbers indicate the lowest score for each week.

Green numbers indicate the highest score for each week.

     indicates the couple eliminated that week.

[edit] Weekly ratings

Episode/ Week	Episode	Viewers (m)	Rank
1	Classic Rock	1.95	#16[4]
2	Frank Sinatra	1.56	#19
3	Latin	1.57	#21
4	R&B	1.55	#18
5	Movies	TBA	TBA
6	Canada	TBA	TBA

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Battle of the Blades at IMDb
• Battle of the Blades Oct 09 interviews with the cast.