It’s official: Battle of the Blades is back for a sixth season. The show returns with a vengeance as eight teams will be competing for the title. For the first time in BOTB history, there will be three female hockey players and three male figure skaters.
In 2009, CBC aired the first season of Battle of the Blades. The original hosts were Kurt Browning, World Figure Skating Champion, and Ron MacLean, a celebrated sports broadcaster. The overtly Canadian game show pairs high-performing hockey players with first-class figure skaters. The opposing skater teams compete with figure skating routines for a shot to win $100,000 for a charity of the squad’s choice. Ron will be returning as a host this season, but his previous co-host, Kurt, will be an Elite Battle Expert this year. Kurt will be responsible for guiding weekly classes and challenges designed to test the hockey player’s developing skills. The judges this year will be World Ice Dance Champion Scott Moir, previous contestant of BOTB and Olympic Ice Hockey Champion Natalie Spooner, and Elladj Baldé, Canadian Junior Figure Skating Champion. You can learn more about the eight teams competing in the sixth season of Battle of the Blades below.
Former NHL player Kris Versteeg won two Stanley Cups during his time with the Chicago Blackhawks. During Kris’ hockey career, he also skated with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Calgary Flames. The Blackhawks alum is originally from Lethbridge, Alberta. Versteeg’s partner for the season, Carlotta Edwards, is a professional ice skater from the Haida Gwaii region in British Columbia (via CBC). Carlotta has never won any medals in competition, but she has skated professionally for over ten years (Carlotta Edwards). She is best known for her performances with Disney on Ice. Edwards is also well known for her relationship with fellow Dancing on Ice skater, Alexander Demetriou (via Daily Mail). Kris decided to donate to Opokaa’sin Early Intervention Society if he wins, while Carlotta is competing on behalf of Big Brothers Big Sisters.
One of the female hockey players competing this season is Jennifer Botterill. She medaled in four Olympic women’s ice hockey events, earning gold on three occasions and silver on one occasion. Jennifer is also known for her intellect, as she attended Harvard University. While studying, she became a national champion with the Harvard Women’s Hockey team. The Olympic medalist is originally from Ottawa, Ontario, and will be competing with Eric Radford from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Eric is a two-time World champion in the pairs figure skating category, and one of the most celebrated, openly gay athletes in the world. He brought home the gold and bronze with partner Meagan Duhamel, another contestant on this season of Battle of the Blades. Jennifer and Eric have chosen to compete on behalf of The Canadian Cancer Society.
Asher Hill is one of the male figure skaters competing this season. You may recognize the Scarborough, Ontario-born ice skater and choreographer from That Figure Skating Show, which he co-hosts with fellow figure skater Dylan Moscovitch. Asher was the Canadian national junior champion in 2008. Today, he is an ice performer and choreographer. Hill’s partner is Canadian ice hockey player Jessica Campbell. She is from Moosomin, Saskatchewan, and is a former player of the Calgary Inferno team. Asher’s charity of choice is FreedomSchool - Toronto and Jessica’s is Do It For Daron.
Battle of the Blades welcomes back the season five winner, Kaitlyn Weaver, for another chance at victory (via Hello Magazine).The figure skater is originally from Houston, Texas. She has competed in ice dancing at the Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018 Olympics, in addition to being a three-time World ice dance medalist and a three-time Canadian ice dance champion (via Olympics). Kaitlyn’s Olympic partner, Andrew Poje, is also participating in the sixth season of BOTB. For this competition, Kaitlyn has a new partner: Bryan Bickell from Bowmanville, Ontario. The Canadian born hockey player was part of the Chicago Blackhawks hockey team for the majority of his career. In fact, fellow competitor, Kris Versteeg, was a former NHL team member. Bryan has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but it hasn’t kept him from his passion for skating. Kaitlyn and Bryan are competing for The Bickell Foundation in support of the MS Society of Canada.
Sudbury, Ontario born Meagan Duhamel celebrates a successful skating career with Eric Radford, a fellow BOTB contestant. In Meagan’s personal life, she is married to her pairs skating coach, Bruno Marcotte. Interestingly, Duhamel has never had issues balancing her relationship with Bruno and her competitive skating. After she quit competitive skating, Meagan and Eric toured with Stars on Ice Canada (via Stars on Ice). Her partner on Battle of the Blades will be Wojtek Wolski, a Polish-born Canadian and Olympic bronze medalist in ice hockey. In addition, Wojtek was an NHL player on the Colorado Avalanche team. Meagan is competing on behalf of the Sandra Schmirler Foundation and Wojtek’s charity of choice is The Hospital for Sick Children, Patient Amenities Fund.
Another female hockey player this year is Meghan Agosta. Meghan is from Windsor, Ontario, and has competed with the Canadian ice hockey team at the Olympics four times. She brought home the gold on three occasions and a silver medal on one occasion. Agosta’s partner will be Kitchener-Waterloo native, Andrew Poje, a successful pairs skater and the previous partner of fellow competitor Kaitlyn Weaver. Poje was a contestant in the last Battle of the Blades season with Natalie Spooner, a judge from this season’s panel. Meghan and Andrew are competing on behalf of the BC Children’s Hospital.
Vanessa James from Toronto, Ontario is a six-time French pairs champion. Throughout Vanessa’s skating career, she has represented various countries, including the United Kingdom and France. While living abroad, she became the champion of the 2018 Grand Prix Final and the 2019 European Champion. At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, James and her partner, Yannick Bonheur, were the first black figure skating pair to compete at an Olympic event (via NBC Olympics). On Battle of the Blades, Vanessa’s partner will be Akim Aliu, a Nigerian-born Canadian and former NHL player of the Calgary Flames. Their charity of choice is The Time to Dream Foundation.
No stranger to the Battle of the Blades competition, Violetta has competed in every season so far (via CBC). Violetta is originally from Russia, but became a Canadian resident at the age of five. By eleven, she was a national figure skating competitor. Afanasieva is familiar with performing arts, as her mother was also a figure skater and her father was a circus artist. Her amateur career quickly ended when she joined the Moscow Circus on Ice with her family. To date, she has been professionally skating for 25 years. Violetta will be partnering with Anthony Stewart this season. The former Florida Panthers NHL player is originally from LaSalle, Quebec. He played hockey professionally for a number of years, but stopped playing in 2012. Violetta and Anthony are competing for Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities.
Source: Hello Magazine, CBC, Daily Mail, Carlotta Edwards, Stars on Ice, Jennifer Botterill, Olympics, NBC Olympics, CBC
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