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five questions with Kurt Browning

Kurt sharpens Blades

Source: 24 Hours Vancouver
Date: September 24, 2010
Author: Rosalyn Solomon
Figure skating icon Kurt Browning returns to the ice as co-host of the second season of Battle of the Blades, the competition that brought figure skating and hockey together returns to CBC Sunday. Browning, originally from Caroline, Alberta, now lives in Toronto with his wife, Sonia Rodriguez and their two sons.

1. Did you expect the response Battle of the Blades got in its first season?

Not to this extent, I just thought it was show that mom could watch, that dad could watch, the 17-year-old girl could watch, the 14-year-old boy could watch. Something the family could sit down and enjoy together and have something to talk about. Figure skating and hockey both share the ice but they're so different and I really thought that dynamic would bring families together - but I didn't expect those numbers.

2. What advice do you give the hockey players?

Lots - just kidding. As far as the skating goes, I tell them to be patient and I tell them to work on small things to often repeat, repeat, repeat. But the biggest advice is usually about the showmanship, these players are not only being asked to wear a different type of skate...Then we ask them to take someone's safety in their hands and then dance to music and it's the third one that's the hardest. So I try to pull from them the natural instincts that they have to be in front of people and put on a show.

3. What are you looking forward to the most this year?

I'm really looking forward to telling their stories. Some amazing things happen, some scary things too, but we didn't really dwell on them, we had enough on our plate. We didn't have the ability to have cameras around to capture the stories, so there'll be a lot more behind the scenes stuff, and I play a big part in that.

4. If it was female hockey players and male figure skaters, would you compete?

We'd have a lot of hernias - I couldn't lift a lot with her, I could dance with her, but I couldn't do anything dynamic. I did Skating With Celebrities and I'm just not wired for that type of activity - it's really hard.

5. If you could play for a hockey team, which team would you play for?

I'd play for the Edmonton Oilers when Wayne was there. I'm actually an honorary captain and I knew a lot of the players and practised with a lot of them a few times. So, if I could go back in time - have my hair back - and play for them, that would be great.