Video: Battle of the Blades - Is it just me or are they turning into rats? (The Witches)

Former figure skaters Jamie Sale, right, and Kurt Browning, centre, and former hockey star Tie Domi pose for a photograph in Toronto on Wednesday, September 16, 2009. The three former athletes are featured in a new CBC series Battle of the Blades.

Ask any Average Joe Canada what he knows about figure skating and he will be able to rattle off three things: Skaters do triple axels, there's something called a sow-cow (actually it's a Salchow) and figure skates have toe picks. But there's so much more.

Skating has always been my passion. It's athletic. It's art. It's cutthroat. It may be a sport that embraces glitter and spandex but – in my humble, unbiased opinion – we're the most hardcore bunch of fairies in sports today. (Perhaps this is a suitable moment for a Tonya Harding reference.)

Figure skating already has a wide fan base but there's hope that CBC TV's Battle of the Blades, which premieres Sunday at 8 p.m., will expand it even more. (Of course, the upcoming Vancouver Winter Olympics can only help our cause.)

Battle of the Blades is a So You Think You Can Dance-style reality show pairing retired NHL players with some of Canada's most talented female figure skaters. Eight teams made up of such champions as Jamie Salé, Shae-Lynn Bourne and Barbara Underhill will partner with hockey legends like Tie Domi, Claude Lemieux and Ron Duguay. Viewers can call, text or vote online for their favourite pair, who will win $100,000 for their chosen charity.

Now that you're going to be a judge – perhaps this is a suitable moment for a 2002 Olympic judging scandal reference – you're going to want to know a thing or two about what to look for. Click on the graphic link for some of the moves you can expect to see on the show: