Chuck Bastie interviews skater Violetta Afanasieva as well as her reasons for choosing the Humane Society of Kawartha Lakes as her charity of choice! Chuck also chats with Henny Venus, the Executive Director of the Humane Society of Kawartha Lakes about the wonderful partnership they have with Violetta!At the age of five Russian born, Canadian resident Violetta Afanasieva was already figure skating. By the age of eleven she was competing nationally. A year later she retired from amateur figure skating to join the Moscow Circus on Ice with her family. At 14, Afanasieva debuted her hula-hoops act in Russia. She began skating with Holiday on Ice, where she met her future pairs partner and future husband, Pete Dack — a Canadian ice skater. The two have gone on to win the first-ever World Extreme Figure Skating Championship in 2006, and have toured in Canada, Europe, South Africa and South America. A fan favourite for Seasons 2 through 4 of Battle of the Blades, Afanasieva was the first runner up in Season 4 alongside partner Jason Strudwick. She has skated professionally on ice for 25 years and now coaches at the Thornhill Figure Skating Club. This season, Afanasieva rejoins her Season 2 partner, P.J. Stock. She is skating for the Humane Society of Kawartha Lakes — a charity that provides protection and provision for the humane care and treatment of all animals. For more information about about Violetta's charity of choice, go to https://hskl.ca/For more information about CBC's Battle Of The Blades and Violetta's profile, go to https://www.cbc.ca/television/battleoftheblades/skaters/violetta-afanasieva-1.5274494To reach Chuck, email him at chuckbastie@gmail.com, or phone the Listen UP Talk Radio contact line at 1-866-269-6155!@cbcbattle, #botb, #battleisback, #cbctv, #skating, #battleoftheblades, #violetta Afanasieva, #sports