Olympic and World Champion Figure Skater Gordeeva competing on behalf of
Cardiac Kids in Season 2 of Battle of the Blades

Tune into CBC each Sunday night and vote vote vote!

TORONTO, Oct. 7 /CNW/ - Cardiac Kids is encouraging everyone to tune into Battle of the Blades on CBC each Sunday night at 8 p.m. as two-time Olympic Gold medalist and four-time World Champion Figure Skater Ekaterina "Katia" Gordeeva competes on behalf of Cardiac Kids. Her charity of choice is a personal commitment to raise awareness for a disease that took her husband's life 15 years ago.

On November 20, 1995, Katia's husband and skating partner Sergei Grinkov collapsed on the ice and died of a massive heart attack. Doctors later discovered that Grinkov had a congenital heart condition which caused his death. Fifteen years later Katia is skating to make a difference in the lives of thousands of Canadian children suffering from the same disease that took her husbands life.

Katia's chosen charity, Cardiac Kids, is a volunteer group established in 2000 to raise much-needed funds for children who are suffering from congenital heart disease. All money raised directly benefits the children and staff of the cardiology ward at SickKids

"The best part about having celebrities like Katia support Cardiac Kids is that it drives public awareness about congenital heart disease and the needs of these children and how important it is to invest in their future," said Kathleen Einarson, Nurse Practitioner, The Labatt Family Heart Centre, The Hospital for Sick Children. "These children will be tomorrow's adults and leaders."

Cardiac Kids has two main areas of focus: To support activities that improve the emotional, mental and physical well-being of children with heart disease and to support patient care by sponsoring educational and professional development for paediatric cardiology nurses.

Cardiac Kids provides emotional support to patients and families living with congenital heart disease. The opportunity to meet each other outside the hospital setting is so valuable, especially for those who are early in their journey. Meeting families with older children who have had similar experiences with cardiac surgery and hospitalization in a fun and social setting provides hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel. This is so important in building resilience and supporting emotional health and well being that contributes to improved quality of life.

Viewers can get involved and support Cardiac Kids simply by voting each week for Katia and her skating partner Valeri Bure.

Tune-in to CBC on Sundays at 8:00 pm local time and vote for Katia and her partner Valeri by phone [phone]), online (www.cbc.ca/battle) or by texting 54 to 777111. The two pairs with the fewest votes return for the Monday night live results show where the judges determine which pair goes home and which advances to the next round. After the final episode, the winning pair will receive a $100,000 cheque equally split between the pair's charities of choice.

/NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited members of the media/

For further information: Meghan Hurley, 416-850-9055 and [email protected]