Canada is keen to make a good impression at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. The country has a rich heritage of on-ice manliness - ice hockey (”I went to a fight and an ice hockey game broke out”). Now the move is on to make men’s figure skating more….masculine. (See video here.)

Suggested changes include an end to frilly shirts and sequins, tights and mascara. (Sorry - in mixed pairs skating the women can keep all those.) It’s unclear what changes are being considered. Red plaid flannel? Doc Martin skates?

Any changes would be welcome compared to the extreme styles seen in parody film “Blades of Glory”.