Virtue and Moir: Thanks, Canada

By Chris Brown on October 18, 2018.

cbrown@medicinehatnews.com @MHNBrown

Scott Moir likes the idea of a time in the future where the names Virtue and Moir are forgotten.

Prediction: Never gonna happen, Scott.

Let’s back up just a little bit. Moir, currently on the road with the Thank You Canada Figure Skating tour, was speaking about the legacy that he and his ice dance partner Tessa Virtue will leave when they take the blades off for the final time.

“If we’ve done our job then we’re going to have ice dance teams that people won’t even remember the names Virtue and Moir,” he said, “and coming up soon. We can’t wait to see those young talents come through.”

If the five Olympic medals, three world championships and eight national championships hadn’t already cemented their legacy in Canadian sports history, this tour surely will. Moir says if just one fan in Medicine Hat or any of the other 29 small- and mid-sized cities they’re visiting gets the chance to see this live then it’s all worth it. A great big thank you is just sticking the landing, so to speak.

“We’re pretty lucky to have the support and the opportunities that we have here in Canada. That’s what we’re celebrating across this tour,” Moir said.

The show, at the Canalta Centre on Saturday at 7 p.m. has been described in the Toronto Star as a rock concert, dance extravaganza and traditional skating show all rolled into one. The pair said that’s an apt description.

“We wanted to bring in as many different elements as possible, whether that’s on the production side with screens and lights or the music we choose or the way the choreography is woven in,” Virtue said.

The second half, she continues, is “sort of a preview into how we see entertainment and skating being presented in the future. I think it’s such a great jumping off point for us.”

A few dates into the tour, Virtue said the show seems to be resonating with audiences and the cast is loving it.

And what a cast it is.

“They are people that we’ve admired and been inspired by like Elvis Stojko,” said Virtue. “He brings such a fierce energy to the group both on and off the ice, he’s a very unique person that we completely adore.”

Stojko, of course, is a two-time Olympic medalist, three-time world champion, and seven-time national champion.

“And then there’s the group of skaters — Katelyn Osmond, Patrick Chan, Megan (Duhamel) and Eric (Radford), Kaitlyn (Weaver) and Andrew (Poje) — that we’ve grown up skating with for many, many years. That connectivity and that tight-knit feeling among the cast is showcased in the show. A lot of us celebrated in that team event winning the gold medal in Korea and I think we come from such a long legacy of Canadian skating and it’s special to be able to share this with this cast.”

It’s fair to say the number of medals and championships among that group is astonishing.

While their competitive careers may be behind them, shows like this one keep a bright future ahead for Virtue, Moir and future skaters.

Tickets for the Thank You Canada Tour are on sale now at Ticketmaster.ca, by phone at 1-855-985-5000 or in-person at the Canalta Centre Box Office.

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