âWe did the right thing by doing this tourâ: Canadian skaters thanking fans in nationwide tour [x]
CTV Regina: First off, can you just take me through why you guys decided to start this tour and go across Canada?
Scott Moir: How much time do you have? I think for Tessa and I, obviously everyone, or a lot of people, tuned in for the Pyeongchang Olympics and it was great Canadian story. We were able to, with our teammates, win the Olympic team medal and we feel like skating in Canada is kind of at a peak right now and itâs a very exciting time. We felt like it was necessary to thank the fans, thank everyone who supported us throughout all of our amateur careers, most of which have gone on for at least 20 years plus. So, how do you say thank you for that much support? Our idea was to kind of go into all the corners of the country and put on a show for them. So, we hope that they enjoy it.
CTV: So, youâve been going for about a week. Howâs it been going so far? Whatâs been the reception from the fans?
Tessa Virtue: Itâs been great. Getting on the ice and looking out and seeing all of those people who have supported us the last two decades is really special. I feel more engaged. I mean, itâs nice when you step out of that competitive realm and the focus is about entertaining the crowd. Itâs a different hat to put on for us and itâs really cool to not worry so much about the technique, to just really connect with those people that are there, in that building, for us and to be in more intimate venues, which is even better, because we can share it with our cast mates and extend that to the people.
CTV: Whatâs been a highlight of the tour so far?
Moir: Oh my gosh. Thereâs been a lot, considering weâve only done three shows. For me, the highlight was opening night when we had a moment. And this show is called the âThank You Canada Tour,â so there are obviously some Canadian elements in it. But, nothing makes you feel more Canadian than Canadians, and being able to sit there and sing the national anthem at the opening of the show and have the whole arena join in, that was pretty special. It felt like, I donât know, it felt like maybe we did the right thing by doing this tour. But, itâs a moment I look forward to now every night.
CTV: You guys have a book that just came out recently; itâs the second edition of the book. What has it meant for you to have another way to share your story with your fans? Whatâs been the response to that and what has it meant to you guys?
Virtue: I think we still consider ourselves quite private and, the first edition of the book, neither of us had social media, we kept a lot sort of close to us and in our vicinity. It was a way for us to share our story with our fans and this was really no different. The last eight years have held a lot of emotions and a lot of ups and downs, especially with the comeback to Pyeongchang. I think we sort of wanted to break down those walls. So, what people might see on the outside, we wanted to give them some insight into the behind-the-scenes. It was special to go back with Steve Milton, the author, and talk about those last eight years and hearing what Scott remembered and his takeaways and how similar they were to mine. I think it was cathartic, in a way, for us to process the last eight years.
CTV: You were in Regina this time last year for the Skate Canada International. What does it mean to be coming back with even more success under your belt now?
Moir: Well, it was funny because I was just reflecting back on last fall and being in Regina. Itâs a very different energy than being in a competition. I think weâre probably going to be a little more easy-going when we roll into town this year. I mean, weâre obviously still excited about the show. But, itâll just be about connecting with Saskatchewan. Weâre really excited to be stopping in Regina. Weâve done some shows there in the past, but we guarantee that this show is going to be different. Weâre excited to share that with the great people of Saskatchewan.
CTV: What can people expect if theyâre going to come out to the show next Friday?
Moir: Well, hopefully theyâre ready to have a good time. Thereâs some audience participation, thereâs some dancing. We just want people to have fun. When we go to a show, we always try to go to escape, to get away from everyday life. We want that to be a spot where people can do that and come out and enjoy themselves with us. It would mean so much to Tessa and I if people could do that.
Virtue: We think about that pride that people feel at the Olympics. So, to reignite that feeling is really special to us.
tessavirtue17: Pull in tight, close your eyes, and hope to land on your feet. Thatâs proper jump technique, right? đ
Weâll axel with you any day, Yuzu. Thanks for a great tour!
#FantasyOnIce #VirtueMoir
Having guided Yuna Kim and Yuzuru Hanyu to Olympic titles, Brian Orser will now try to do the same with Russia's Evgenia Medvedeva.
Brian Orser knows the period after the Olympics brings changes in coach-skater relationships, so he anticipated getting inquires from some athletes who might be interested in working with him.
But he never expected the April 2 text message from 2018 Olympic silver medalist and two-time world champion Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia.
âI was totally stunned,â Orser said.
Orser immediately called Tracy Wilson, one of his co-coaches at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club, and said, âYouâre not going to believe this.â
Medvedevaâs original message indicated only that she would like a private meeting with Orser later in April in South Korea, where she was skating in a show, âLG ThinQ Ice Fantasia,â that Orser had helped organize and would attend.
âI kind of figured what it was about,â Orser said by telephone Monday, after Medvedevaâs statement via the Figure Skating Federation of Russia announced she was leaving coach Eteri Tutberidzeâs training group in Moscow to begin working with Orser in Toronto.
Since guiding South Koreaâs Yuna Kim to world (2009) and Olympic (2010) titles, Orser has become the sportâs highest-profile and most successful coach. In the past five seasons, he has taken Japanâs Yuzuru Hanyu to two Olympic and two world titles and Spainâs Javier FernĂĄndez to two world titles and an Olympic bronze medal.
Orser met with Medvedeva, 18, and her mother, Zhanna Devyatova, on Sunday, April 22, at the Mayfield Hotel in Seoul. When the meeting ended, Orser realized what at first seemed unbelievable would soon become reality.
âShe told me, âI want to make a change,ââ Orser said. âShe didnât really give me any reasons why.
âI really had a lot of respect for her instantly because she told me, âI donât want to say anything bad about my current coaching situation.ââ
Medvedeva had been with Tutberidze for 11 years. Their relationship frayed during the 2018 Olympic season, when a stress fracture in the skaterâs foot and the ascendancy of another Tutberidze student, 15-year-old phenom Alina Zagitova, combined to deprive Medvedeva of the Olympic title she had seemed a lock to win.
Speculation that Medvedeva would leave Tutberidze had bubbled across the internet since Zagitova beat her for the Olympic gold by 1.31 points. Russian media began reporting it as news Friday.
Tutberidze told a Russian TV network Sunday that her messages to Medvedeva had gone unanswered for several weeks and that she learned the skater was leaving from a news report. The coach also recounted a conversation at the 2018 Olympics with a plaintive Medvedeva asking why Zagitova couldnât have been kept out of those Winter Games.
âThere was this really childish phrase: âCouldnât you have kept Alina in the juniors for one more year?ââ Tutberidze recalled Medvedeva asking, according to the Associated Press. âI saidâŠwe have to give everyone the same chance.â
In the translation of her Monday statement on the Russian federation website, Medvedeva thanked Tutberidze and her coaching team for âlong, fruitful, sometimes very difficult work. These people gave me a life in figure skating and led to such high results that I can rightly be proud of. ⊠I hope that the time will pass, and everyone will understand that this was the only possible option for both of us, to continue to work honestly.â
Medvedeva said she would continue to represent both Russia and the Sambo-70 skating club. Orser said he expected Medvedeva (and her mother) in Toronto at the end of June.
Following a post-Olympic examination, Medvedeva did not defend her world title in March on doctorsâ advice. Orser said he expects her to need more rehab for both the foot injury and a back problem but their intention is to have her ready for a Challenger Series event in early autumn and then the Grand Prix Series.
Orser said he had let Hanyu know that Medvedeva might be coming to Toronto. The coach thought it was possible Medvedeva asked Hanyu and FernĂĄndez about their experiences with him before making her decision. Hanyu has told Orser he intends to keep competing.
In his Seoul meeting with Medvedeva and her mother, Orser said he concentrated on moving forward rather than dwelling on the situation the skater had been in. The two of them have exchanged several text messages a day since then.
âThe main thing is she needs to have a voice in her own skating,â Orser said. âWe have been discussing music, what direction we want to go â she has never had that luxury before. She told me it was, âThis is what youâre skating to. This is the order of your spins, these are your spin positions.ââ
Medvedeva impressed upon Orser that she remains passionate about skating. She told him her goal is to win the Olympics.
âI said, 'Letâs keep that in mind, but it doesnât mean you have to win every world championship on the way.â I think it is an important message for everyone to know that is what her goal is, and that is what we are going to aim for.â
Orser, the 1984 and 1988 Olympic silver medalist, said until the meeting in Korea he had exchanged no more than passing âhellosâ and head nods with Medvedeva.
âWhat I have seen in her is that she is a fierce competitor, very reliable and, like Yuna, very headstrong,â Orser said.
Medvedeva had been unbeaten from November 2015 until losing to Zagitova at the 2018 European Championships, the formerâs first competition after missing several weeks of training because of the broken foot.
âI told her the first thing she needs to do is to get onto a program where she gets her body healthy,â Orser said. âSo if she gets here and sheâs not on ice for a couple weeks, thatâs fine.ââ
Orser said Medvedeva would work with him, Wilson and choreographer David Wilson, who has done Olympic gold-medal programs for Kim and Hanyu and world title-winning programs for FernĂĄndez.
âShe is going to reinvent herself,â Orser said of Medvedeva. âEven though she has some amazing titles, I feel they are the tip of the iceberg, that there is so much more she can do.â
Will one of them be fixing the âflutzâ â the wrong edge takeoff on Medvedevaâs triple lutz â that has been a subject of controversy, since judges rarely call her on it?
âIâm going to do my best,â Orser said, with a laugh. âI have been looking at it already. Iâm not going try to disguise it or put it in a corner.
âThatâs not going to be an easy one, but I think sheâs open to this. Sheâs open to the change.â
âItâs not going to be easy,â Orser said. âThese other coaches (in Tutberidzeâs group) know her way better than I do. Weâre just going to have a lot of communication.â
That the Cricket Club is private will make the arrangement easier, as it did for Kim and Hanyu, who could be shielded from public scrutiny as well as the demands of the South Korean and Japanese media, respectively. Medvedevaâs move is a huge sports story in Russia.
âIf we have our bad days, we have our bad days,â Orser said. âI think itâs great she is moving halfway around the world to do this.â
Do you figure skate? No, we are gymnasts from Florida that like you guys! Great experience for my girls. Hard work pays off!! Tessa and Scott were so sweet!! Glad we did the meet and greet. Great show!!!
I love everything about this. Tessa actually having the guts to execute the joke and get down on one knee. Scott reaching for her only to realize what sheâs doing, and then laughing his head off while grabbing her hand. Tessa basically doing a mini-bow afterwards. Itâs all so precious I could die. (x)
âI would say that⊠I would push most young people to be interesting and not to fit into the mold. I know itâs tough and itâs especially tough when youâre in the school system, when youâre in this little world with peer pressure and it can become overwhelming. But itâs a huge world. And push yourself to be interesting and follow your passions because there are tons of people who are into the same things as you and itâs really about what makes you happy. So, itâs really really tough, but you know, those interesting people are the ones who rule the world in the end.â
â Scott Moir on The King of Painâs podcast
(via liviarainastoria)
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