Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir #48: Long Time Running

It’s been barely 2 months since they won OG.

In Canada people have the freedom to choose what they want to do with their lives. I have no idea what Scott wants to do but I have no doubt he will be successful at whatever he decides. Same with Tessa.

As for Tessa’s social media I have no doubt that they were encouraged by their agent. I find it weird though that one person mentioned the hockey crash on social media ... well I know I didn’t hear about it until late Sat morning myself and I’m in Canada not Japan. How would she know about it. Also shoot me too because I haven’t posted anything on my social media either.
 
What does it matter if someone takes more than four years to get an undergrad degree? Some people don't have the money to go to school full time. Some people end up having to take time off for family obligations. Some people start university very young (as young as 17 in my province) and need extra time to figure out what they are really passionate about and want to pursue as a career or field of study. I actually think it has become the norm for students to take at least five years to finish a Bachelor's degree and more surprising when people actually do finish in four years. I have three siblings and all four of us have at least one university degree. I am the only one who finished my first degree in four years. All of us are working very actively in our fields of expertise.

As for elite level athletes, the idea of them being able to finish a university degree in four years is extremely unrealistic. To manage a full course load along with intense hours of training and flying around the world for competitions is almost never going to be possible. I think it is better to at least start a post-secondary education and go forward slowly than to say, "I'll train now and go back to school in some mysterious time called 'later'", and then end up never going back to school at all. At least that way, they are keeping their education going while they are young, having something that is worth following through and finishing when they are done intense training and have more time for school, and even if they never finish, they can say they have some post-secondary education rather than just a high school diploma. (And with most of these athletes, the high school diplomas are from very flimsy online education, not even from going to actual classes in a real school.)

pani said:
Could you tell me about skaters, who become good in different business? Belbin on TV, but I hate what she did with Agosto.
Click to expand...

@pani, do you mean that you hated her skating with Agosto, or that you hate that she is now on TV without him and left him to fend for himself? If you meant the latter, then I don't really think that's fair. Ben is also doing commentary (and is also very good at it, maybe even better than Tanith is) and working for NBC in a different capacity. As far as them doing TV or sponsorships together, Ben chose to move across the country from Tanith to be with his girlfriend and pursue other interests (including coaching, choreography and now being the skating director of a rink in Arizona) when they retired from competitive skating, so that was his choice, not hers. She chose to stay near their Michigan training base and make a life and family for herself there.

As for skaters who became good at other careers, Michelle Kwan is a prime example. She took many many years to finish her undergrad degree, but then went on to a post-grad degree at a great school and now is more involved in high-level politics than she is in figure skating.

Rachael Flatt is considering pursuing a Ph.D. in psychology. Sarah Hughes is currently in law school. Joannie Rochette is in med school. Debi Thomas was a successful surgeon for many years before she ran into life problems due to then-undiagnosed bipolar disorder. Toller Cranston was quite a famous painter and artist before he died. Kristi Yamaguchi has written and published children's picture books. Boitano had a cooking show. I could go on, but I think my point is clear.
 
Last edited:
Fizz said:
They don’t seem to be leaving it open ended the way they did after Sochi- they’ve said in several interviews now that they plan to discuss it and announce their plans in July (I presume they have a break between commitments then). It doesn’t sound like they’re going to remain silent on the matter. In the highly unlikely event they don’t confirm retirement in the summer, I think the only way they’d even consider continuing is to follow the same pattern as this quad and come back in 2020. I’d be astonished though.
Click to expand...

In 2014, I was convinced that we would see them again in 2018. I really thought that Scott wasn't content finishing his career with a silver medal. I later read (or heard) that Scott didn't enjoy performing in shows. I also thought (in reading between the lines) that while Scott was eager to continue, Tessa needed some convincing.

In the interviews since the 2018 Olympics, I think their comments are interesting. Scott appears to be "done" and Tessa seems less committed to announcing retirement. She has said things like "If it is time, it's a great way to go out". However, they are both very clear that they want to the "dust to settle" before making any decisions.

I am hoping that they will leave the door open (a crack) with the announcement in July. If they love competing, then why not comeback in 2020 for 2 years. It really would be their last chance! And, if their teammates decide to continue, it might be incentive to continue. No matter what the outcome in 2022, they still are Canada's most decorated ice dance team. I also imagine that it may come down to what other goals each of them has off the ice!
 
I could see a small part of them not feeling completely ‘done’ just because they are clearly born competitors and I think when you’re as once-in-a-generation good as they are, show numbers to Justin Bieber don’t quite cut it when you’re still young enough to challenge yourself technically and artistically with competitive programs. At the same time, logically they’re not going to want to come back to play second fiddle to P/C, a team that really isn’t as technically good as them just yet but marked as if they’re already superior. If we thought they were fighting an uphill battle with the judges in 2014 and 2018, 2022 would be a whole different beast. Would it be worth the sacrifice to make another push and fall short rather than move on? I’m not them obviously, but I think I’d take my gold medal and run rather than throw myself back into the fire. Which is why I’m not an Olympian!

But I won’t complain if they do leave that door open a smidge :D
 
Fizz said:
I could see a small part of them not feeling completely ‘done’ just because they are clearly born competitors and I think when you’re as once-in-a-generation good as they are, show numbers to Justin Bieber don’t quite cut it when you’re still young enough to challenge yourself technically and artistically with competitive programs. At the same time, logically they’re not going to want to come back to play second fiddle to P/C, a team that really isn’t as technically good as them just yet but marked as if they’re already superior. If we thought they were fighting an uphill battle with the judges in 2014 and 2018, 2022 would be a whole different beast. Would it be worth the sacrifice to make another push and fall short rather than move on? I’m not them obviously, but I think I’d take my gold medal and run rather than throw myself back into the fire. Which is why I’m not an Olympian!

But I won’t complain if they do leave that door open a smidge :D
Click to expand...

VERY true. However, they have to decide what is most important to them about the Olympics (i.e. another Olympic individual gold medal, the Olympic experience, helping the Canadian team to another team medal, etc.). If it's not about the OGM and it doesn't interfere with other life goals, then I think they should enjoy another Olympic experience. They will still be Olympic champions!

Although it appears that PC will dominate the ice dance teams, you cannot take anything for granted in sport. She does seem to have really bad luck at times and there is always the risk of injury. To be clear, I am not wishing any of this on any team but there is a reality to sport that sometimes interferes with skaters accomplishing their goals.
 
IloveFS said:
If it's not about the OGM and it doesn't interfere with other life goals, then I think they should enjoy another Olympic experience. They will still be Olympic champions!
Click to expand...

IloveFS said:
In 2014, I was convinced that we would see them again in 2018. I really thought that Scott wasn't content finishing his career with a silver medal.
Click to expand...

I think they had their eye on the OGM when they came back. I do believe that they also felt they wanted to expand their range as well, but that was only part of their motivation.

Fizz said:
At the same time, logically they’re not going to want to come back to play second fiddle to P/C, a team that really isn’t as technically good as them just yet but marked as if they’re already superior. If we thought they were fighting an uphill battle with the judges in 2014 and 2018, 2022 would be a whole different beast. Would it be worth the sacrifice to make another push and fall short rather than move on? I’m not them obviously, but I think I’d take my gold medal and run rather than throw myself back into the fire. Which is why I’m not an Olympian!
Click to expand...

I thought the judges clearly signaled that they felt P/C had the more Olympic Gold Medal-worthy free skate this season - this was especially evident when they gave P/C that huge monster score in the FD. IMO the judges may have surprised even themselves when V/M won, though in the end the right team won (IMO).

But, I doubt that V/M were aware that the judges had signaled this preference - skaters tend to live in their own bubble. And V/M weren't aware of the monster score given to P/C when they took to the ice for their FD.

Also, I am not sure they know that would be playing second fiddle to P/C if they continued.

But, they have two Olympic golds and one silver, and three World Titles - as well as Olympic team Gold and Silver. There is nothing to really continue for, and it's a whole lot to commit to another four years of rigorous training.

In the interviews since the 2018 Olympics, I think their comments are interesting. Scott appears to be "done" and Tessa seems less committed to announcing retirement. She has said things like "If it is time, it's a great way to go out". However, they are both very clear that they want to the "dust to settle" before making any decisions.
Click to expand...

I would not be surprised if the decision has pretty much been made already, especially given that Tessa has so many broadcasting opportunities as well as opportunities with Nivia and other countries.

But they'll wait to make it official because they'll have to prepare a statement and give press conferences, and they probably don't have the time for that at the moment.

I expect they'll likely make the announcement after the touring season is over.
 
^ Judging by Tessa’s face in the GPF press conference, they knew exactly what the judges were signalling. She’s usually the more level headed of the two but she was visibly not having it. After all, they’d been in exactly the same position at the GPF in 2013. After the Olympic SD, Scott said he’d looked at the protocols and knew they were up against it. They 100% knew, it just couldn’t be allowed to affect their performances.
 
I think @Japanfan meant they didn't know that the push was being given to P/C with the WR score in the Olympic FD, but I also think they definitely knew prior to the Olympics that the judges were absolutely favouring P/C. Why else would they have risked changing such a big chunk of their FD, with new music and all, with only two competitions left in their season?
 
dramagrrl said:
I think @Japanfan meant they didn't know that the push was being given to P/C with the WR score in the Olympic FD, but I also think they definitely knew prior to the Olympics that the judges were absolutely favouring P/C. Why else would they have risked changing such a big chunk of their FD, with new music and all, with only two competitions left in their season?
Click to expand...

Oh sorry, I misinterpreted in that case! Though they’ve both said in interviews that they were operating on the assumption P/C would set a new WR, they just didn’t want to know the exact score they needed to surpass. Not because of the judges before anything kicks off, Scott said it was because they knew they’d ‘lay it down’. They definitely took the ice knowing they had to have the skate of their lives which makes what they did all the more remarkable.
 
dramagrrl said:
I think @Japanfan meant they didn't know that the push was being given to P/C with the WR score in the Olympic FD, but I also think they definitely knew prior to the Olympics that the judges were absolutely favouring P/C. Why else would they have risked changing such a big chunk of their FD, with new music and all, with only two competitions left in their season?
Click to expand...

They may have risked making those changes due to feedback from the judges or other members of their team.

I don't know whether they were aware that the judges were absolutely favouring P/C. Skaters tend to live in their own bubbles and say over and over again that they can't focus on the judges because the judges are beyond their control

In fact, some skaters might intentionally avoid thinking about judges' preferences.

Fizz said:
Oh sorry, I misinterpreted in that case! Though they’ve both said in interviews that they were operating on the assumption P/C would set a new WR, they just didn’t want to know the exact score they needed to surpass. Not because of the judges before anything kicks off, Scott said it was because they knew they’d ‘lay it down’. They definitely took the ice knowing they had to have the skate of their lives which makes what they did all the more remarkable.
Click to expand...

Knowing that P/C were going to lay it down isn't quite the same as knowing the judges favored P/C.

I could be wrong, of course.

In 2014 it looked to me that V/M definitely knew the judges were favoring D/W, and Scott indicated that this was true in an interview. They seemed a bit demoralized to me during that Olympics - not so in 2018.

I think they came back to have the skates of their lives at this Olympics. What was remarkable to me was what that meant in terms of the program and performance. IMO their ML at the Olympics was a masterpiece. I didn't care for it
all season, and it's not among my favorite V/M free programs (those would be Moulin Rouge, Valse Triste, and Pink Floyd). But they killed it, and made me appreciate and admire the program - I have since watched it multiple times.

Also, the judges favoring of P&C was not absolute, as they did not win. This hasn't always been the case with favoritism. I remember a top team taking a fall in the CD or OD some years ago - I think it was G/P - IIRC correctly they won that segment as well as the whole competition.
 
Last edited:
Japanfan said:
They may have risked making those changes do to feedback from the judges or other members of their team.

I don't know whether they were aware that the judges were absolutely favouring P/C. Skaters tend to live in their own bubbles and say over and over again that they can't focus on the judges because the judges are beyond their control

In fact, some skaters might intentionally avoid thinking about judges' preferences.



Knowing that P/C were going to lay it down isn't quite the same as knowing the judges favored P/C.

I could be wrong, of course.

In 2014 it looked to me that V/M definitely knew the judges were favoring D/W, and Scott indicated that this was true in an interview. They seemed a bit demoralized to me during that Olympics - not so in 2018.

I think they came back to have the skates of their lives at this Olympics. What was remarkable to me was what that meant in terms of the program and performance. IMO their ML at the Olympics was a masterpiece. I didn't care for it all season, and it's not among my favorite V/M free programs (those would be Moulin Rouge, Valse Triste, and Pink Floyd). But they killed it, and made me appreciate and admire the program - I have since watched it multiple times.
Click to expand...


I def think they knew the judges favoured PC before they took the ice for the FD at the Olys. However, I think they used their expirence from Sochi to their advantage and I think that's what helped them win at the end. If they did not have Sochi, I firmly believe their comeback would not have turned out like this. They knew what they were up against, had a goal and in the last two months before the Olys worked in a very focused way to achieve that goal by doing everything they didn't or couldn't do in Sochi. They honestly could write a book about this because it was textbook perfect. It takes a lot of mental toughness to keep your eye on the price at all times regardless of the writing on the wall. I think they gave up on themselves a little bit in 2014...in 2018 they believed all the way to the end. It really was a remarkable moment. But I completely agree with you about MR...it was a masterpiece at the olympics.
 
MR was a masterpiece at the Olympics. However, throughout the season I think PC's free dance to Moonlight Sonata program was superior to MR. Tessa and Scott were able to deliver their free dance and create a moment in Pyeongchang that PC were unable to do at the Olympics. In terms of skating skills and ability to draw in the audience, I think Tessa and Scott are unrivalled.
 
I don’t think they are coming back in 2022. This cycle was special because they got to represent Canada with Patrick Chan and D/R. (I didn’t know Redford had stayed with the Moirs as a teenager until an article mentioned it during Olympics.) This particular Olympics may have been in part about Olympic gold, but it was also about spending one last Olympics with the teammates they grew up with.
 
Sonata said:
This cycle was special because they got to represent Canada with Patrick Chan and D/R. (I didn’t know Redford had stayed with the Moirs as a teenager until an article mentioned it during Olympics.) This particular Olympics may have been in part about Olympic gold, but it was also about spending one last Olympics with the teammates they grew up with.
Click to expand...

This.

Just today I read an interview with Chan (in the Trash Can forum, I think) in which he was asked what moment from his career he would remember the most.

He said that one moment that stood out for him was after the Team Event in Sochi, when the team decided that they were going to get Team Gold in 2014.

I think Team Gold is no less special to Tessa and Scott than their individual gold.
 
It's easy to see, that VM even in coaches minds (they were wonder, when TS started to win everything since they came back, then MF said she was happy with Team gold, because VM got there gold, she said Gaby she will win FD ect., then interview with Patch from Vaitcehovskay, when he talking about PC will get 100 percent of score....) will not win in individual event and will get only Team gold. But VM went through this before and that's why they did MR, not what MF want to give them, that's why after GPF, when they try to show coaches vision of this FD, they went home and re-worked it how they want to see it. I think the only person who was 100 percent of there side was there psychologist. He gave so touching interview about them and how he cry after MR at Nationals.
I hate, that judges gave PC WR in SD at WCh, why they need to do this? I saw this SD live and I don't think it deserved WR.
 
Sonata said:
I don’t think they are coming back in 2022. This cycle was special because they got to represent Canada with Patrick Chan and D/R. (I didn’t know Redford had stayed with the Moirs as a teenager until an article mentioned it during Olympics.) This particular Olympics may have been in part about Olympic gold, but it was also about spending one last Olympics with the teammates they grew up with.
Click to expand...
You could very well be right. I will just hold a hold out an iota of hope to see them again competitively.
 
Just want to say that Tessa looked super adorable and stylish in the striped dress on The Marilyn Show (or whatever that show is called?). Ben Mulroney gets more annoying with every year.
 
Saw some of her segments and she did a great job, even with cooking segments :)

I laughed when the rower said rowing was the hardest sport and suddenly realized he had put his foot in his mouth as she was sitting right next to him.

Yeah pretty sure Ben Mulroney is trying to be her friend and his wife, her new stylist. ;)
 
I’ve never heard of these shows before actually (which doesn’t mean much).

I wonder what city her house is in.
 
Last edited:
Judy said:
I’ve never heard of these shows before actually (which doesn’t mean much).

I wonder what city her house is in.
Click to expand...
I think in that TV show they did in 2014 they showed her house. London?
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 25 (members: 0, guests: 25)

Similar threads

TAHbKA
Ermolina/Flade's interview with Zagitova
Replies
10
Views
4K
Scott512
Scott512
TAHbKA
Konov's interview with Zhulin
Replies
17
Views
7K
kwanfan1818
kwanfan1818
TAHbKA
Interview with Zabijako
Replies
5
Views
5K
Sylvia
Sylvia
TAHbKA
Imamov's interview with Kostornaya `Don't think I would be friends with myself. Am quite a tough personality'
Replies
11
Views
6K
Immortelle
Immortelle
TAHbKA
Vayetskhovskaya's interview with Stolbova
Replies
7
Views
3K
Mad for Skating
Mad for Skating
Back
Top
Do Not Sell My Personal Information