Happy Chickadee

CP: You both chose very different paths after retiring. What drew you in that direction, and how difficult was it to stick the landing?

VIRTUE: Any kind of life transition is difficult, and skating was so much a part of our lives for so long. We probably used to fool ourselves into thinking that we were well-balanced and multi-dimensional, but how could that possibly be true when we were spending countless hours, six days a week, 50 weeks a year, and really sacrificing a lot of ‘ordinary’ childhood experiences in pursuit of a goal? 

I’d known for a while that business was of interest to me. I launched into some school, and I started with Deloitte. I’m an adviser in all things high performance, and I’m really loving it. Doing a little more speaking now. It never ceases to amaze me the parallels between sport and business. There’s a lot to learn from the world of athletics. For example, I think athletes have cracked the code on handling pressure, on visualization, on mental chatter, on all of the things that really lead to human flourishing, so it feels like at this point in my life, my lived experience as an athlete has merged with my academic interests, and now I get to amalgamate all of that into the corporate setting.

MOIR: Wow, that was cool. I’m inspired by that … I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. Whenever someone asked me if I was going to coach, I used to laugh. I used to think that was so funny, like there’s no way. Then my mom asked me to help with her students. We went to nationals, and the athletes didn’t do as well as I thought they could. Came home, and I was like, I’ll try coaching a little bit more, but we’re going to change how we do everything. So we created a completely different skating academy, and that’s been my passion project for the last six years, creating this (Ice Academy of Montréal, London, Ont. campus).

Then my pride and joy — my family and two kids. Sums up the last eight years. I’m learning every day from my kids. Every day I go to bed thinking that I’m ready for what’s going to come, and I get a surprise the next day.

CP: You both seem energized by what you’re doing now. But can anything really replicate the thrill of skating to Moulin Rouge and winning Olympic gold?

VIRTUE: I don’t think I’ve figured that formula out, and I actually think that’s OK. I think I can find fulfilment in different realms. That adrenalin and sense of being completely in flow and so present in a moment, when the world is watching, and you have three minutes to be nearly perfect — I haven’t been able to find something as electrifying as that.

One day after we retired, Scott said, ‘Isn’t it nice not to walk around with that heavy weight of pressure?’ And it’s twofold, because it’s so liberating and so nice, but it’s also the thing I miss. So I don’t know, Scott, do you get that coaching because you’re a little closer to it?

MOIR: No, it’s not the same. I get the fulfilment, I’ve found little things that you feel quite good about. Not everybody gets to win an Olympic Games, but a lot of my athletes are able to have really great life-changing moments at all different stages of their careers, and that is cool to see.

I’m a bit more nervous as a coach than I was as a competitor, but the rush is different. I don’t get to actually act on it … To be involved in it and immersed in it, with the touch and the feel, I don’t think we ever get that again. We got a lot of opportunities to skate at a really high level. I know we created those for ourselves, but boy, we were fortunate to have the opportunities that we did.

CP: What do you think of the current ice dance field, particularly Canadian champions Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier?

MOIR: When we were competing, we had this tunnel vision. They were a very good ice dance team, but Tess and I were very focused on ourselves. It’s been neat for me to be a coach behind the scenes. I really like to see what they’re able to create on the ice, of course, but the way that they are backstage is what really struck me at this last national championships. The way they are with volunteers, the way they are with my athletes, it’s been cool to see. They’re real leaders.

It’s a thick field. They’re going to need to bring their A-game. They have the three-time world champion Americans (Madison Chock and Evan Bates), who are going to be a force. Then here comes Guillaume (Cizeron) out of nowhere with Laurence (Fournier Beaudry). Boy, I’m going to have my popcorn out to watch this last group.

CP: We’ve seen some top ice dancers, including Gilles and Cizeron, publicly question the judging this season. What was your reaction to that, and how concerning is it for the future of your sport if inconsistent scoring overshadows Olympic performances?

MOIR: It is necessary for us to have a squeaky-clean Olympics. Any time we have a judging scandal or a doping scandal, it hurts us all, not only in figure skating but as an Olympic movement. That’s not why I wake up every day and go to the rink or why any of my athletes do, to go to an event that’s already been predetermined. It needs to be judged on what happens on the day, and free of cheating and doping. 

I’m very proud of Piper, actually, and Guillaume for speaking out. I like it. I think we need more personality in figure skating. I’m kind of over the ‘do as you’re told, or else they’re going to make you pay next time.’ They didn’t agree. When the scale is shifted week to week, it feels like someone’s out to get you. Now, I don’t know if that was actually the case, but I can say that there was definitely an inconsistency in the scoring that I think the ISU needs to look at after the year is done.

The last thing I would want is to see Piper and Paul after the Grand Prix Final be like, ‘OK, sweet. That’s cool, I’m fourth, who cares?’ Get fiery, get going, get back in the fight.

VIRTUE: That’s the thing about skating. It’s a sport that marries art and athleticism, and what we love about it is its subjective nature, but it is also the very thing that can be infuriating. Being more removed, I hope that the powers that be are making the decisions to help steer the sport in the right direction, be that rhythm dance choices, technical requirements. I hope there is an evolving nature in the way that we highlight ice dance. I miss some things, and I’m wishing that there were some things involved from an element standpoint and from an artistic lens, just purely as a viewer. It’s incumbent upon the ISU to take that really seriously and to right the ship for our sport that we love so much.

Is that fiery, Scott? Is that controversial?

MOIR: Not at all, that’s honest. You might want to be careful because it sounds like you have a pretty good idea, and they could use maybe that consultation at that level. I think you’d be a fantastic person to be able to bring back some of those qualities.

CP: What are some of those things you miss, Tessa?

VIRTUE: I miss compulsory dances, but that’s a long way back. Scott, I think you have a different opinion. Keep me honest here, because I don’t know if I’m speaking out of turn.

MOIR: I love it.

VIRTUE: I miss the ballroom dance element of ice dance. I say that as almost a separate thought to the quality of skating, and the products being put out on the ice now are incredible. I’m thinking of it more as a structure. What are the parameters? How are we setting these athletes up to really thrive and succeed and to keep elevating the sport?

MOIR: That’s a great spot, T, and I agree with you. We’ve done a lot of work to try and modernize the sport and have our young athletes be excited about what they’re doing. A lot of those art forms, while they’re brilliant and very cool, they don’t have that structure. It’s hard to compare team-to-team when you don’t really know what the technical requirement is to make it worth a certain amount of marks. A waltz, we know that if you’re fluent and on time and very clear and have a big frame, that’s good waltzing. I’m not sure in some of these ’80s, ’90s (rhythm dances) and the new millennium, what is that? What makes a good choreo step?

Tessa Virtue should maybe run for the ISU council or technical committee, or at least get on a phone call.

Tessa for president! (pumps fist) It’s so funny because they’ve been asking about where Tessa is, and now she’s coming back with a vengeance.