Tessa Virtue

Personal life

Virtue was born in London, Ontario, Canada. Born to Kate and Jim Virtue, she is the youngest of four children. She attended Holy Names High School in Windsor, Ontario, in addition to an electronic learning school called "AMDEC" based in Stratford, Ontario. In 2003, she began living in Canton, Michigan, USA, due to her training. After the 2014 Olympics, she moved back to London, Ontario.

Virtue studied psychology at the University of Windsor and is currently completing her degree at the University of Western Ontario. In 2016, she moved to Montreal, Quebec.

Early career

Virtue and Moir began skating together in 1997, having been paired by Moir's aunt, who was coaching them at the time. Early in their career, they trained in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario with Paul MacIntosh and Suzanne Killing.

In the 2001–02 season, Virtue/Moir won the bronze medal at the 2002 Canadian Championships at the novice level. The following season, they placed 7th at the 2003 Canadian Championships in the junior division. In 2003, they moved to Canton, Michigan and began working with coaches Igor Shpilband and Marina Zueva at the Arctic Edge Ice Arena.

2003–04 season: Junior Grand Prix debut

In 2003–04, Virtue/Moir made their ISU Junior Grand Prix debut on the 2003–04 ISU Junior Grand Prix. They placed 4th at the event in Croatia and 6th in Slovakia. 2004 Canadian Championships, they won the Junior title, qualifying them for the team to the 2004 World Junior Championships, where they placed 11th.

2004–05 season

The following season, Virtue/Moir moved up to senior nationally but remained juniors internationally. On the 2004–2005 ISU Junior Grand Prix, they won the event in China and won the silver medal at the event in France, which qualified them for the Junior Grand Prix Final, where they won the silver medal. They made their senior national debut at the 2005 Canadian Championships, where they placed fourth. They were named to the team to the 2005 World Junior Championships, where they won the silver medal.

2005–06 season: World Junior title and senior international debut

Virtue/Moir remained at the junior level internationally in the 2005–06 season. On the 2005–06 ISU Junior Grand Prix, they won both their events as well as the Junior Grand Prix Final.

At the 2006 Canadian Championships, Virtue/Moir placed 3rd and were named as first alternates to the Olympic team. They were named to the team to the 2006 Four Continents, where they won the bronze medal. At the 2006 World Junior Championships, they became the first Canadian ice dancers to win the title. Virtue and Moir are the most decorated junior-level Canadian ice dancers.

2006–07 season: Grand Prix debut

In the 2006–07 season, Virtue/Moir competed solely on the senior level. They made their Grand Prix debut at the 2006 Skate Canada International, where they won the silver medal. They placed 4th at the 2006 Trophée Eric Bompard.

At the 2007 Canadian Championships, Virtue/Moir won the silver medal, and repeated their bronze medal finish at Four Continents. In their debut at the World Championships, was the highest debut by any team in over two decades when they placed 6th.

2007–08 season: Four Continents title

Virtue/Moir were assigned to Skate Canada International and the NHK Trophy for the 2007–08 Grand Prix season. They won the 2007 Skate Canada International and placed second at the 2007 NHK Trophy, qualifying them for the Grand Prix Final, where they came in fourth place.

Virtue/Moir won their first Canadian national title at the 2008 Canadian Championships and earned spots for the Four Continents and World Championships.

They won the gold medal at the 2008 Four Continents Championships. At the 2008 World Championships in Sweden, Virtue and Moir won the silver medal, winning the free dance segment with their program to The Umbrellas of Cherbourg soundtrack.

2008–09 season

In the 2008–09 season, Virtue/Moir withdrew from both their Grand Prix events due to Virtue's medical condition; she had been diagnosed with chronic exertional compartment syndrome and underwent surgery in October 2008 to alleviate the condition. She returned to the ice at the start of December, which she later said was probably too early. At the 2009 Canadian Championships, they won the gold medal.

At the 2009 Four Continents Championships, Virtue/Moir won the silver medal behind Americans Meryl Davis / Charlie White. At the 2009 World Championships, they won the bronze medal, after placing 3rd in the compulsory dance, 6th in the original dance, and 4th in the free skate.

2009–10 season: Olympic and World titles

Virtue/Moir started off the 2009–10 Olympic season at the 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard, finishing first by a margin of 16.07 points ahead of the silver medalists, Nathalie Péchalat / Fabian Bourzat. They also won the 2009 Skate Canada International, with a total combined score of 204.38 points, 19.31 points ahead of Péchalat/Bourzat. At that competition, they received the first 10.0 for ice dance under the ISU Judging System. They were second at the Grand Prix Final behind Davis/White.

In January 2010, Virtue/Moir won their third national title at the 2010 Canadian Championships, placing first all the three segments of the competition and earning 221.95 points overall, which was 37.25 ahead of silver medalists Vanessa Crone / Paul Poirier. They set Canadian records for free dance and for combined total.

Virtue/Moir competed in the ice dancing competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics from February 19 through 22. They placed second in the compulsory dance, earning a new personal best score of 42.74 points, just 1.02 off the lead. They earned 68.41 points in the original dance, placing first in that segment of the competition. They scored 110.42 points in the free dance, easily winning the gold medal overall with an insurmountable total score of 221.57, surpassing silver medalists Davis/White by 5.83 points. In the free dance, they received four 10.00 marks from the judges in the program components, two for the performance execution and two for interpretation, a feat never before accomplished by a figure skater/or team under the International Judging System. They became the first Canadian as well as the first North American ice dance team and the youngest dance team to win the Olympics, and the first ice dance team to win the Olympic gold on home ice. They were also the first ice dancers to win gold on their Olympic debut since the inaugural Olympic ice dance event in 1976.

Virtue/Moir competed at the 2010 World Championships, placing first in the compulsory dance with 44.13 points, improving their previous personal best. They also won the original dance with 70.27 points, a world record under the ISU Judging System. They placed second in the free dance with 110.03 points, 0.46 behind Davis/White. Overall they claimed their first World Championship title scoring 224.43 points, 1.40 ahead of the Americans. They received numerous 10.00 for program components marks in the original dance and in the free dance.

2010–11 season

For the 2010–11 Grand Prix season, Virtue/Moir were assigned to the 2010 Skate Canada International and to the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard. Virtue underwent surgery in October 2010 to reduce the lingering pain in her shins and calves that is a result of chronic exertional compartment syndrome, leading to their withdrawal from Skate Canada. They also withdrew from the 2011 Canadian Championships because they had not had enough time to train after the surgery.

Virtue/Moir made their season debut at the 2011 Four Continents. They were in the lead following the short dance but withdrew midway through the free dance after Virtue felt tightness in her left quad muscle. Virtue stated, "The issue with my quad was actually coming from my pelvis and my back. [I]t seemed to be stemming from a particular lift we were doing, which was a split lift. Upon returning home to Michigan we changed that lift immediately, so now we do an upside-down position instead of a split." At the 2011 World Championships, they placed second overall by 3.48 points behind the American team of Meryl Davis / Charlie White.

Following the World Championships, Virtue experienced pain in her shins and calves. She decided against another surgery and chose other methods to overcome the problem.

2011–12 season: Second Four Continents and World titles

Virtue/Moir were assigned to two Grand Prix events, 2011 Skate Canada and 2011 Trophee Eric Bompard, having declined a newly introduced option to compete in a third. They announced their music selections in August. The two won their first event of the season, 2011 Finlandia Trophy. They won both their Grand Prix events and qualified for the Grand Prix Final, where they finished second in both segments to win the silver medal. In late December 2011, the ISU acknowledged a scoring error in the free dance; had the scores been correctly calculated (+ 0.5 points), Virtue/Moir would have won that segment. The scores from the Grand Prix Final were left unchanged, however.

Virtue/Moir won their fourth national title in January 2012. In February, they competed at the 2012 Four Continents Championships. After a second place short dance, they rallied in the free dance to win their second Four Continents championships and first since 2008. It was also their first victory over training mates Davis/White since the 2010 World Championships. Virtue/Moir then competed at the 2012 World Championships and won the gold medal, finishing first in both segments ahead of silver medalists Davis/White.

Following Igor Shpilband's dismissal from the Arctic Edge Arena in June 2012, Virtue/Moir decided to remain at the rink with Marina Zueva and ended their collaboration with Shpilband.

2012–13 season

Virtue/Moir withdrew from the 2012 Finlandia Trophy due to a slight muscle strain in Moir's neck. They were assigned to two Grand Prix events, the 2012 Skate Canada International and the 2012 Rostelecom Cup. At Skate Canada, Virtue/Moir won the short dance with a score of 65.09, only 0.01 points ahead of Anna Cappellini / Luca Lanotte of Italy. They went on to win the competition with a total score of 169.41, which was 9.35 points ahead of the Italians.

At the Grand Prix Final, Virtue/Moir took the silver medal behind Davis/White. They decided to modify their "The Waltz Goes On" short dance, simplifying the storyline. The two debuted the modified short dance at the 2013 Canadian Championships, earning a score of 79.04. They won their fifth national title with a combined score of 187.19 after their Carmen-themed free dance. Virtue/Moir placed first in the short dance at the 2013 Four Continents Championships. During their free dance, Virtue felt cramping in her legs and paused the performance; they resumed after about three minutes and finished second to Davis/White. Virtue and Moir also finished second to Davis/White at the 2013 World Championships in their hometown of London, Ontario.

2013–14 season: Olympic silver medal

Virtue/Moir started their season at the 2013 Finlandia Trophy and won the gold medal. They were assigned to two Grand Prix events for the season: the 2013 Skate Canada International, and the 2013 Trophée Eric Bompard and won those two competitions. They finished second at the Grand Prix Final with their best score of the season (190.00).

During the airing of the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships on TSN, Virtue/Moir stated that they could be retiring after the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. At the Sochi games, they won silver in both the Ice dancing and team skate events.

They later decided to skip the world championships along with Patrick Chan.

2016–2017 season: Return to competition

For the first time in their competitive career, Virtue/Moir remained undefeated for the entire season, culminating in them winning their third World title.

On February 20, 2016, Virtue/Moir announced on CBC's Road to the Olympic Games that they planned to return to competition for the 2016–17 figure skating season and that they had moved to Montreal, with Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon as their new coaches. Their first assignment back during the 2016–17 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating season was at 2016 Skate Canada International where they won Gold with a combined total score of 189.06. In November 2016, they set a new record total score of 195.84 (including a world record short dance mark of 79.47) at the 2016 NHK Trophy competition in Japan. They set the highest scores at a Grand Prix event. Two weeks later, they topped those scores, receiving 80.5 in the short dance and 197.22 total at the Grand Prix Final in Marseille, France, which they won for the first time in their careers.

At the 2017 Canadian Figure Skating Championships in January, Virtue/Moir won their seventh National title with a combined score of 203.45, setting Canadian records in the short, free and total. At the 2017 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in South Korea in February, they won their third title, setting a new personal best in the free dance with 117.20 points and accumulated 196.95 points overall. Virtue/Moir broke their own world record short dance score at the 2017 World Championships in Helsinki, receiving a score of 82.43, a huge 5.5-point lead of reigning champions and training partners Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron. They placed second behind Papadakis/Cizeron in the free dance with Moir tripping, but overall they totaled 198.62 points, setting yet another world record and winning their third title as world champions.

2017–2018 season: Third Olympic Games

Virtue/Moir will start their season at Autumn Classic International in September. Their Grand Prix assignments are Skate Canada International and NHK Trophy.

Other work

In October 2010, Virtue, Moir, and co-writer Steve Milton published a book about their career called Tessa and Scott: Our Journey from Childhood Dream to Gold. In late 2013, they filmed their TV show, Tessa and Scott, which focuses on their training for the Olympics. The show aired on W Network in January 2014.

Virtue/Moir have toured with Stars on Ice in Canada and Japan, and performed in ice shows such as Festa on Ice, Shall We Dance On Ice, and All That Skate. They also participated in de:Art on Ice in Switzerland.

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

With Moir

Detailed results

(with Moir)

Post-2006