bil.png)
Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID |
2024.4.4 B |
Object Name |
Video Recording |
Title |
Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue Interview |
Scope & Content |
Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue, 18 October 2023, interview. Born digital MP4, viewing time 00:27:52. CBC Sports' Devin Heroux speaks with Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, 2023 Order of Sport recipients. Transcript: InterviewerSo, over the history of athletics in our country, there's less than 700 people who have gotten a phone call that you two would have gotten. So, let's start by saying congratulations, and tell me what it's like to get that phone call and did it happen at the same time, or did it happen separately and how quickly after that would you two have talked? Scott Well, immediately. You know, we've been so fortunate in our career and you never, in our wildest dreams, could have imagined something like this happening and being among this group of people. And Tessa and I, above everything else, are Canadian sport fans. So, to be in the hall with so many great athletes and to be considered among them, there's no other word for it other than just an immense honour. And there was a lot of excitement then it becomes a lot of nerves. I think I'm feeling a lot of that right now. We're very proud Canadians and what being a Canadian athlete means is important to us. So, we always feel the pressure to uphold that. But of course, we talked right after. And that's one of the best ways that I can truly process, I guess all of these fortunate accolades, is being happy for Tess. I got to witness firsthand with a front row seat to her athletic career. And I can say that I've never met an athlete who deserves to be in the Hall more than Tess. TessaThat's so nice. I feel that too. And it's interesting, I'm sure we've said this over the years, but there is something about celebrating one another's success. And on the phone, I probably said, "Have you called Scott yet?" And I couldn't be happier for you. And it's maybe a different way to process the emotion and to channel it into a partner. But it's how we lived our career. It's I think what made our partnership thrive in that your success meant my success. That was the goal every day. How can Scott feel his best? And I think you came in and wanted to do the same for me. So, it's neat that at this point in our career, five years after retirement, that that still lives on. ScottFive? TessaFive years? InterviewerFive years. Only five years. So, to that point, this happened pretty quick. Does that speak to your excellence? How quickly this happened? ScottIs it five years after our career? Or five years after we stopped skating? What is the end of our career? TessaI always think 2019, after touring. ScottYes, after we're done skating completely, like we haven't performed together. Yeah, I agree. I mean, maybe it speaks to how long we did it. TessaI was looking at photos and videos of us when we were young starting out at seven and nine. And on one hand, it's hard not to look at that footage and feel like, who was that? It was almost as if it was a different person. But on the other, it takes me right back to that feeling of being in the Ilderton Arena and that thrill of, suddenly having a dance partner and figuring out what that really means and having fun together and exploring the compulsory dances together. And that was so pure. And I think it speaks to the purity of amateur sport, of the Olympic Games, of the passion that Canadians have for that, from grassroots to podium. I really believe that Canadians stand behind their athletes in the most beautiful way. So, in all of this reflection, it's also impossible not to think about all the people that were with us every step of the way. ScottI think for us as well, kind of selfishly, it does feel good to be put in the Hall so soon because our entire, one of our big goals of our career was to connect with people, to make them feel something from our performances. And to be honest, it feels good that so many Canadians have resonated with what we did on the ice and who we are as people, and especially later, the last 10 years of our career when we're really our authentic self and we're getting a lot of Canadians supporting us in our corner and that support has always been so huge. But to have it kind of as that reminder that, yeah, maybe our performances actually did- we were able to touch some people, make them feel something and feel like they were a part of our journey. 06:29 InterviewerOn the point of authentic self, I've been looking at the era posts and we'll get back to that, but you two literally grew up in front of cameras. And the audience watched you two grow up. What was that like? Because that's a lot of pressure trying to figure out who you are in the world and having the spotlight on you all the time. TessaI'm so grateful that the spotlight on our career was fairly gradual. It started young, sure. You know, those early interviews and fluff pieces around a competition, it may have started young, but I do feel like we were given the space and time to figure out who we were as athletes and as people. And we forged such special relationships with everyone behind the cameras. And that meant something to us because I feel like they were as much a part of our career in telling our stories as our coaches were. And I think, certainly we lost ourselves along the way, sometimes trying to appease people and maybe having a few identity crises. ScottYeah, still? TessaBut ultimately, we made a decision early to never do media training. And maybe we could have used it sometimes. ScottYeah, we could have used it at the gates. TessaBut I do feel like we were cognizant to really hold on to that authenticity. We did our best to present as who we really are, which meant that there was no shield or armor when the spotlight got quite intense. I never felt there was this moment of, okay, I have to be on, I have to be Tessa Virtue. And then, you know, separate from that is a separate world in life. So, I think there was this synergy, this consistency just within our lives that really made a difference. And also doing media with Scott. I mean, he brings out the best in me. So, I always felt like we could play off of each other and again, just so fortunate to have had that dynamic that I missed later in our career when we did a few more things apart then I would kind of look to him and think, where's my buddy, where's my partner? ScottYeah, well, it's like when we do commentary, I would never dream of being out there without you because I need you there to watch my back at least. But yeah, I think those are some great points. I don't know what there is for me to add other than like we grew up with the media, but we also grew up with social media coming around and it changed drastically as our career went on with our first Olympics, there being very little social media and then it really exploding in 2014 and 2018. And what that did for us was allow us to kind of dip our toe in the water and figure what worked for us and what we liked and what we didn't like and then how we were gonna tell our story and how to do that authentically. And hopefully we were able to do that. I mean, I agree with Tess, like there are parts that, for me, I was too authentic maybe I look back on that and kind of think, oh, maybe you spoiled a couple of friendships in there- TessaNo, no, there's no such thing. No such thing- 09:45 ScottBut there was some emotions anyways that come out that weren't the most mature. But now as I look back, I think, well, at least, at least I was honest, at least I was able to let people in have and them feel what I was feeling a little bit. TessaIt was honest, you mean is that when you- ScottSpazzed. TessaCalled something a piss off? ScottYeah, when I said we should have won or yeah. That wasn't one of them, you know- TessaIt was human. ScottCalled out the judges a couple of times without really understanding, you know. When you're an athlete, you're emotional. You just come off the ice, you pour your heart and soul into something. It is a funny thing to be judged immediately and there were parts in my career where that ate me up and I shared it and when I look back now, I'm proud that I was honest. Wasn't the most mature stuff I ever did. TessaI laugh. No, it was honest and it's human. ScottAnd Tess always supported me, which was actually because she didn't, now that's the part that I would maybe, not regret, but look back on and maybe check in first because I pulled her down these paths without really being like, "Hey, you okay if I walk in the mix zone and give the reporter a piece of my mind for asking me a very simple question?" But she was always there and all like, not blindly, but so supportive and that meant a lot. InterviewerFascinating to hear you reveal you didn't do media training. ScottThey tried. 11:20 InterviewerCanadians adore you two, in a way that they haven't maybe adored athletes in our history. And I wonder when you talk about human, authentic, your relatability, if there was a part of that where Canadians felt like they could relate to what you were going through because of how vulnerable and authentic you were in your career. TessaI hope there was some sense of relatability and connection and I think, perhaps in our sport, given that we get to tell stories, there's another element to that as well. ScottYeah. TessaAnd the stories we're telling on the ice as we get into character are such universal themes of love and passion and jealousy and heartache and loss. And if nothing else, I do hope that in some performances that people could kind of resonate with one of those sentiments and so we were very lucky in that that was our form of creative expression. And over the course of 22 years, really got to tell a lot of those stories. So, I think maybe that was part of it. And again, Scott has so much passion and natural just, charisma. I'm so happy that Canadians get to see that and I'm so happy that translated and I'm so happy that we have such fantastic Canadian media that again, really get to tell our stories. ScottI do have a lot of really great charisma. That part's right. InterviewerYou're not gonna deny that. ScottSometimes you gotta just let a great answer- I don't need to jump in and just ramble on again. InterviewerWhat would nine-year-old Scott and seven-year-old Tessa think of all of this? TessaI feel Scott would have known this was coming. Nine-year-old Scott would have- ScottTen-year-old Scott. Once he'd remembered the steps for a little bit. I don't think, you think so? TessaYou just seemed to have such confidence in where we were heading and I didn't mean to take that answer from you, but I really feel you just, you sort of knew from the beginning that we were heading on a certain path and we would do nothing, or we would stop at nothing really. ScottYou did it. TessaI feel like I was ready to be the best in Juvenile and then the best in Pre-novice and then Novice. I wanted to give everything I could to those categories, but I wasn't thinking Olympics or Hall of Fame, or, you know. 14:00 ScottYeah, I mean, there's two parts I think. There's us skating around the Ilderton Arena. Like anybody who would have seen us skate that first year, you're not thinking we're going anywhere. We're not even going- TessaTo the blue line. It was a struggle. ScottYeah, we were just making faces at our grandparents in the lobby pretty much was our whole training regimen. But there was quickly the fire lit, I guess, and we were just going after one goal and to win Juvenile, like you said, Novice, but then watching Simon Whitfield, 2000 win, yes, there was another side of me who was in love with the Olympics and Donovan Bailey in '96, I was seven or eight years old. I should really be able to do that math better. But I was connected to the Olympic Games. I always knew I wanted to go to the Olympic Games and at that point, even before I knew I wanted to go for figure skating and it wasn't really until Salé Pelletier and Salt Lake City when I kind of thought, oh yeah, I'll go for the Olympics or sorry, for figure skating and there is an interesting side of me, I think that did always know that was my goal. My eighth-grade yearbook, I put "I'm going to go to the Olympic Games." So, you're right in that but I mean, I think you always had that drive as well. I think we also made those goals together and that we always knew there would be a chance that would lead us there. InterviewerI said that you had to grow up in front of the camera but there's so much we didn't see and so much Canadians didn't see. ScottNot that much. 15:55 InterviewerBut when we did see you, there was such excellence and people would see the two of you and just be absolutely captivated by the two of you. I wonder when you get Inducted into the Hall of Fame and you think about all the stuff that happened behind the scenes and what you had to endure, what this is a culmination of, Tessa? TessaI asked my mom recently, to what she would attribute our success, because she has unique perspective. Among friends and family, she's always the first to point out that there was so much sacrifice and we lived this life of real deprivation and discipline, and it was grueling. And so, she sees that, she saw that every step of the way and so I asked her, "How did we accomplish what we did?" And she said there was this cycle of goal setting, goal pursuit and goal attainment and we got addicted to that cycle. I thought she was gonna say your resilience or your grit or your optimism, even. But I thought that was so interesting in that cycle because it's true. We were, from a young age, really aware of the fact that we had these common goals, the shared vision, that the way that we spoke to each other mattered, the way that we used our time efficiently and effectively on the ice really mattered. So, we were so purposeful and it was so clear. I think that's what got us through the very tumultuous and hard times, and I don't want to paint a really rosy brush over our career. It was hard and it was, it was pressure-filled and stress-filled and it wasn't always just the medals and the sequins and the smiles and the podiums. ScottSo we were sick in a way where we loved that as well. Like there really was that cycle, right? Like if we weren't under pressure, it didn't feel right. And we put that pressure on ourselves, and I really feel that we were able to, where we had to go after that. We kind of knew early on that this partnership was a gift and that we really had this crazy potential, and it was our duty to kind of explore that. And yeah, and while it was, it just, there's such two sides to everything, isn't there? Like it was so much pressure and it was really grueling and really hard. And even our relationship that people see as being this beautiful thing and we now see it as being beautiful, it was a lot of work, like to be having all these expectations and we really had to work at just communicating with each other a lot of the time and to grow that into the success we were able to have is work that we're also very, very proud of, but it was exhilarating at the same time to be able to put ourselves in those pressure situations on ice surfaces all over the world and try and be damn near perfect for seven minutes. We love that. There's part of me that misses that to this day. InterviewerLet's have some fun with the eras. TessaYes, that's not on social media, so you probably haven't seen. ScottYeah, you're gonna have to bring this back. I thought you were just talking about the eras that I've lived through. TessaKind of, but you know Taylor Swift's Eras - do we need to- ScottI know Travis Kelce, is that the question? I know that every Sunday when I turn the TV on, I see Taylor like 15 times. It's like watching Tiger Woods at the Masters. TessaYeah, so she has her eras. ScottOkay. TessaAnd she's on an Eras Tour ScottShe has quite a following. TessaShe has. ScottDo you think she has more of a following than us? So, I'm listening. TessaYeah, so- ScottI'll quit making jokes and listen. TessaNo, I was giving context him because you truly probably have not seen it. ScottNo. That's why I thought you were just saying that we've gone through many eras. 20:22 TessaI was like finding our little child baby era, seven and nine, and teenage era, and then I guess, I don't know, Vancouver, Sochi, Pyeongchang maybe? Sorry- Scott Those are different eras. TessaYou can edit all this out, right? InterviewerNo, this is hilarious. TessaOkay. InterviewerBut Scott, we're getting a view of the eras, the costumes. TessaThe quality of footage. InterviewerThe quality of footage, everything. ScottRemember when Taylor broke on the scene and I was just like, she's never gonna make it, you know? TessaWe're still on Taylor. ScottI'm fascinated. 20:53 InterviewerDid some stick out to you, or what comes up for you, Tessa, when you look back at all of those eras? TessaWhen I think about our various eras, I'm struck by a couple of things. One, sort of the vastness of our repertoire and how our style evolved and changed, and sometimes I think, ooh, that's not the program I would have gone with, but I guess we took a risk, or we tried something, and the other is like, I really blocked some memories of maybe times that my injuries were really bad, or it was particularly hard in training, so it's enlightening to look back and to see this compilation of all of these programs and all these years and seasons that we dedicated everything, every fiber of our beings to these programs. It's an interesting time capsule of sorts to really go through and see all the different parts of it. ScottAnd we grew up in an era of ice dance where you had to do that, you had to take risks, you had to, you know, there were many years that we made the decision on what program to go with, just because it was the complete opposite of what anybody would expect. And I think that comes from one of our early choreographers, Suzanne Killing, always challenging us, never letting us, you know, kind of just do what was in our wheelhouse. She always made us try everything that was, quote unquote, impossible, and now when I look back, you know, because I think it was annoying at the time for me, but as I look back, I'm very proud, I guess, of what you guys call eras. But there are a couple things that I look back, like the can-can outfit I could have gone without. TessaOh yeah, I'm sure that we've- ScottWe have a couple of really things. We need to put them down deep in the drawer and hopefully those pictures never come out. TessaYeah. The other thing that comes to mind is that, sorry if you thought you would sneak in the odd question here. ScottYeah, no, we're just having conversations. Tess and I haven't seen- this is what it's like now to get both of us in the room. 23:12 TessaWhat really strikes me is the lessons learned in sport, just how applicable they are in every facet of life now. So, that reinvention, the idea of preparing and embracing failure, knowing that's part of the journey, taking on challenges with a growth mindset. You know, that partnership, the teamwork, the goal setting, so many of those things apply now in the work that I'm doing, away from the ice. And I'm so grateful that we got to learn those lessons, and in a way surrounded by all of these amazing experts in their fields. I mean, we got to work with some of the best coaches and sports scientists and strength and conditioning coaches and mental prep coaches. I mean, we were surrounded by the best, so it was our job to be sponges. And I underestimated how much all of that learning would set us up for success post-skating. 24:23 ScottFrom my seat, that's what I always felt like you understood better than me, that you were using sport to try and enrich your life, to grow and kind of overcome all of these obstacles, learn all the skills on how to do that, so you could apply it anywhere. That's what I always kind of admired you for. Like, I think early on, I learned that lesson a little later. And it's, when I reflect on this achievement, it's so important to me because now I am a huge believer like in sport and what it does for our communities and what it does for us as people. And I know, I live a rich life, I live a rich life now because of our opportunities that we had in sport and the lessons that we learned together. And while we had to do a lot of work to get us there, you know, I take that with me to every single thing that I do. But I felt like you always had that perspective. I always wondered if that came from Kate, from your mom, who always just seemed to be looking over us and making sure that we were ushering in the right directions and had access to the amazing people that we met through the sport, the Marnie McBean's, the David Pelletier's, who didn't have to guide us, but they were a part of the Canadian sport family, sought to vulnerable kids coming up with a whole bunch of hype and stepped in to guide us, to protect us, to try and help us a little bit with our path, with the experience that they had. And that was, that is something that I try every day to look at the sport or look at Canadian athletics and see where I can return that favour and kind of pay it forward. InterviewerI really didn't have to ask questions. This is beautiful. Winding down because I'm aware of the time. Really quickly, it does take a village. Here's your chance. Who comes to top of mind in a massive moment like this? 26:25 TessaOf course, our families, you know, our parents who drove us at four in the morning to the rink and picked us up and then took us after school and more than that, I think, trusted us to at some point early, early on in our career to sort of take the reins and empowered us to harness that sense of autonomy, knowing that it was our passion and our pursuit. I think of our coaching teams, you know, as if we had sort of three different chapters: in Waterloo with Paul McIntosh and Suzanne Killing. In Michigan, Marina and Igor, and at the end of our career in Montreal with Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon. And then of course the off-ice coaches that come along with that. I mean, there are too many people to thank. I have this, okay, bear with me. I have this visual that keeps coming to mind as I think about our career. And it's that at some point when we were young, we got on a train. And then invited people to come on with us. And people hopped on and off. But when you were on board with us, there was like a bit of a golden glow. And we were all heading in this one direction. And we tried our best to, like, lift up the coaches and the people around us. And even as it kind of was windy and bumpy, we were at least all on that train car together. Am I taking this too far? We were together. And I think right now this visual of like, okay, the train's coming to the station, who's getting off? And it's car after car after car of people who were just so invested in our success. And that's, I mean, that's the most emotional part of all of this is just that people believed in us. ScottAnd that's the sport journey, you know, that we were blessed with, honestly, like Canadian sport. We all read the news and hear the awful heinous crimes that happened. And we were two kids that were, we had people on our train that believed in us and empowered us and built us up. And they were the reason that we're able to sit here in the Hall of Fame and to have the career that we have and be functioning, hopefully functioning adults. TessaWorking on that. ScottWorking still, yeah, to transition into that. But yeah, I love that. And I think it is really such an important message: that's Canadians, that's our communities, that we are powerful when we support each other and when we're there for each other. And that's what makes us special. InterviewerPerfect place to stop. Thank you both for everything. ScottThank you. It was fun. |
Date |
2023/10/18 |
People |
Moir, Scott Virtue, Tessa |
Search Terms |
Figure Skating Ice Dance Teamwork Canadian Identity |