Vancouver to host 2021 Skate Canada International

Ottawa, ON: Skate Canada announced today that Vancouver, British Columbia, will host the 47th Skate Canada International. The event will take place at the arena at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre from October 29 – 31, 2021.

“Skate Canada is thrilled to welcome some of the best skaters from around the world to Vancouver for the 2021 Skate Canada international. We are looking forward the 2021-22 season and creating memorable moments for all skating fans,” said Debra Armstrong, CEO, Skate Canada. “We are thrilled to be working with the city of Vancouver and Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre again next year to create an event all participants will enjoy.”  

“Sport Hosting Vancouver is proud to continue our relationship with Skate Canada with the hosting the 2021 Skate Canada International,” said Michelle Collens, Senior Manager, Sport Hosting Vancouver. “Our combined hosting history will allow us to creatively reimagine the event experience and ensure the confidence to deliver live events once again. We look forward to welcoming both participants and spectators back to British Columbia when it is safe to do so.”

Skate Canada International is the second competition in the annual International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix of Figuring Skating series. The other events take place in the United States (Skate America), China (Cup of China), Japan (NHK Trophy), Russia (Rostelecom Cup) and France (Internationaux de France).

Each skater/team can be assigned a maximum of two events. Skaters are awarded points based on their placements at their events. The top six from each discipline (men, women, pair and ice dance) qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final.

The inaugural Skate Canada International was first held in 1973 in Calgary and the event was added to the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating in 1995, the year the series began. Vancouver has been a longtime partner of figure skating, hosting world renowned events such as the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in 2001 and 1960 and the 2018 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. This is their second time hosting Skate Canada International, they previously hosted in 1978.

Skate Canada International Rewind

For just the second time in its storied history, the arena lights will be dark during the week of Skate Canada International.

Facing the same uncertainty as many sporting events around the globe, the 2020 Skate Canada International, scheduled to be held October 30-31 in Canada’s capital, Ottawa, Ontario, was recently cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The only other year that Skate Canada International has not been held was way back in 1979 due to a pre-Olympic figure skating competition in Lake Placid, N.Y., host city for the 1980 Olympic Winter Games.

While TD Place will be empty this week, Skate Canada has skating fans covered. We are reaching back into the SCI vault all week long, with highlights, polls and unforgettable performances in Skate Canada International’s renowned history.

Skate Canada International was a part of the ISU Champions Series from 1995-1997, which eventually became the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series in 1998. Skate Canada International is now the second competition in the annual ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series.

We kick off the week with a historical timeline looking back at one of Canada’s premier annual international sporting events.

Skate Canada International Historical Results

1973 – The first Skate Canada International takes place in Calgary, Alberta. Canadians Toller Cranston and Lynn Nightingale win gold in men’s and women’s, while Hilary Green and Glyn Watts of Great Britain take the title in ice dance. Pair competition was not introduced until 1984.

1977 – A four-year reign atop the podium for Canadian men ends as Robin Cousins of Great Britain wins in Moncton, N.B.

1979 –Skate Canada International is cancelled due to Flaming Leaves, a competition that took place in Lake Placid, N.Y, as a pre-Olympic event. The decision is made not to hold Skate Canada International to allow skaters to compete on Olympic ice.

1983 –Brian Orser wins his first of three Skate Canada International men’s titles in Halifax, N.S. Tracy Wilson and Rob McCall of Canada capture gold in ice dance while East Germany’s Katarina Witt wins the women’s crown.

1984 – Held in Victoria, B.C., this is the first year that pair skating is included at Skate Canada International. Elena Bechke and Valery Kornienko of the USSR win gold.

1984 – Midori Ito of Japan wins the women’s gold medal in Victoria. She would go on to capture the 1989 world title and Olympic silver in 1992.

1985 –Russian pair legends Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov win gold in London, Ont. They would win gold again eight years later in Ottawa.

1986 –Elizabeth Manley of Canada tops the podium in Regina, Sask. Two years later, she would win Olympic silver in Calgary.

1988 –Kurt Browning wins his first Skate Canada International gold medal in Thunder Bay, Ont. He would add SCI titles in 1990 and 1993.

1989 – Before winning Olympic gold, Kristi Yamaguchi of the USA is a Skate Canada International gold medalist, winning the women’s event in Cornwall.

1989 – A fours competition is held at Skate Canada International for the first time. Fours is held the next year before being permanently removed from the schedule.

1990 – It’s a golden sweep for Canadians in Lethbridge, Alb., with gold in all four disciplines: Kurt Browning in men’s; Josée Chouinard in women’s; Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler in pair; and Jacqueline Petr and Mark Janoschak in ice dance.

1994 – Canadian ice dancers Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz start their gold medal winning streak winning streak in 1994 in Red Deer, Alb., their first of five consecutive golds at SCI. Bourne and Kraatz would also win in 2001.

1995 – Saint John, N.B. hosts Skate Canada International for the first time. Michelle Kwan of the U.S. wins her first of three SCI gold medals. Kwan’s other SCI titles also came in the Canadian Maritimes – 1997 in Halifax, N.S. and once again in Saint John in 1999.

1997 – Elvis Stojko wins his last Skate Canada title in Halifax, N.S.. He also won the title in 1991, 1992, 1994 and 1996.

1996 – Germany’s Mandy Woetzel and Ingo Steuer strike gold in pair in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont. Two years later, they would become Olympic bronze medallists in Nagano, Japan.

1998 – Skate Canada International joins the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, becoming one of six events held annually.

1999 – Alexei Yagudin of Russia wins his first of three consecutive Skate Canada International gold medals in Saint John, N.B.

2000 – Back-to-back winners in 2000 and 2001, Jamie Salé and David Pelletier debut their Love Story at Skate Canada International before sharing it with the world at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.

2004 – Cynthia Phaneuf wins the women’s title in Halifax, N.S., at just 15 years old.

2004 – Canada sweeps the men’s podium in Halifax. Emanuel Sandhu wins gold, followed by Ben Ferreira (silver) and Jeffrey Buttle (bronze).

2005– Germany’s Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy win their first of four Skate Canada International pair crowns in St. John’s, Nfld.

2006 –Canadian Joannie Rochette wins her first Skate Canada International gold in Victoria, starting a run of three titles in four years.

2007 – Canadian ice dance legends Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir win their first of seven Skate Canada International titles.

2010 – Kevin Reynolds of Canada becomes the first skater to land two quadruple jumps in a men’s short program, landing a quad Salchow, triple toe combination, and a quad toe in Kingston, Ont.

2011 – Javier Fernandez of Spain wins silver in the men’s competition, his country’s first-ever medal on the senior ISU Grand Prix circuit.

2012 – Making her senior Grand Prix debut, Canadian Kaetlyn Osmond wins the women’s crown in Windsor, Ont.

2013 –As the 40th year of Skate Canada International is celebrated in Saint John, N.B., it’s double gold for Canada as Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir finish atop the ice dance podium and Patrick Chan holds off young Japanese sensation Yuzuru Hanyu in the men’s competition.

2014–Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje claim ice dance gold in Kelowna, B.C., while fellow Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier earn silver. Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford capture gold in pair, their first of four consecutive SCI wins.

2015–Canadians earn gold in three of the four disciplines at the ENMAX Centre in Lethbridge, Alb. Patrick Chan beats Yuzuru Hanyu for gold in the men’s event, Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford finish in top spot in pair and Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje are golden in ice dance.

2016 –The Maple Leaf is flying high in Mississauga, Ont. as Canadian athletes capture seven of 12 medals, highlighted by gold medals for Patrick Chan (men), Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (ice dance) and Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford (pair).

2017 –It’s triple gold for Canada in Regina, Sask. as Katelyn Osmond (women), Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford (pair) and Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (ice dance) finish in top spot. Shoma Uno of Japan wins gold in the men’s event.

2018 –Japan’s Shoma Uno wins SCI gold for the second straight year, while Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia is the women’s champion. The U.S. team of Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue are crowned ice dance champions. Canadians Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro (pair) and Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier (ice dance) take home bronze medals.

2019 –In what is believed to be the largest margin of victory in ISU Grand Prix history, Yuzuru Hanyu wins the men’s event by 59.82 points, landing six quads over his two programs. Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier capture the gold medal in ice dance, the 13th time in 15 years that a Canadian team has won the ice dance event at Skate Canada International. Russian sensation Alexandra Trusova wins gold in the women’s competition, while fellow Russians Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii finish atop the podium in pairs.

2020–Skate Canada International, scheduled to be held in Ottawa, Ontario, is cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is only the second time the event will not be held since 1973. The 1979 edition of the event was not held due to a pre-Olympic competition that was held in Lake Placid, N.Y.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

On June 2, 2020 Skate Canada released a statement on anti-racism. This statement expressed our commitment to anti-racism and to leading by example within the sport community. Over the last months we have taken time to start educating ourselves and lay the foundation to listen to Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) voices and to be able to bring positive change to our sport.

We have a responsibility to take decisive action to acknowledge and address systemic racism and to create a safe and welcoming environment for all individuals to embrace the joy of skating. We know that we need to do more to accomplish that vision and are actively working to make Skate Canada as diverse and inclusive as possible.

To further improve equity, diversity and inclusion in our sport, Skate Canada is taking the following actions:

  1. Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Working Group: Skate Canada has created an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Working Group, comprised of members of the skating community and experts in EDI. The EDI working group follows a social justice model and engages in ongoing self-education, develops educational plans, creates and/or sources resource materials for our community, identifies areas for change, and develops strategies for diverse voices to be heard in skating. The EDI working group was enacted by the Skate Canada Board of Directors per its bylaws and makes its recommendations to the organization via the President, Board of Directors, and CEO.

The EDI working group has been meeting weekly since July. Members include: Elladj Baldé (Skate Canada Digital Host, President of the Figure Skating Diversity and Inclusion Alliance (FSDIA), and Skate Global Founder) Emma Bowie (Skate Canada staff – Director, Safe Sport and Strategic Communications), Patrick Chan (Three-time Olympic medallist and Skate Canada coach), Tina Chen (Distinguished professor, University of Manitoba and Skate Canada coach), Patty Klein (Skate Canada board member and official), Paul Poirier (Olympian and current National Team member), Eric Radford (Three-time Olympic medallist and Skate Canada board member), Khorana Séa-Alphonse (Skate Canada staff – NextGen Coordinator), Kaitlyn Weaver (Three-time world medallist and Olympian), and Dr. Shae Zukiwsky (Skate Canada staff – Senior Director, Performance Excellence).

  1. Education: Review and recommend educational training and resources for our community to establish and nurture an inclusive environment. The first priority is education on anti-racism, including education on Black and Indigenous inclusion in sport. The educational process has already begun with the board of directors and senior management and will be available to the greater community later this Fall.
  1. Community Outreach: Recognizing the need to have open conversations about race, to listen to BIPOC voices, and to engage our community, a Talking About Race in Skating Panel is being organized for later this Fall. The virtual panel will feature BIPOC voices in skating discussing why talking about race will make our skating community stronger. It will be available for all community members to watch. In addition, a series of open dialogue virtual chats will also be produced to inspire our members to engage in transformational self-education and dialogue.
  1. Policy & Terminology: A new equity, diversity and inclusion policy and strategy is being developed to help ensure that individuals of all races, genders, sexual orientations, and abilities feel welcome in Skate Canada programs and events. An active review of terminology in our sport is underway, with a focus on decolonizing of the terminology.
  1. Marketing & Communications: A campaign titled Talking About Race is being developed. This campaign will highlight BIPOC individuals in our community having conversations about race, with the goal to generate further dialogue in our community. In addition, clear and visible statements about diversity and inclusion will be incorporated on our corporate website and marketing materials.

Skate Canada recognizes that the actions above are just the beginning. We are committed to anti-racism and promotion of equity, diversity, and inclusion as ongoing processes. We look forward to working with all members of our community and to broadening membership in Skate Canada programs so that together we make Skate Canada a leader for positive change in sport, with the goal that truly everyone can embrace the joy of skating.

Keegan Messing captures bronze medal at Skate America

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Basking in the glow of his bronze medal performance Saturday at Skate America, Keegan Messing had a message for his Team Canada teammates.

This one’s for you.

The charismatic Messing, who holds dual Canadian and American citizenship and proudly represents Canada on the international stage, capped off an impressive showing at the opening event of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating season, earning 174.02 in his free program for an overall score of 266.42.

Skating on home soil, two-time world champion Nathan Chen of the U.S. cruised to the gold medal with a 299.15 total. American Vincent Zhou took the silver at 275.10.

“I am absolutely stoked to come here, put those performances out there and leave with a medal,” said Messing. “I’m on top of the world right now.”

“It’s been a tough time for everyone, but I’m really proud of him,” added Ralph Burghart, Messing’s coach. “It’s exhilarating. I’m happy we were able to put together a training regimen that got him ready for this week.

“The great thing about Keegan is he loves competing. It’s one of the many qualities I love about him. He’s an all-in guy, and today he left it all out there.”

With the 2020-21 figure skating season clouded in uncertainty due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Messing is the only Team Canada member with an ISU Grand Prix assignment this season. Skate Canada International, scheduled to be held next week, was cancelled earlier this month.

Sitting in the kiss and cry waiting for his marks after Friday’s short program, Messing showed his Canadian pride, turning his back to the camera and pointing to the “Canada” emblem stitched across his team jacket. He repeated the gesture Saturday following his free program.

In this strangest of seasons, Messing wants to remind his teammates, Skate Canada and fans north of the border who he is skating for.

“Just before I took my starting position today, I said to myself ‘this is for you guys,’” said Messing. “It was for my teammates who have to stay home. Today, I had something to fight for. I was skating for my team.

“This is a shared medal. With my team, with all of Canada. The Canadian fans have been so incredible to me. I am so proud to have that flag on my back and to win an international medal for Canada.”

No fans were permitted into Orleans Arena for Skate America, and while Messing says event officials went out of their way to keep athletes safe in Las Vegas, he admits it was almost surreal competing in an empty arena.

“It was odd, but it’s funny, you get out on the ice and the switch gets flipped, and you’re in competition mode,” Messing said. “I usually feed off their energy. Not hearing that applause was something I’m not used to. They piped in the crowd applause after the program, but there was no one there. There was no emotion.

“It makes you want the real thing again.”

Full Results: 2020 Skate America

Canadian Keegan Messing in third spot after short program at Skate America

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Canadian Keegan Messing holds down third spot after Friday’s short program at Skate America, the opening event of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating season.

Skating to Ed Sheeran’s Perfect for the second straight year, the 28-year-old Messing, who trains in Edmonton, Alb., scored 92.40 to put himself in medal contention heading into the Saturday’s free program.

Two-time world champion Nathan Chen of the United States leads after posting a stunning 111.17. Fellow American Vincent Zhou is in second spot at 99.36.

“It was really exciting to perform again, but my legs were a little shaky in the second half of the program,” Messing admitted. “I’m really happy with the way I skated. It felt so great to get back out there.”

Messing, a three-time national medallist, is the only Canadian competing at Skate America. He finished fourth at this event a year ago.

Skating competitively for the first time since February, Messing left some points on the table with a couple of mistakes Friday. He put a hand down on his quad toe, triple toe combination and had a slight trip – or an “oops”, as he called it – on his step sequence. He landed his triple Axel and triple Lutz cleanly to stay within striking distance of Zhou.

“I have to admit, the nerves affected me a little bit, but I think that can be expected,” he said. “Getting to perform again, that’s what we live for. I missed having those butterflies.”

Skate America, which is being held without fans in attendance at the Orleans Arena, is the first stop of the condensed Grand Prix circuit. Skate Canada International, which was scheduled to be held next week in Ottawa, Ont., was recently cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Internationaux de France, slated to be held next month, was also cancelled, leaving stops in China, Russia and Japan to round out the Grand Prix schedule.

No Canadians are scheduled to compete internationally after this week.

“With Skate Canada getting cancelled, my heart broke for all my teammates,” he added. “I am representing all of them here. This one went out to Nam (Nguyen) and all of Team Canada. This week is for you.”

Skate America wraps up with the free programs Saturday. Click here for full results.

Skate Canada 2020-21 Skating Season Update

Skate Canada continues to monitor the global pandemic and the shifting requirements across the country. The health and safety of the athletes, coaches, officials, and spectators remain our utmost priority. With that, Skate Canada has made the decision to move two key events back this season.

“The global pandemic has put forth challenges for us all, and our priority is to support the development and goals of our skaters in a safe manner,” said Debra Armstrong, CEO, Skate Canada. “We have altered the format of the 2021 Skate Canada Challenge which will now take place virtually.   We are also moving the dates of both 2021 Skate Canada Challenge and the 2021 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships back to allow more time for skaters to prepare.”

The remote 2021 Skate Canada Challenge competition will take place from January 11 – 17, 2021 and will allow Canadian skaters to participate from their home regions virtually with live officiating providing each with an opportunity to qualify for the 2021 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. The date for submitting video submissions for the junior and senior disciplines will be announced shortly.

The 2021 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships are still scheduled to take place in person in Vancouver, B.C., at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. However, the event will now take place on February 8 – 14, 2021. The number of competitors has been reduced to accommodate safety protocols. Only junior and senior categories will compete, and each discipline will only have two flights of skaters. More details surrounding that event will be available later this year.

Cancelled: 2021 Skate Canada Synchronized Skating Championships

The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to deliver uncertainty surrounding skating events and activities around the country.  As a direct result, Skate Canada has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2021 Skate Canada Synchronized Skating Championships which was scheduled to take place at the Palais Des Sports Léopold-Drolet in Sherbrooke, Que., from February 19-21, 2021.

“Like many other sport organizations, the global pandemic has placed significant challenges on our business and in particular the operation of national events,” said Debra Armstrong, CEO, Skate Canada. “After consulting with the synchronized skating community, it was clear that our teams have not had or will have the opportunity to train at a level that would be safe to compete on the national stage in February.”

Due to these exceptional circumstances the 2021 Skate Canada Synchronized National Team will be comprised of those teams that finished in the top three in the senior discipline at the 2020 Skate Canada Synchronized Skating Championships.

Skate Canada will continue to work with the synchronized skating community to provide other avenues this season to support development and performance opportunities. As part of those initiatives,

Skate Canada is pleased to announce its collaboration with OneTeamMVMT to bring virtual learnings to our Canadian synchronized skating community.

Virtual Off-Ice for Synchro is a five-week virtual program, starting on October 24, 2020, for synchronized skating teams to keep their goals in focus. The program offers three series of classes to choose from: Skating Skills & Technique, Performance & Expression, and Flexibility & Field Moves. Skate Canada will cover the cost for synchronized skating teams who participated at any 2020 Skate Canada Regional Synchronized Skating Championship at the Novice, Junior, Senior, Intermediate and Open levels to join one of the virtual series of classes that are offered. To learn more visit OneTeamMVMT and click on the Skate Canada team registration button.

Any new synchronized skating teams that have been formed this season, please reach out to your Section for further information.

In addition to this OneTeamMVMT collaboration, Skate Canada will provide further information about synchronized skating opportunities in the near future.

One Canadian skater headed to Las Vegas for 2020 Skate America

OTTAWA, ON: One Canadian skater is en route to Las Vegas, USA, for the 2020 Skate America, taking place Thursday, October 22 to Saturday, October 24. This will be the first event of the figure skating Grand Prix Series. Keegan Messing will be the only skater participating at the event, while Stephen Gogolev was scheduled to compete but had to withdraw due to injury.

Keegan Messing, 28, Girdwood, Alaska, USA., is the 2020 Canadian bronze medallist and competed at this event last season, finishing fourth. At his second Grand Prix assignment last season, Cup of China, Messing also finished fourth. He is coached by Ralph Burghart in Anchorage, AK.

With the recent cancelling of the second stop on the Grand Prix Series, 2020 Skate Canada International, which was set to take place in Ottawa, Ont., from October 30-31, Skate America will be the only competition featuring a Canadian skater this season.

For more information, please visit www.isu.org.

Canadian Entry at Skate America – Las Vegas, USA

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Men Keegan Messing 28 Girdwood, Alaska, USA Ice Palace FSC Ralph Burghart

Carolane Soucisse / Shane Firus Q&A (TSN)

Nam Nguyen / Keegan Messing Friendship (TSN)

Nam Nguyen Q&A (TSN)

Moore-Towers, Marinaro find perspective, hope during trying times

As the most uncertain of skating seasons dawns over the horizon, Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro have found a silver lining in these challenging times.

Now back on the ice tuning up for a season that has more questions than answers due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the two-time Canadian pair champions are staying optimistic and looking forward to picking up where they left off when the 2019-20 season was abruptly halted in March.

“We’ve been back on the ice for a while now, and we’re getting ready as best we can,” says Moore-Towers from their training base in Oakville, Ont.

“We’ve always known what our goals are, and we know we are capable of achieving them. The time away really gives you a chance to think and evaluate how you can improve. It’s easy to remember why we’re here and why we are doing this.”

“Right now, we are not exactly sure which events we are training for, but eventually that opportunity is going to come, and we want to be ready for it,” adds Marinaro.

Coming off a 2019-20 season in which they captured their second straight national title and added a pair of silver medals on the ISU Grand Prix circuit, the tandem is preparing for a new season as they normally would.

Right now, uncertainty is the new normal.

“Regardless of the state everything is in, we have to believe we will compete somewhere,” says Moore-Towers.

“That is the mindset we take into training each day, so when that happens, we will be prepared. We only have a couple of years left in our career, so we want to spend our time doing what we enjoy doing.”

“With all the uncertainty, we are just looking at taking a couple of steps forward each day,” adds Marinaro. “We’re just trying to grow together and improve. This time away just reinforced that we have to enjoy the process here and reconfirms that we love what we do.”

Even during these trying times for our world, Moore-Towers and Marinaro prefer to look at the glass as half-full.

After all, sometimes perspective, as painful as it may be, is a gift.

It has been almost seven months, just after the quarantine started in March, since Marinaro put in a FaceTime call to his grandmother, Charlotte Jones, an avid skating fan and one of his biggest supporters. On the call, Marinaro noticed his grandmother was having some difficulty breathing, but he didn’t give it more than a passing thought.

It would be his last conversation with her.

The following day, Charlotte Jones was taken to hospital and, one day later, on March 31st, she passed away from complications of COVID-19.

Just like that, she was gone.

“It was unexpected, and a huge loss for our family,” says Marinaro. “It really did put things in perspective. Sports took a back seat. This whole situation over the past few months is so much bigger than sport.”

“It was a loss for Mike, and I agree, it really did put everything in perspective,” adds Moore-Towers. “You realize what is truly important in life.”

“It was a low time not only for Mike, but for a lot of people, but it’s been nice to see people sharing their gifts and talents around the world. I saw a lot of positivity with people coming together in a way I hadn’t seen before.”

When the quarantine was first implemented, Moore-Towers and Marinaro, like many others, figured the hiatus would be short-term, perhaps only a few weeks. As time went on, both knew they had to find things to do with their surplus of spare time.

“I did a lot of teaching,” says Moore-Towers, adding she was grateful that Skate Oakville conduced virtual sessions to keep skaters active, both mentally and physically. “I was joking I was excited for quarantine to end, so I could be less busy. It gave me the gift of understanding where my passions lie and what I’m good at.”

Marinaro took advantage of the time off to get outdoors and spend some time with Mother Nature.

“After being locked up in an arena for the past 25 years, I had a chance to get outside during the quarantine and do a lot of camping and outdoor activities that I don’t normally get an opportunity to do,” he says.

Marinaro also took up Frisbee golf.

“I’m still not very good yet, but I’m trying to get better,” he adds with a laugh.

Along with their newfound perspective comes the reality that they are likely heading into the twilight of their competitive careers. Moore-Towers and Marinaro feel there is still some unfinished business to take care of and they don’t want the moment to pass them by.

And in these dark times, they’ve found a beacon of light.

“We’ve always had a clear, concise idea of who we are as athletes and as a team,” says Moore-Towers. “When that is stripped away, you start to think of these other things that will determine who you are as an athlete to complement who you are as a human being.

“We’ve been working on this our whole lives. But suddenly, everything you’ve been working for is unclear. This time has given both of us the opportunity to be well-rounded individuals and understand what we want to do when this is all over.”

But for now, that can wait.