‘We did the right thing by doing this tour’: Canadian skaters thanking fans in nationwide tour

Extended: Virtue and Moir coming to Regina Extended: Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir talk about the Thank You Canada Tour ahead of their trip to Regina.

Five-time Olympic medalists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir have teamed up with other Canadian skating greats — past and present — for the Thank You Canada Tour.

The ice dancing pair will be joined by Patrick Chan, Meagan Duhamel, Eric Radford, Kaetlyn Osmond, Elvis Stojko, Kaitlyn Weaver, Andrew Poje and more as they travel to arenas across the country to say thank you to all the fans who have supported them throughout their career.

CTV Regina caught up with the Pyeongchang gold medalists ahead of their stop in Regina on Oct. 19.

CTV Regina: First off, can you just take me through why you guys decided to start this tour and go across Canada?

Scott Moir: How much time do you have? I think for Tessa and I, obviously everyone, or a lot of people, tuned in for the Pyeongchang Olympics and it was great Canadian story. We were able to, with our teammates, win the Olympic team medal and we feel like skating in Canada is kind of at a peak right now and it’s a very exciting time. We felt like it was necessary to thank the fans, thank everyone who supported us throughout all of our amateur careers, most of which have gone on for at least 20 years plus. So, how do you say thank you for that much support? Our idea was to kind of go into all the corners of the country and put on a show for them. So, we hope that they enjoy it.

CTV: So, you’ve been going for about a week. How’s it been going so far? What’s been the reception from the fans?

Tessa Virtue: It’s been great. Getting on the ice and looking out and seeing all of those people who have supported us the last two decades is really special. I feel more engaged. I mean, it’s nice when you step out of that competitive realm and the focus is about entertaining the crowd. It’s a different hat to put on for us and it’s really cool to not worry so much about the technique, to just really connect with those people that are there, in that building, for us and to be in more intimate venues, which is even better, because we can share it with our cast mates and extend that to the people.

CTV: What’s been a highlight of the tour so far?

Moir: Oh my gosh. There’s been a lot, considering we’ve only done three shows. For me, the highlight was opening night when we had a moment. And this show is called the “Thank You Canada Tour,” so there are obviously some Canadian elements in it. But, nothing makes you feel more Canadian than Canadians, and being able to sit there and sing the national anthem at the opening of the show and have the whole arena join in, that was pretty special. It felt like, I don’t know, it felt like maybe we did the right thing by doing this tour. But, it’s a moment I look forward to now every night.

CTV: You guys have a book that just came out recently; it’s the second edition of the book. What has it meant for you to have another way to share your story with your fans? What’s been the response to that and what has it meant to you guys?

Virtue: I think we still consider ourselves quite private and, the first edition of the book, neither of us had social media, we kept a lot sort of close to us and in our vicinity. It was a way for us to share our story with our fans and this was really no different. The last eight years have held a lot of emotions and a lot of ups and downs, especially with the comeback to Pyeongchang. I think we sort of wanted to break down those walls. So, what people might see on the outside, we wanted to give them some insight into the behind-the-scenes. It was special to go back with Steve Milton, the author, and talk about those last eight years and hearing what Scott remembered and his takeaways and how similar they were to mine. I think it was cathartic, in a way, for us to process the last eight years.

CTV: You were in Regina this time last year for the Skate Canada International. What does it mean to be coming back with even more success under your belt now?

Moir: Well, it was funny because I was just reflecting back on last fall and being in Regina. It’s a very different energy than being in a competition. I think we’re probably going to be a little more easy-going when we roll into town this year. I mean, we’re obviously still excited about the show. But, it’ll just be about connecting with Saskatchewan. We’re really excited to be stopping in Regina. We’ve done some shows there in the past, but we guarantee that this show is going to be different. We’re excited to share that with the great people of Saskatchewan.

CTV: What can people expect if they’re going to come out to the show next Friday?

Moir: Well, hopefully they’re ready to have a good time. There’s some audience participation, there’s some dancing. We just want people to have fun. When we go to a show, we always try to go to escape, to get away from everyday life. We want that to be a spot where people can do that and come out and enjoy themselves with us. It would mean so much to Tessa and I if people could do that.

Virtue: We think about that pride that people feel at the Olympics. So, to reignite that feeling is really special to us.

The skating greats will hit the Brandt Centre ice at 7 p.m. on Oct. 17. Tickets are available at thethankyoucanadatour.ca.

Moir and Virtue will also be on CTV Morning Live Regina on Tuesday morning.