Tessa Virtue

Tessa Virtue
Tessa Virtue
	Virtue and Moir in 2006.
Height	160 cm (5 ft 3 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Canada
Partner	Scott Moir
Coach	Igor Shpilband, Marina Zueva
Skating club	Ilderton Skating Club

Tessa Virtue (born May 17, 1989 in London, Ontario) is a Canadian ice dancer. She currently competes with Scott Moir. They are the 2008 & 2009 Canadian national champions, the 2008 Four Continents Champions, and 2006 World Junior Champions.

Personal life

Tessa Virtue was born in London, Ontario, Canada. She is the youngest of four children. She currently lives and trains in Canton, Michigan, USA, although her official residence remains London.

Career

Virtue and Moir began skating together in 1997.

In the 2001-2002 season, they won the bronze medal at Junior Canadians at the novice level. In 2003, they placed 7th at Canadians in the junior division.

In 2003-2004, they made their Junior Grand Prix debut. They didn't place at either of their events. At Nationals, they won the Junior title, qualifying them for the team to the World Junior Figure Skating Championships, where they placed 11th.

The following season, they moved up to senior nationally but remained juniors internationally. They won one of their Junior Grand Prix assignments, placed second at another, and won the silver medal at the Junior Grand Prix Final. At Canadians, they placed fourth in their senior debut. They went to Junior Worlds again, where they placed 2nd.

Because the 2005-2006 season was the Olympic season and they had a chance of making the Olympic team, many thought they should go senior. However, they remained Junior internationally for one final season. They won both their Junior Grand Prix events and then won the Junior Grand Prix Final. They won the bronze medal at Canadian Nationals, missing an Olympic berth by one spot. They were named as first alternates to the Olympic team. However, having only a junior record, they may not have been sent to the Olympics anyway. Following Nationals, they went to the Four Continents Championships, where they won the bronze medal -- their first senior international medal -- and qualified themselves as alternates. They went on to Junior Worlds for one last time and won it. They are the first Canadian ice dancers to win the World Junior title.

In 2006-2007, they moved up to the senior division. They won the silver medal at Skate Canada and placed 4th at the Trophée Eric Bompard in France. At Nationals, they won the silver medal, and repeated their bronze medal finish at Four Continents. In their debut at the World Figure Skating Championships, they placed 6th, the debut highest placement of a Canadian team in decades. At the 2008 World Figure Skating Championship in Sweden, Virtue and Moir won the silver medal, winning the free dance program with their spectacular skating to the Umbrellas of Cherbourg soundtrack.

Although they hoped to have a strong 08-09 season, Virtue underwent surgery on her legs after discovering that she had a rare condition that prevented her muscles from expanding and contracting properly. They planned to appear at NHK Trophy, but she still had not recovered in time. They returned to competition at the 2009 Canadian National Championships and won the gold medal. Still recovering, they competed at 4 Continents, winning the silver medal behind training partners Meryl Davis and Charlie White.

Programs

Season	Original Dance	Free Dance	Exhibition
2008-2009	Won't You Charleston with Me?	Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd	Jack and Diane by John Mellencamp
2007-2008	Dark Eyes (Russian Folk Music)	Umbrellas of Cherbourg by Michel Legrand	I Could Have Danced All Night by Jamie Cullum Dare You To Move by Switchfoot
2006-2007	Assassination Tango (Building the Bullet) by Luis Bacalov	Valse Triste by Jean Sibelius	Black Magic Woman by Santana Tennessee Waltz by Holly Cole Trio
2005 - 2006	Beautiful Maria; Do You Only Wanna Dance by The Mambo Kings; Julio Daviel Big Band	Malaguena by Raul Di Blasio	No Me Ames by Jennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony Everybody Dance Now by C & C Music Factory
2004 - 2005	Call Me Irresponsible; Puttin On The Ritz by Bobby Darrin; Unknown	Adios Nonino by Astor Piazzolla	Everybody Dance Now by C & C Music Factory
2003 - 2004	Tears On My Pillows; Tutti Frutti by Little Anthony; Little Richard	Russian Medley by Johann Christian Bach
2002 - 2003	Les Poissons; Concerto Sopra Motivi dell'Opera by : Unknown; Johann Christian Bach	Magaienha; Eres Todo En Mi; Tres Deseos by Sergio Mendes; Ana Gabriel; Gloria Estefan

Competitive highlights

(with Moir)

Event	2001-2002	2002-2003	2003-2004	2004-2005	2005-2006	2006-2007	2007-2008	2008-2009
World Championships						6th	2nd
Four Continents Championships					3rd	3rd	1st	2nd
World Junior Championships			11th	2nd	1st
Canadian Championships	3rd N.	7th J.	1st J.	4th	3rd	2nd	1st	1st
Grand Prix Final							4th
Skate Canada International						2nd	1st
NHK Trophy							2nd
Trophee Eric Bompard						4th
Junior Grand Prix Final				2nd	1st
Junior Grand Prix, Canada					1st
Junior Grand Prix, Andorra					1st
Junior Grand Prix, China				1st
Junior Grand Prix, France				2nd
Junior Grand Prix, Croatia			4th
Junior Grand Prix, Slovakia			6th
NACS Thornhill			1st J.
Western Ontario Sectionals		1st J.	1st J.	1st

N = Novice level; J = Junior level

References

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External links