Forget Robin Williams in Moscow on the Hudson.
Welcome to Sochi on the Pacific.
Canada’s gold-medal hopes in figure skating for the 2014 Winter Olympics — most notably Patrick Chan in men’s singles and Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue in ice dance — will be on display tonight at 7 in the annual Stars on Ice show at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
It’s hard to believe it’s been seven years since Moir’s and Virtue’s senior debut in this same building when they won silver at the 2006 Skate Canada International.
Four years later, of course, the seamless duo returned to B.C. to win gold at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
Now, they look to wind up their competitive careers at Sochi next year.
“It has hit us,” admitted Moir.
“The days are getting short to Sochi and we want to soak up every last moment as we head into our last Games.”
Virtue was also in a reflective mood as she looked forward to performing again tonight on Blanshard.
“I’m only 23, but it goes by so quickly,” she noted.
“It’s been a lot of work, too. Mentally, emotionally, physically, it’s very taxing. But watching the Summer Olympics last year from London really got me inspired again.”
And there’s that silver medal to think about from the 2013 world championships this year in London, Ont., after winning gold the year before in Nice, France.
“That’s one of the demons we want to [overcome] next year, although motivation is never a problem in an Olympic season,” said Moir.
“Were keeping things normal. We know what works.”
So does three-time world champion Chan, who makes his first return to Victoria since that pulsating night in the packed Memorial Centre during the 2011 Canadian championships when he set a world record combined score of 285.85 to win his fourth of six national men’s title.
Although ice shows like tonight’s don’t have the same grinding pressure of competition, there are still unique challenges.
“Sure, there’s less pressure than competing, but you are still going out there in front of 6,000 or 7,000 people and you don’t want to disappoint,” said Moir.
Virtue said it brings her back to why she started skating in the first place.
“You feel closer to the audience [in an ice show] than you do [in competition] and you can make eye contact with the audience,” she noted.
“As we’ve competed longer, Scott and I have become more internal in our skating. [Ice shows] get you skating externally again and that allows the audience to become a part of our skating, which is what I loved about the sport when I first started.”
Although better known for producing prodigious numbers of Summer Olympians, Victoria has also proven itself time and again a reliable host city for national and international winter events in figure skating and curling.
“It’s our annual favourite stop of the tour,” said Moir.
“The crowd is so knowledgeable and the Save-on centre is an ideal-size venue for skating.”
Other headliners tonight include Olympic medallists Jeffrey Buttle and Joannie Rochette with four-time world champion Kurt Browning.
Meanwhile, fans can meet Chan today from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Esquimalt Road McDonald’s, where he will be greeting customers and taking orders from behind the counter for local children’s charities.
