Moore-Towers, Marinaro win virtual Skate Canada pairs title
By The Associated PressJanuary 10, 2021 GMT
Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro build their skating programs with large crowds in mind.
Which made watching themselves win the pairs event of the Skate Canada Challenge, a unique virtual event of pre-recorded programs, bittersweet. They were happy to be back competing in any fashion after an almost year-long layoff, but lamented the loss of fans.
Of all the sports played out in front of empty arenas amid COVID-19, figure skating might be the most jarring — like a symphony orchestra playing in an empty concert hall.
“The competitions are definitely driven by the audience, trying to bring them along with us,” Marinaro said. “So having that aspect completely gone definitely changes things a lot. It’s definitely a different experience.”