So the talk is all true: the dynamic pair team of Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch has parted ways.
So sad. They had a wonderful chemistry, playing off each other’s personalities perfectly. They skated like the wind. You knew, whenever they took to the ice, it was going to be fun, playful.
But they are going in different directions. Is it surprising? Not when you think about it. He’s 29, she 21. That age difference is a lifetime.
He’s not quitting, though. “My future includes embracing new opportunities within the sport that I love, finding a new partner and competing in the 2014-1015 season, and expanding my horizons for life after skating,” he said in a prepared release.
Perhaps he just doesn’t want to do one or more Olympics, as Moore-Towers easily could. “I’m so proud of what Dylan and I achieved in our five years together and I do want to thank him for everything we accomplished,” Moore-Towers said in a prepared release. “We are just at different points in our lives right now.”
She feels an opportunity to skate for at least one, maybe two more Olympic cycles. “My plan is to look for the partner who will share in that dream.” If Moscovitch stayed with her for one more cycle, he’d be 33, for two more cycles, he’d be 37.
Better to figure this out now, than later. It gives Moore-Towers a chance to continue her dream.
Moore-Towers and Moscovitch joined forces in 2009, and finished fifth at their first Canadian championship in 2010. But the next year, they won gold nationally, and for the past two years have finished second, while pushing archrivals and friends Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford to their utmost.
In 2013 and 2014, they finished fourth at the world championships, but finished highest of all Canadian teams at the Sochi Olympics with a fifth place finish. At the 2014 worlds, they defeated Duhamel and Radford in the free skate.
The pair trained under coaches Kristy Wirtz and Kris Wirtz for five years together at the Kitchener-Waterloo Skating Club.
“It was such an honour to represent Canada on the world and Olympic stage,” Moscovitch said. They were also part of the silver medal-winning team in Sochi. “I’m glad that Kirsten and I accomplished that together,” he said. “I wish her the best of luck going forward.”
Although I can see the logic somewhat, it still makes me sad because this pair has been my favourite since I first saw them in 2009. They were so hot together. I hope they both have all the best in their future endeavours. With all the shake ups in partnerships, it should be an interesting upcoming season! I will be watching!