Virtue and Moir lead star-studded group of inductees into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Olympic, world champions comprise 2023 class featuring 9 athletes, 2 builders
Canada's greatest figure-skating duo is now enshrined together forever.
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir were among the inductees to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame who were honoured in Gatineau, Que., on Thursday.
Joining them as athlete inductees are former UFC fighter Georges St-Pierre, wheelchair basketball athlete Danielle Peers, Indigenous softball player Phyllis Bomberry, and curling's Team Ferbey of Randy Ferbey, David Nedohin, Scott Pfeifer and Marcel Rocque. Indigenous lacrosse advocate Oren Lyons joins as a builder alongside Hiroshi Nakamura, a high performance judo coach.
In total, the newest class includes individual three athletes and two teams, in addition to a pair in the builders category, that have achieved great success in their sports and helped lead the way for future generations in Canadian sport.
WATCH | Virtue, Moir reflect on iconic career:
Speakers included Cheryl Bernard, an Olympic medallist in curling and the president and chief executive officer of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame since 2018, and Adam van Koeverden, an Olympic medallist kayaker and Member of Parliament. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recorded a video message for this year's inductees.
"You here because you are legends," Trudeau said.
Known for a chemistry that exploded through TV screens and beyond the ice, Virtue and Moir reflected on their time together.
"Our eyes would meet on the ice and it would take us to another world," Moir said. "Our passion for skating, and for skating with each other, would ignite. And the feeling was way better than anyone — sorry to tell you this — than any spectator had ever thought they had witnessed."
WATCH | Virtue, Moir thank their support team:
Virtue added that Moir was her ideal partner.
"He is the best in every way," she said. "More than that, he's the kind of friend that always has the right thing to say. The kind of human who epitomizes generosity and kindness. And the kind of skating partner that builds you up to feel like you can conquer the world."
Considered among the greatest ice dancing duos in the sport's history, they join the Hall following a career which saw them win Olympic gold in the event at Vancouver 2010 and Pyeongchang 2018. After joining forces in 1997, the two developed a captivating and prolific partnership on the ice.
The team would go on to win eight national titles and three world championships together.
"It was about more than just results and what we created on the ice. It was about two young people using sport to try to become the best version of themselves for each other," Moir said. "It was a truly beautiful journey."
WATCH | Virtue and Moir thrived in the spotlight:
Following their thrilling gold medal in Pyeongchang, where the Canadians produced a spectacle of a free skate to edge their French rivals, Virtue and Moir announced their retirement from sport.
St-Pierre, of St-Isidore, Que., is viewed by many as the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time, having won UFC title in both the middleweight and welterweight divisions.
The 42-year-old retired in 2019 and was inducted to UFC's Hall of Fame a year later. He said his journey started as a teenager when he watched the first-ever UFC event.
"It really inspired me and gave a sense to where I wanted to in life in terms of a career. Even though at the beginning it sounds crazy to most of my entourage, I had a lot of support. I'm alone in the octagon but I'm not alone in my preparation," St-Pierre said.
WATCH | St-Pierre makes induction speech:
Randy Ferbey and the "Ferbey Four" won three world titles and four national championships together, setting the Canadian curling standard for a half-decade.
"Being inducted is very special to us," Ferbey said. "We played the game because we love it and we keep hearing stories of how many people followed us and appreciate what we did. If we could just encourage one person to follow in our footsteps, we would consider ourselves lucky."
Ferbey's rink, nominated for the Order of Sport by fellow curler Jennifer Jones, used innovative strategies that have left a lasting mark on competitive curling. The team used a number-zone system to communicate weight for draw shots and had a shared approach to decision-making, rather than just deferring to the skip's leadership.
"What an honour this is for our team to receive this prestigious award today. It's something we never ever thought we would achieve. We never thought we were good enough. But here we are today," Ferbey said. "It's blown us away."
WATCH | Ferbey 'humbled' by induction:
Nakamura, who was born in Tokyo in 1942 and moved to Canada in 1968, led dozens of Canadian judokas to international acclaim. With a hearty laugh, he said he's still trying to achieve one big goal.
"My objective in Canada was to make judo as popular as hockey," he said. "But the bar was very high. I'm still working on it."
The 93-year-old Lyons, who spent most of his life advocating for the rights of Indigenous people in sport, has a far-reaching legacy. Lacrosse is set to be part of the 2028 Olympics, something his father fought for back in 1932.
Lyons spoke of the game as being more than just a ball and a stick.
"It is part of our creation story," he said.
WATCH | Full induction ceremony:
Peers, who identifies as non-binary, was not able to attend the ceremony but submitted a video focused on diversity and inclusion in sport. They are a long-celebrated wheelchair basketball athlete and broke down barriers by competing with male athletes in the NCAA in 2005. They were MVP of the European Men's Club Championship in 2006.
Bomberry was inducted posthumously. Nicknamed 'Yogi,' she was a trailblazing softball star through the 1960s. Bomberry died in 2019 and her brother, Ivan, accepted the award on her behalf.
The winners of the 2023 Tom Longboat Awards, which recognize Indigenous athletes for their contributions to sport in Canada, were wrestler Connor Church of Winnipeg — who won the award for the second year in a row — and dragon boater Trina Ross of Pimicikamak Cree Nation in Manitoba.
Ross, through tears, thanked Dragon Boat Canada for giving her an "opportunity of a lifetime." Church cited Longboat's legacy of "perseverance and resilience" as something that serves as daily inspiration for him as he chases his dream of representing Canada at the Olympics.
With files from The Canadian Press
