Amway Canadian Championship

2012 Amway Canadian Championship.png
Founded	2008
Region	Canada (CONCACAF)
Number of teams	4
Current champions	Toronto FC
Most successful club	Toronto FC (4 titles)
Television broadcasters	Rogers Sportsnet (English) RDS[1] (French)
Website	www.canadasoccer.com/championship/
2012 Canadian Championship

The Canadian Championship—known as the Amway Canadian Championship for sponsorship reasons—is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League^[2] As of 2012, it will be contested by MLS sides Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Montreal Impact and NASL side FC Edmonton.^[3] It is currently sponsored by Amway and organized by the Canadian Soccer Association.^[4]

History[link]

The Amway Canadian Championship is a club football competition organized by the Canadian Soccer Association. The championship determines Canada's entry in the annual CONCACAF Champions League.

The 2008 edition was contested between May 2008 and July 2008 and won by the Montreal Impact. The tournament consisted of a home-and-away round-robin series between the Montreal Impact, Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps. As the Canadian champions, Montréal qualified for CONCACAF Champions League 2008–09.^[5][6][7]

The 2009 edition's format and participants were the same, contested by the three clubs in May and June 2009. It was closely contended by Toronto and Vancouver and won by the former via goal differential in the tournament's final game against the defending champions, Montreal, giving the Toronto franchise its first ever trophy and a spot in the qualifying round of the CONCACAF Champions League 2009–10.^[8] Toronto repeated as champions in the 2010 competition, qualifying for the CONCACAF Champions League 2010–11. Toronto won it for the 4th consecutive season in the 2012 competition, having also won it the previous year.

Format[link]

Prior to 2010, the tournament consisted of the top three professional teams in Canada in a home and away series with the top team winning entry into the qualifying stage of the CONCACAF Champions League. These teams were the only Canadian teams in the two top professional soccer leagues, which for 2010 were Major League Soccer and the temporary USSF Division 2 Professional League. The North American Soccer League has since received provisional sanctioning as the new second-division league beginning in 2011.

When FC Edmonton joined the NASL in 2011, the tournament was expanded to include the four most important professional clubs in the country. The tournament now consists of two two-legged semifinals and a two-legged final. In the first semifinal of 2011, Toronto, as reigning champions, was assigned the first-place seed and played Edmonton, which was assigned the fourth seed as newcomers to the tournament. The two remaining teams, Montreal and Vancouver, faced off in the other semifinal. This was to be followed by a one-game final to be hosted by the highest remaining seed;^[9] but the Canadian Soccer Association decided to go with a two-legged final instead. The format was repeated in 2012 with final league placement from 2011 determining placement. Toronto will meet Montreal and Vancouver will meet Edmonton in the first round .^[10]

Participants[link]

Trophy[link]

The winners of the Canadian Championship are awarded the Voyageurs Cup,^[11] a trophy previously awarded to the Canadian USL First Division side with the best regular season record against other Canadian USL-1 teams. The USL was the highest level of Canadian soccer until Toronto FC became the first Canadian club in Major League Soccer.

The Voyageurs donated the cup to the Canadian Soccer Association to award to the winners of the Canadian Championship.^{[citation needed]}

Results[link]

By year[link]

By club[link]

All time table[link]

• Statistics for Vancouver Whitecaps FC include the original Vancouver Whitecaps who took part in the tournament in the first 3 editions from 2008 through 2010. This team ceased operations in 2011 and was replaced by a new MLS franchise of the same name and ownership.
• In 2012 the Montreal Impact of MLS replaced the former Montreal Impact of the NASL in the Canadian Championship. Statistics include data from both iterations of the Impact.

George Gross Memorial Trophy[link]

The George Gross Memorial Trophy was created by the Canadian Soccer Association in 2008 to recognize each tournament's most valuable player. The Trophy is named after the late George Gross, a respected journalist and soccer lover.

Year	Player	Position	Nationality	Team
2012	Johnson, RyanRyan Johnson	Forward	Jamaica	Toronto FC
2011	Plata, JoaoJoao Plata	Forward	Ecuador	Toronto FC
2010	De Rosario, DwayneDwayne De Rosario	Attacking Midfielder	Canada	Toronto FC
2009	De Rosario, DwayneDwayne De Rosario	Attacking Midfielder	Canada	Toronto FC
2008	Jordan , MattMatt Jordan	Goalkeeper	United States	Montreal Impact

Goalscorers[link]

All time top goalscorers[link]

Pos	Name	Club	Nationality	Goals
1	Dwayne De Rosario	Toronto FC	Canada	4
2	Chad Barrett	Toronto FC	United States	3
	Eric Hassli	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	France
	Maicon Santos	Toronto FC	Brazil
	Ansu Toure	Vancouver Whitecaps	Liberia
5	Roberto Brown	Montreal Impact	Panama	2
	Alan Gordon	Toronto FC	United States
	Marcus Haber	Vancouver Whitecaps	Canada
	Eduardo Sebrango	Vancouver Whitecaps	Cuba
	Rohan Ricketts	Toronto FC	England
	Ryan Johnson	Toronto FC	Jamaica
	Reggie Lambe	Toronto FC	Bermuda
	Sebastien Le Toux	Vancouver Whitecaps	France

Top goalscorers by season[link]

Season	Player	Club	Nationality	Goals
2008	Roberto Brown	Montreal Impact	Panama	2
	Rohan Ricketts	Toronto FC	England
	Eduardo Sebrango	Vancouver Whitecaps	Cuba
2009	Dwayne De Rosario	Toronto FC	Canada	3
2010	Chad Barrett	Toronto FC	United States	1
	Philippe Billy	Montreal Impact	France
	Peter Byers	Montreal Impact	Antigua and Barbuda
	Dwayne De Rosario	Toronto FC	Canada
	Marcus Haber	Vancouver Whitecaps	Canada
	Ty Harden	Toronto FC	United States
	Ansu Toure	Vancouver Whitecaps	Liberia
2011	Maicon Santos	Toronto FC	Brazil	3
2012	Reggie Lambe	Toronto FC	Bermuda	2
	Ryan Johnson	Toronto FC	Jamaica
	Sebastien Le Toux	Vancouver Whitecaps	France
	Eric Hassli	Vancouver Whitecaps	France

See also[link]

List of American and Canadian soccer champions

References[link]

External links[link]

• Canadian Championship on CSA site
• History of Canadian Championship from 2008 to 2011

Tessa Virtue
Virtue (left) and Moir (right) at the 2008 World Championships.
Personal information
Country represented	Canada
Born	(1989-05-17) May 17, 1989 (age 23) London, Ontario, Canada
Residence	Canton, Michigan, United States
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Partner	Scott Moir
Coach	Igor Shpilband Marina Zueva
Former coach	Carol Moir Paul MacIntosh Suzanne Killing
Choreographer	Igor Shpilband Marina Zueva
Skating club	Ilderton Skating Club
Current training locations	Canton, Michigan
Former training locations	Kitchener-Waterloo
Began skating	1994
World standing	3 (As of 30 April 2012 (2012 -04-30)[update])[1]
Season's bests	2 (2011–2012)[2] 2 (2010–2011)[3] 1 (2009–2010)[4] 3 (2008–2009)[5]
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	224.43 2010 Worlds
Comp. dance	44.13 2010 Worlds
Original dance	70.27 (WR) 2010 Worlds
Short dance:	74.29 2011 Worlds
Free dance	112.33 2011 Grand Prix FInal
Medal record Ice dancing Competitor for  Canada Olympic Games Gold 2010 Vancouver Ice dancing World Championships Gold 2012 Nice Ice dancing Gold 2010 Turin Ice dancing Silver 2011 Moscow Ice dancing Silver 2008 Gothenburg Ice dancing Bronze 2009 Los Angeles Ice dancing Four Continents Championships Gold 2012 Colorado Springs Ice dancing Gold 2008 Goyang Ice dancing Silver 2009 Vancouver Ice dancing Bronze 2006 Colorado Springs Ice dancing Bronze 2007 Colorado Springs Ice dancing Grand Prix Final Silver 2011–2012 Quebec City Ice dancing Silver 2009–2010 Tokyo Ice dancing World Junior Championships Gold 2006 Ljubljana Ice dancing Silver 2005 Kitchener Ice dancing Junior Grand Prix Final Gold 2005–2006 Ostrava Ice dancing Silver 2004–2005 Helsinki Ice dancing

Tessa Virtue (born May 17, 1989) is a Canadian ice dancer who competes with Scott Moir. Virtue and Moir are the 2010 Olympic champions, the 2010 & 2012 World Champions, the 2008 & 2012 Four Continents Champions, the 2006 World Junior Champions and four-time (2008–2010, 2012) Canadian national champions.

At the 2009 Skate Canada competition, they became the first ice dance team to ever receive a 10.0 component score mark under the ISU Judging System.^[6] They have received more scores of 10.00s than any other figure skating or dance team under the ISU Judging System.^{[citation needed]} They are the current world record score holders for the original dance.^[7][8]

Personal life[link]

Virtue was born in London, Ontario, Canada. She is the youngest of four children.

She attended Holy Names High School in Windsor, in addition to an electronic learning school called "AMDEC" based in Stratford, Ontario. Virtue is currently studying for a degree in psychology at the University of Windsor, commuting across the border from Michigan.^[9]

Virtue lives and trains in Canton, Michigan, USA, although her official residence remains London. Virtue and Moir are training mates and friends of the American ice dance team of Meryl Davis and Charlie White.^[10]

In October 2010, Virtue, Moir, and co-writer Steve Milton published a book about their career called Tessa And Scott: Our Journey From Childhood Dream To Gold .^[11]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Virtue & Moir at the 2005 Junior World Championships.

Virtue and Moir began skating together in 1997, having been paired by his aunt, who was coaching them at the time.^[12] Early in their career, they trained in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario with Paul MacIntosh and Suzanne Killing.^[13]

In the 2001–2002 season, Virtue and Moir won the bronze medal at the 2002 Canadian Championships at the novice level. The following season, they placed 7th at the 2003 Canadian Championships in the junior division. In 2003, they moved to Canton, Michigan and began working with coaches Igor Shpilband and Marina Zueva at the Arctic Edge Ice Arena.^[13][9]

In 2003–2004, they made their ISU Junior Grand Prix debut on the 2003-2004 ISU Junior Grand Prix. They placed 4th at the event in Croatia and 6th in Slovakia. 2004 Canadian Championships, they won the Junior title, qualifying them for the team to the 2004 World Junior Championships, where they placed 11th.

The following season, they moved up to senior nationally but remained juniors internationally. On the 2004-2005 ISU Junior Grand Prix, they won the event in China and won the silver medal at the event in France, which qualified them for the Junior Grand Prix Final, where they won the silver medal. They made their senior national debut at the 2005 Canadian Championships, where they placed fourth. They were named to the team to the 2005 World Junior Championships, where they won the silver medal.

They remained at the junior level internationally in the 2005–2006 season. On the 2005–2006 ISU Junior Grand Prix, they won both their events as well as the Junior Grand Prix Final.

At the 2006 Canadian Championships, they placed 3rd and were named as first alternates to the Olympic team. They were named to the team to the 2006 Four Continents, where they won the bronze medal. At the 2006 World Junior Championships, they became the first Canadian ice dancers to win the title.^[13]

Senior career[link]

2006–2007 season[link]

In the 2006–2007 season, Virtue and Moir moved up to the senior level internationally. They made their Grand Prix debut at the 2006 Skate Canada International, where they won the silver medal. They placed 4th at the 2006 Trophée Eric Bompard.

At the 2007 Canadian Championships, they won the silver medal, and repeated their bronze medal finish at Four Continents. In their debut at the World Championships, they placed 6th.

2007–2008 season[link]

Virtue and Moir were assigned to Skate Canada International and the NHK Trophy for the 2007–2008 Grand Prix season. They won the 2007 Skate Canada International and placed second at the 2007 NHK Trophy, qualifying them for the Grand Prix Final, where they came in fourth place.

Virtue and Moir won their first Canadian national title at the 2008 Canadian Championships and earned spots for the Four Continents and World Championships.

They won the gold medal at the 2008 Four Continents Championships. At the 2008 World Championships in Sweden, Virtue and Moir won the silver medal, winning the free dance segment with their program to The Umbrellas of Cherbourg soundtrack.

2008–2009 season[link]

In the 2008–2009 season, Virtue and Moir withdrew from both their Grand Prix events due to Virtue's medical condition; she had been diagnosed with chronic exertional compartment syndrome and underwent surgery in October 2008 to alleviate the condition.^[9][14] She returned to the ice at the start of December, which she later said was probably too early.^[9] At the 2009 Canadian Championships, they won the gold medal.

At the 2009 Four Continents Championships, they won the silver medal behind Americans Meryl Davis & Charlie White. At the 2009 World Championships, they won the bronze medal, after placing 3rd in the compulsory dance, 6th in the original dance, and 4th in the free skate.

2009–2010 season[link]

Virtue & Moir at the 2010 Worlds.

They started off the 2009–2010 Olympic season at the 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard, finishing first by a margin of 16.07 points ahead of the silver medalists, Nathalie Péchalat & Fabian Bourzat. They also won the 2009 Skate Canada International, with a total combined score of 204.38 points, 19.31 points ahead of Nathalie Péchalat & Fabian Bourzat. At that competition, they received the first 10.0 for ice dance under the Code of Points.^[6] They were second at the Grand Prix Final behind Meryl Davis & Charlie White.

On January 2010, they won their third National title at the 2010 Canadian Championships, placing first all the three segments of the competition and earning 221.95 points overall, which was 37.25 ahead of silver medalists Vanessa Crone & Paul Poirier. They set Canadian records for free dance and for combined total.^[15]

They competed in the ice dancing competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics from February 19 through 22. They placed second in the compulsory dance, earning a new personal best score of 42.74 points, just 1.02 off the lead. They earned 68.41 points in the original dance, placing first in that segment of the competition.^[16] They scored 110.42 points in the free dance, easily winning the gold medal overall with an insurmountable total score of 221.57, surpassing silver medalists Davis and White by 5.83 points. In the free dance, they received four 10.00 marks from the judges in the program components, two for the performance execution and two for interpretation,^[17] a feat never before accomplished by a figure skater/or team under the International Judging System. They became the first Canadian as well as the first North American ice dance team and the youngest dance team to win the Olympics, and the first ice dance team to win the Olympic gold on home ice^[18] and also the first ice dancers to win gold on their Olympic debut since the inaugural Olympic ice dance event in 1976.

They competed at the 2010 World Championships, placing first in the compulsory dance with 44.13 points, improving their previous personal best. They also won the original dance with 70.27 points, a world record under the ISU Judging System.^[8] They placed second in the free dance with 110.03 points, 0.46 behind Meryl Davis & Charlie White. Overall they claimed their first World Championship title scoring 224.43 points, 1.40 ahead of Meryl Davis & Charlie White. They received numerous 10.00 for program components marks in the original dance and in the free dance.^[19][20]

2010–2011 season[link]

Virtue and Moir at 2011 Four Continents

For the 2010–2011 ISU Grand Prix season, they were assigned to the 2010 Skate Canada International and to the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard. Virtue underwent surgery in October 2010 to reduce the lingering pain in her shins and calves that is a result of Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome, leading to their withdrawal from Skate Canada.^[14] They also withdrew from the 2011 Canadian Championships because they had not had enough time to train after the surgery.^[21]

Virtue and Moir made their season debut at the 2011 Four Continents. They were in the lead following the short dance but withdrew midway through the free dance after Virtue felt tightness in her left quad muscle.^[22] Virtue stated, "The issue with my quad was actually coming from my pelvis and my back. [I]t seemed to be stemming from a particular lift we were doing, which was a split lift. Upon returning home to Michigan we changed that lift immediately, so now we do an upside-down position instead of a split."^[23] At the 2011 World Championships, they placed second overall by 3.48 points behind the American team of Meryl Davis and Charlie White.

Following the World Championships, Virtue experienced pain in her shins and calves. She decided against another surgery and used other methods to overcome the problem.^[24]

2011–2012 season[link]

Virtue and Moir were assigned to two Grand Prix events, 2011 Skate Canada and 2011 Trophee Eric Bompard, having declined a newly introduced option to compete in a third.^[25] They announced their music selections in August.^[25] Virtue and Moir won their first event of the season, 2011 Finlandia Trophy.^[26] They won both their Grand Prix events and qualified for the Grand Prix Final, where they finished second in both segments to win the silver medal. In late December 2011, the ISU acknowledged a scoring error in the free dance; had the scores been correctly calculated (+ 0.5 points), Virtue and Moir would have won that segment. The scores from the Grand Prix Final were left unchanged, however.^[27]

Virtue and Moir won their fourth national title in January 2012. In February, they competed at the 2012 Four Continents Championships. After a second place short dance, they rallied in the free dance to win their second Four Continents championships and first since 2008.^[28] It was also their first victory over training mates Meryl Davis and Charlie White since the 2010 World Championships. Virtue and Moir then competed at the 2012 World Championships and won the gold medal finishing first in both the short and free dance ahead of silver medalists Meryl Davis and Charlie White.

Other skating[link]

Virtue and Moir have toured with Stars on Ice in Canada and performed in ice shows such as Festa on Ice, Shall We Dance On Ice, All That Skate in Los Angeles and 2011 All That Skate Summer.

Programs[link]

Virtue & Moir perform their signature lift "the Goose" during their Great Gig in the Sky program at the 2009 Four Continents.

Competitive highlights[link]

Virtue & Moir with their Olympic gold medals

(with Moir)

Post-2006[link]

Pre-2006[link]

Detailed results[link]

(with Moir)

Post-2006[link]

• CD = Complusory Dance; OD = Original Dance; FD = Free Dance.
• SD = Short Dance.
• Personal bests highlighted in bold.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tessa Virtue

• Official Site
• Skate Canada Profile
• Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir at the International Skating Union
• "Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir". IceNetwork.com. http://web.icenetwork.com/skaters/detail.jsp?id=38772&mode=P. 
• World Junior Figure Skating Championships: ISU Results: DancePDF (11.0 KB)