Kirsten Moore-Towers on her new career path as a commentator

[Tutto]

I absolutely loved the way Kirsten commentated the Worlds and was delighted to find this publication, courtesy of the Hammer That Keyboard:

Meet the Canadian breakout star of #WorldFigure

Kirsten Moore-Towers shared skating insights with fans around the globe in Boston, and it's a career path she's keen to continue in the years ahead.

rwbrodiewrites.substack.com

I was a fan of Kirsten, the skater, and now I am hoping to see or rather hear more of her. In my humble opinion she was great in Boston - she kept quiet during the skate (despite many prompts from Chris who just would not shut up!) and then to make comments over the replay -always informative (you could see she put in a lot of time and effort researching social media and such), on point and balanced (unlike Chris)
If one day Kirsten is paired with Mark Hanretty it will be just perfect.
What are your thoughts?

 

[noskates]

Once I got used to Kirsten's kind of high voice I really appreciated her commentary. Hopefully she will replace Ashley Wagner who talks and talks and talks and talks and then talks some more. And I DO love Mark Hanratty. They would make a good pair.

 

[Skater Boy]

Interesting. I sometimes wonder how these retired skaters without huge medals fall into skating shows and commentating. I thought for some reason Kaetlyn Osmond who I thought was studying to commentate might be doing more of this kind of thing. You always wonder how do these people get or fall into the jobs. I like KMT so I would be thrilled to see her commentte. I do wonder though is there enough work for her to make a living? Living in Vancouver isn't cheap.

 

[Diana Delafield]

Interesting. I sometimes wonder how these retired skaters without huge medals fall into skating shows and commentating. I thought for some reason Kaetlyn Osmond who I thought was studying to commentate might be doing more of this kind of thing. You always wonder how do these people get or fall into the jobs. I like KMT so I would be thrilled to see her commentte. I do wonder though is there enough work for her to make a living? Living in Vancouver isn't cheap.

She's also the head pairs coach at the Connaught club, and (paid) talent scout for potential pairs skaters in BC/YT section. She manages .

(PS: That's KMT with Michael Marinaro as my current avatar.)

 

[Tutto]

Interesting. I sometimes wonder how these retired skaters without huge medals fall into skating shows and commentating. I thought for some reason Kaetlyn Osmond who I thought was studying to commentate might be doing more of this kind of thing. You always wonder how do these people get or fall into the jobs. I like KMT so I would be thrilled to see her commentte. I do wonder though is there enough work for her to make a living? Living in Vancouver isn't cheap.

Obviously, there are just a handful of positions for commentating at this level, and from what we heard from Kirsten it was far from easy to get the job, it was a combination of hard work, luck (Mark was not available) and 'who you know' type of thing.
But I am thrilled for Kirsten. We need a variety, there was far too much of Chris this season + I think it works better when there is a duo complimenting each other.
I find this bit quite interesting:

“He [Chris] has such a unique style that is different to mine, and I think that’s okay and a team works well in that regard. Every day that we worked together, I just learned more and more from him about the timing of how and when to say things and and how to be concise and effective. Chris is so good at getting an exciting point across in five words, right? And that’s such an amazing skill, because of course, we want the artists and the athletes to tell their story as much as possible without (us) jumping in and disrupting what they’re trying to show us.”

If the opposite works, Chris was truly a model for Kirsten how NOT to do things...
Concise? Chris?!
Exciting point in five words? - yeah, ''It was a cracker''

 

[4everchan]

She s excellent.

 

[noskates]

I've been pretty open about who I like and don't like. Tara drives me up the wall with her inane comments and her motor mouth. Ashley is almost worse because she tries to impress the audience with her knowledge of figure skating and it's like sitting in a boring classroom. None of them should talk over the music. And as Tutto said, timing is everything. We (or I) don't need to know every little single technicality and am more than content to wait until the program is over to find out the judges are looking at something or a jump was UR'ed. I always wish there was a way to provide feedback.

 

[Ruthypegs]

I thought KMT was a brilliant commentator at Worlds, and would love to see how her and Mark would work as a commentary team.

I do like Ted for his calm, supportive approach, and I think this works especially well for the Junior events. Have he and KMT commentated together? That could be good, too.

Chris brings a different energy, which I do enjoy - I love his enthusiasm and his collection of well-used stock phrases does make me smile!

Commentary is such a skill - and the people who are brilliant at it make it look easy.

 

[saine]

I do like Ted for his calm, supportive approach, and I think this works especially well for the Junior events. Have he and KMT commentated together? That could be good, too.

They have at Canadian Nationals, plus he brought her on to the JGP as a guest commentator. Ted talks in the article about how the the production company behind the livestreams reached out to him about recruiting her.

 

[el henry]

I thought KMT was an excellent analyst, and I did not mind the pitch of her voice at all. I also don't mind Chris, yes, some of his stock phrases are well known, but it doesn't bother me either.

Plus, I am going to be country-specific here, as an American, albeit of British descent, I love the accent, I love the continuous use of "quite" and the way the sentences end with questions: "Well he is quite brilliant, isn't he?" I know the speech mannerisms are not unique to Chris, but little things make me happy.

And I love when a skater puts the cat amongst the pigeons.

But back to KMT, I hope she gets more assignments, she aced this one IMO.

 

[withwings]

Interesting. I sometimes wonder how these retired skaters without huge medals fall into skating shows and commentating. I thought for some reason Kaetlyn Osmond who I thought was studying to commentate might be doing more of this kind of thing. You always wonder how do these people get or fall into the jobs. I like KMT so I would be thrilled to see her commentte. I do wonder though is there enough work for her to make a living? Living in Vancouver isn't cheap.

How much I have heard Kaetlyn Osmond commenting- it was fantastic.
I do prefer Kaetlyn over KMT if that would be my choice.

 

[Arriba627]

I haven't heard Kirsten commentary at competitions, but I have heard her on podcasts. I enjoyed her and found her comments to be insightful and fair.

 

[CelticRose22]

Interesting. I sometimes wonder how these retired skaters without huge medals fall into skating shows and commentating. I thought for some reason Kaetlyn Osmond who I thought was studying to commentate might be doing more of this kind of thing. You always wonder how do these people get or fall into the jobs. I like KMT so I would be thrilled to see her commentte. I do wonder though is there enough work for her to make a living? Living in Vancouver isn't cheap.

I think as with coaching that being a big name successful skater does not necessarily mean you are suited to the commentary role. Nobody seems to like Tara Lipinski, although maybe she is more popular with the casual fans who say only watch the sport at the Olympics or Worlds. It's very easy/lazy for broadcasters to pick a big name but I tend to think they should credit their audiences with more intelligence; who will be looking for insightful and informative commentary whoever delivers it and not just a celebrity name.

I enjoyed KMT and Chris commentating together at worlds; I do quite like Chris but I think 2 commentators works better.

And nobody does Figure Skating Commentary full time; you either work on other sports also or combine it with coaching or other ventures

 

[jorge2912]

Once I got used to Kirsten's kind of high voice I really appreciated her commentary. Hopefully she will replace Ashley Wagner who talks and talks and talks and talks and then talks some more. And I DO love Mark Hanratty. They would make a good pair.

They does a nice duo and both knowledge is a complement really.

Ashley is almost worse because she tries to impress the audience with her knowledge of figure skating and it's like sitting in a boring classroom

Ashley is more academic explaining but the problem when try to impress audience is makes she look pretentious and audience wants enjoy figure skating and precise and concise comments and not human Wikipedia, maybe Ashley attempt to impress works with newbie in figure skating.

How much I have heard Kaetlyn Osmond commenting- it was fantastic.
I do prefer Kaetlyn over KMT if that would be my choice.

i heard Kaetlyn and she's great but Kirsten is great too .

She's also the head pairs coach at the Connaught club, and (paid) talent scout for potential pairs skaters in BC/YT section. She manages .

that is a bias really and that can affect her comments strongly. well also Kirsten according with the interview says "(a prime example of that: ice dancers Carolane Soucisse and Shane Firus, who represent Ireland and happen to be her brother and sister-in-law)." i think isn't a bias that can affect in her comments strongly . But yes i liked her comments in Worlds .

 

[ElSoteroLoco]

I forgot which competition i was watching, that she was the commentator and I found her to be very pleasant and easy on the ears. Hoping to hear her more

 

[lariko]

Loved her in Boston commentary and hope she continues. Great delivery and research. Was my favorite English-speaking commentator this year.