Kirsten Leigh Moore-Towers (born July 1, 1992) is a Canadian retired competitive pair skater who competed internationally at the senior level for thirteen seasons from 2009 to 2022. She first achieved distinction partnered with Dylan Moscovitch, winning the 2011 Canadian national title. The two won silver at the 2013 Four Continents Championships, as well as seven medals on the ISU Grand Prix, qualifying to three Grand Prix Finals and finishing fourth at two consecutive World Championships. As part of the Canadian team at the 2014 Winter Olympics, Moore-Towers/Moscovitch won an Olympic silver medal in the figure skating team event.
After the end of her partnership with Moscovitch, Moore-Towers formed a new partnership with Michael Marinaro. Together they were three-time Canadian national champions (2019–20, 2022). Competing internationally, they were two-time Four Continents medalists (silver in 2019, bronze in 2020), and won medals on both the Grand Prix and Challenger series, including gold at the 2019 Nebelhorn Trophy and 2017 U.S. International Classic. The two represented Canada at the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics.
Personal life Kirsten Moore-Towers was born on July 1, 1992, in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. She is the daughter of a steel company employee and a Finance Manager and has a sister, Katie, who is eight years younger. Moore-Towers is an advocate for eating disorders prevention and recovery in sport and has spoken publicly about her experiences in these fields.
Moore-Towers began dating fellow Canadian figure skater Liam Firus in 2015. On August 22, 2023, they became engaged and married on June 15, 2024 in British Columbia In August 2025, Moore-Towers announced that she and Firus are expecting their first child in January 2026.
Early years in skating Moore-Towers was introduced to skating at age two and a half by her mother. She began pair skating around April 2008, teaming up with Andrew Evans. They appeared at one ISU Junior Grand Prix event and placed fourth on the junior level at the Canadian Championships. The pair split after ten months together.
Partnership with Moscovitch
2009–10 season In February 2009, Moore-Towers teamed up with Dylan Moscovitch, who had trained at the same rink for several years. Kris Wirtz and Kristy Sargeant-Wirtz coached the pair at the Kitchener-Waterloo Skating Club in Waterloo, Ontario.
Moore-Towers/Moscovitch debuted on the Grand Prix series at the 2009 Skate Canada International, placing sixth. They came fifth at the 2010 Canadian Championships and thus did not qualify for the Canadian teams for the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 World Championships. They were instead sent to the 2010 Four Continents Championships in Jeonju, South Korea, where they placed ninth.
2010–11 season: National champions The pair initially received one Grand Prix assignment, the 2010 Skate America, but received a second, the 2010 Skate Canada International, after Jessica Dube / Bryce Davison withdrew. They won silver at both events and qualified for the Grand Prix Final, where they finished sixth.
At the 2011 Canadian Championships, Moore-Towers/Moscovitch placed first in both programs to win the Canadian national title, 16.29 points ahead of silver medallists Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford. At the 2011 Four Continents Championships they placed fifth overall, after coming fifth in the short program and winning a small bronze medal for coming third in the free skate. They placed eighth in their debut at the 2011 World Championships.
2011–12 season Assigned to two Grand Prix events, Moore-Towers/Moscovitch won bronze at both the 2011 Skate America and the 2011 Cup of China. At the 2012 Canadian Championships, they placed third in the short program and fourth in the free skate, finishing off the podium in fourth despite being the defending champions. Moore-Towers fell on their three-jump combination, and both fell while exiting a lift, resulting in three fall deductions accrued during the free skate. She commented afterwards: "I still love figure skating."
2012–13 season: Silver at Four Continents Moore-Towers/Moscovitch began the season at the 2012 U.S. Classic, where they won the gold medal. They came fourth at their first Grand Prix assignment, the 2012 Cup of China, but went on to win silver at the 2012 NHK Trophy. These results qualified them for the Grand Prix Final for the second time, where they finished fifth.
At the 2013 Canadian Championships, they placed second in both programs to win the silver medal, behind Duhamel/Radford. At the 2013 Four Continents Championships in Osaka, Japan, they placed second in the first program and first in the free skate, again winning the silver medal behind Duhamel/Radford. Moore-Towers' fall on a throw triple loop prevented them from winning the title outright, which she called "a bit unfortunate." This was the team's first (and only, as it would turn out) medal at a major international competition.
Moore-Towers/Moscovitch ended the season at the 2013 World Championships in London, Ontario, where they placed fourth after coming fifth in both segments.
2013–14 season: Sochi Olympics Moore-Towers/Moscovitch repeated as gold medallists at the 2013 U.S. Classic before turning to the Grand Prix series. They won a silver medal at the 2013 Skate America and bronze at the 2013 Rostelecom Cup, which qualified them for their third Grand Prix Final, where they again came sixth.
They won another silver medal at the 2014 Canadian Championships and were named to the Canadian team for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Moore-Towers/Moscovitch were part of the Canadian team for the team event in Sochi, performing the pairs free skate portion, where they came second. Canada won the silver medal overall. In the pairs event, they came sixth in the short program and fifth in the free skate to finish fifth overall.
In their final event together, the 2014 World Championships in Saitama, Japan, they finished fourth for the second straight year. They came third in the free skate, winning a bronze small medal. Moore-Towers and Moscovitch announced the end of their partnership on April 30, 2014, stating that they had different goals.
Partnership with Marinaro Moore-Towers tried out with Michael Marinaro and Mervin Tran. On June 3, 2014, Skate Canada announced that she and Marinaro had formed a partnership, coached by Kris Wirtz and Kristy Wirtz at the Kitchener Waterloo Skating Club in southern Ontario. Moore-Towers said they were adjusting their technique on lifts, stating: "Mike's former partner is much taller than I am, so the technique is a bit different; he has to work in a different way."
2014–15 season Having received two 2014–15 Grand Prix assignments, Moore-Towers/Marinaro placed sixth at the 2014 Skate Canada International and seventh at the 2014 Trophée Éric Bompard. They were fourth at the 2015 Canadian Championships and ninth at the 2015 Four Continents.
In March 2015, the pair relocated to Montreal, Quebec, to train under coaches Richard Gauthier and Bruno Marcotte.
2015–16 season Moore-Towers/Marinaro began the 2015–16 season with a bronze medal at the 2015 U.S. International Classic – their first Challenger Series event. Competing in the Grand Prix series, they won bronze at the 2015 Skate Canada International and placed seventh at the 2015 Rostelecom Cup. During the short program at the Canadian Nationals, the two clipped blades as they began the twist lift, resulting in a hard fall. They finished fourth for the second year in a row. On March 11, Moore-Towers/Marinaro were added to Canada's team for the 2016 World Championships after Julianne Séguin / Charlie Bilodeau withdrew due to injury. They placed eighth at the event in Boston.
2016–17 season: National bronze medal Moore-Towers sustained a concussion during training in Montreal on August 3, 2016; as the pair practiced a jump combination, she fell in Marinaro's path, and he collided with her head. The pair withdrew from their Grand Prix assignments, the 2016 Rostelecom Cup and 2016 NHK Trophy. They returned to competition at the 2017 Canadian Championships, where they placed third. They placed seventh at the 2017 Four Continents Championships. They finished the season at the 2017 World Team Trophy event, where both they and the Canadian team placed fourth.
2017–18 season: Pyeongchang Olympics
Moore-Towers and Marinaro began the season at the US International Classic, where they won the gold medal. On the Grand Prix circuit, they placed sixth at the 2017 Skate America event and won bronze at the 2017 Cup of China. They again placed third at the 2018 Canadian Championships, qualifying them for a spot on the Canadian team for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. They placed eleventh at the Winter Olympics pairs competition.
Their season ended dramatically at the 2018 World Championships, where a disastrous short program from Séguin and Bilodeau resulted in Moore-Towers and Marinaro being the only Canadian pairs team to qualify for the free skate, having placed tenth in the short program despite Moore-Towers having an ankle injury that had impeded training for the World Championships. They needed to place no lower than tenth to qualify Canada for two pairs spots at the next year's world championships, placing additional pressure. The pair skated a new personal best, resulting in a fourth-place finish in the free skate and a sixth-place overall finish that also represented a personal best-combined score. Moore-Towers commented: "We had a tough couple of weeks leading into this competition with not much training to rely on. We didn't have that same confidence, so this is a testament to how hard we worked all season."
2018–19 season: National title and Four Continents silver Following the retirements of Duhamel/Radford and Moscovitch and his new partner Liubov Ilyushechkina, and the breakup of the team of Séguin/Bilodeau, Moore-Towers and Marinaro became the most prominent remaining Canadian pairs team. Moore-Towers admitted in interviews that this additional pressure was a challenge during the summer months of preparation and that in addition they could not train jumps or throws for much of that time due to her ankle recuperation. They competed in two Challenger events, winning silver at both the Autumn Classic and Finlandia Trophy.
Competing on the Grand Prix, Moore-Towers/Marinaro won the bronze medal at the 2018 Skate Canada International, only 0.15 points behind silver medallists Peng Cheng / Jin Yang of China. Moore Towers remarked, "it's hard to lose the silver medal on a fraction of a point." At their second event, the 2018 NHK Trophy, they placed third after the short program, but a rougher free skate dropped them to fourth place, 0.83 points behind bronze medallists Alexa Scimeca Knierim / Chris Knierim of the United States. Marinaro said they were "disappointed with how this turned out."
The two were heavy favourites going into the 2019 Canadian Championships and prevailed, winning both the short and free programs decisively. Moore-Towers' eight-year gap between title victories was the widest in the history of the Canadian championships.
Moore-Towers/Marinaro won the short program at Four Continents, earning a gold small medal, by skating a clean program while rival teams, China's Peng/Jin and Sui Wenjing / Han Cong, both fell. They placed second in the free skate and won the silver overall, only 0.06 points behind gold medallists Sui/Han. They received a negative Grade of Execution on their second lift, which accounted for the points difference. Moore-Towers described it as "a little bit bittersweet" but that they were happy at the progress they had made.