Matthew Blackmer

Matthew Blackmer

Blackmer and Simpson in 2011
Personal information
Country represented United States
Born (1991-12-12) December 12, 1991
Findlay, Ohio
Home town Detroit, Michigan
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Partner Alexandra Aldridge
Former partner Vladyslava Rybka (2010–11)
Kaitlin Budd (2007–10)
Britney Simpson (2010-13)
Coach Angelika Krylova, Pasquale Camerlengo, Natalia Denner
Former coach Dalilah Sappenfield
Laureano Ibarra
Choreographer Angelika Krylova, Pasquale Camerlengo
Former choreographer Dalilah Sappenfield
Skating club Detroit SC
Former skating club Broadmoor Skating Club
Began skating 2003
ISU personal best scores
Combined total 141.42
JGP Poland
Short program 48.89
JGP Poland
Free skate 92.53
JGP Poland

Matthew Blackmer (born December 12, 1991 in Findlay, Ohio) is an American pair skater turned ice dancer. With former pairs partner Britney Simpson, he is the 2011 Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, the 2012 U.S. Junior silver medalist and the 2013 U.S. Junior Champion. He currently skates with Alexandra Aldridge.

Personal life

Blackmer began skating at the age of 12, having switched over from hockey.[1] Blackmer is a graduate of Lake Orion High School in Lake Orion, Michigan.[2]

Career

Blackmer started out with Silver Blades, which is a figure skating club in Findlay, Ohio.[3]

Partnership with Simpson

Blackmer teamed up with Simpson in February 2011 after his previous partner, Kaitlin Budd, quit.[4] He moved from Michigan to Colorado Springs to train with Simpson under coach Dalilah Sappenfield.[5]

In the 2011–2012 season, Simpson and Blackmer won gold at their first Junior Grand Prix event, 2011 JGP Poland,[6] and silver at their second event, 2011 JGP Estonia. They won the bronze medal at the 2011–2012 Junior Grand Prix Final. They competed at the 2012 World Junior Championships and finished 10th.

On December 2, 2013, Simpson and Blackmer announced the end of their two-year partnership; both expressed an interest to compete with new partners.[7]

Partnership with Aldridge

On July 31, 2015, IceNetwork announced that Blackmer had teamed up with ice dancer Alexandra Aldridge, though they had teamed up two months prior. They began work with coaches Anjelika Krylova, Pasquale Camerlengo, and Natalia Annenko-Deller, him moving to Detroit Skate Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan from Broadmoor Skating Club in Colorado.[8] He passed sixteen dance tests in one week in order to compete with her.[9] [10]Their first competition together was the Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships, where they placed third in the senior category, finishing fourth in the short dance[11] and third in the free.[12]

Programs

With Aldridge

Season Short Dance Free Dance Exhibition
2015–2016
[8]

With Simpson

Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2012–2013
[13]		 The Mask of Zorro
by James Horner 		Henry V
by Patrick Doyle
2011–2012
[14]		 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
by Tan Dun 		Titanic
by James Horner

Competitive highlights

With Simpson

Results[15]
International
Event 2011–2012 2012–2013
Junior Worlds 10th 10th
JGP Final 3rd
JGP Austria 5th
JGP Estonia 2nd
JGP Poland 1st
JGP Germany 5th
National
U.S. Championships 2nd J. 1st J.
J. = Junior level; JGP = Junior Grand Prix

References

  1. ↑ "Britney Simpson & Matthew Blackmer | Official Web Site". figureskatersonline.com. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Britney Simpson & Matthew Blackmer". Archived from the original on February 3, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Still Rocking at 40 - Silver Blades Figure Skating Club Ice Show Announcement". Retrieved 2015-08-31.
  4. ↑ Brannen, Sarah S.; Meekins, Drew (November 2, 2011). "The Inside Edge: JGP Final qualifiers". IceNetwork.
  5. ↑ Walker, Elvin (March 21, 2012). "Simpson and Blackmer encouraged by early success". Golden Skate.
  6. ↑ Felton, Renee; Zinsmeister, Kristin (September 17, 2011). "Team USA brings home two golds from Poland". IceNetwork.
  7. ↑ "Britney Simpson and Matthew Blackmer End Partnership". www.usfsa.org. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
  8. 1 2 Brannen, Sarah S. (July 31, 2015). "From throws to twizzles: Blackmer takes up dance". IceNetwork.
  9. ↑ Rutherford, Lynn [LynnRutherford] (July 23, 2015). ".@MattBmer now dancing w/@Aaldi7, passed 16 tests in 1 week" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ↑ Slater, Paula (6 October 2015). "Aldridge and Blackmer 'cutting edges'". Golden Skate.
  11. ↑ "2015 Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships - Senior Short Dance Results". Lake Placid Skating. Olympic Regional Development Authority. July 30, 2015.
  12. ↑ "2015 Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships - Senior Free Dance Results". Lake Placid Skating. Olympic Regional Development Authority. July 31, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Britney SIMPSON / Matthew BLACKMER: 2012/2013". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 2, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Britney SIMPSON / Matthew BLACKMER: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Competition Results: Britney SIMPSON / Matthew BLACKMER". International Skating Union.
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