Matthew Blackmer

Matthew Blackmer (born December 12, 1991, in Findlay, Ohio) is a retired 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 also skated with ice dancer Alexandra Aldridge.

Matthew Blackmer
Blackmer and Simpson in 2011
Born	(1991-12-12) December 12, 1991 (age 33) Findlay, Ohio
Hometown	Detroit, Michigan
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Figure skating career
Country	United States
Partner	Alexandra Aldridge
Coach	Angelika Krylova, Pasquale Camerlengo, Natalia Denner
Skating club	Detroit SC
Began skating	2003
Retired	September 13, 2016
Medal record Representing  United States Pairs' Figure skating Junior Grand Prix Final 2011–2012 Quebec Pairs

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] They finished ninth at the 2016 United States National Championships.

On September 13, 2016, Blackmer and Aldridge announced the end of their one-year partnership; Aldridge looks to continue competing with a new partner while Blackmer decided to retire from competition.^[13]

Programs

With Aldridge

Season	Short Dance	Free Dance	Exhibition
2015–2016 [8]	Waltz: Masquerade Waltz by Aram Khachaturian March: Radetzky March by Johann Strauss I choreo. by Angelika Krylova, Pasquale Camerlengo	Oblivion by Astor Piazzolla Tango de Amor (from The Addams Family) by Andrew Lippa choreo. by Angelika Krylova, Pasquale Camerlengo	Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran

With Simpson

Season	Short program	Free skating	Exhibition
2013–2014 [14]	Flamenco by Didulia	Beethoven's Five Secrets by The Piano Guys
2012–2013 [14]	The Mask of Zorro by James Horner	Henry V by Patrick Doyle
2011–2012 [15]	Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon by Tan Dun	Titanic by James Horner

Competitive highlights

With Simpson

Results[16]
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. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
7. "Britney Simpson and Matthew Blackmer End Partnership". www.usfsa.org. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
8. 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. "Aldridge, Blackmer Announce End of Partnership". ice-dance.com.
14. "Britney SIMPSON / Matthew BLACKMER: 2012/2013". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 17, 2012.
15. "Britney SIMPSON / Matthew BLACKMER: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 17, 2012.
16. "Competition Results: Britney SIMPSON / Matthew BLACKMER". International Skating Union.

External links

• Britney Simpson / Matthew Blackmer at the International Skating Union
• Britney Simpson / Matthew Blackmer at Icenetwork