Matthew Savoie
Encyclopedia
Matthew Savoie is an American figure skater
. He is a three-time U.S. bronze medalist
, the 2006 Four Continents bronze medalist
and a member of the 2006 Olympic team
.
. He went on to place in the top five at every U.S. Nationals
between 1999 and 2006, winning bronze medals in 2001, 2004, and 2006 and pewter medals (fourth place) in 1999, 2000, 2002, and 2005.
He has won bronze medals at the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final
, the Grand Prix Final
, and the World Junior Championships
. He has represented the United States three times at the World Championships
.
Savoie was the first alternate to the 2002 Olympic team
. He earned a chance to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics
team by finishing third at US Nationals. Savoie finished seventh overall in Torino, with two solid programs.
Savoie was raised in Peoria, Illinois
, and trained there with coach Linda Branan throughout his career. He also worked with coach Gene Hefron and choreographer Tom Dickson
.
He graduated summa cum laude from Bradley University
in 2002, with a major in political science and a minor in biology. He went on to earn his master's degree
in urban planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
in 2005 and received the AICP Outstanding Graduate Student Award for 2005. He was admitted to the law school at Cornell University
in 2005, but obtained a deferral for a year to focus on making the Olympic team. He joined the program in September 2006, and graduated in 2009. He is currently working as an associate in the law firm of Choate Hall & Stewart.
Following his competitive career, Matt completed a four-year term as the athlete representative to the Single & Pair Skating Technical Committee of the International Skating Union
.
Figure skating
Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...
. He is a three-time U.S. bronze medalist
United States Figure Skating Championships
The United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters...
, the 2006 Four Continents bronze medalist
Four Continents Figure Skating Championships
The Four Continents Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition. The International Skating Union established it in 1999 to provide skaters representing non-European countries with a similar competition to the much older European Figure Skating Championships and a chance...
and a member of the 2006 Olympic team
United States at the 2006 Winter Olympics
The United States Olympic Committee sent 211 athletes to the 2006 Winter Olympics. Chris Witty, a four-time Olympian, who competed in both Summer and Winter games, and won a gold medal in speed skating at the 2002 Games, served as the flag bearer at the Opening Ceremonies...
.
Biography
Matthew Savoie first gained prominence when he won the gold medal on the junior level at the 1997 U.S. Championships1997 United States Figure Skating Championships
The 1997 United States Figure Skating Championships were the United States Figure Skating Championships of the 1996-1997 figure skating season. They were a national championship to determine the national champions of the United States....
. He went on to place in the top five at every U.S. Nationals
United States Figure Skating Championships
The United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters...
between 1999 and 2006, winning bronze medals in 2001, 2004, and 2006 and pewter medals (fourth place) in 1999, 2000, 2002, and 2005.
He has won bronze medals at the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final
ISU Junior Grand Prix Final
The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final is the culminating competition of the ISU Junior Grand Prix, which is a series of junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union...
, the Grand Prix Final
Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final
The Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final is an international, senior-level figure skating competition. It is the culmination of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Skaters compete in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing....
, and the World Junior Championships
World Junior Figure Skating Championships
The World Junior Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which younger figure skaters compete for the title of World Junior Champion...
. He has represented the United States three times at the World Championships
World Figure Skating Championships
The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...
.
Savoie was the first alternate to the 2002 Olympic team
United States at the 2002 Winter Olympics
The United States was the host nation for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.These Games were by far the best home Winter Games for the United States, earning 34 total medals, nearly triple their best previous hauls at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California, and the 1932...
. He earned a chance to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
team by finishing third at US Nationals. Savoie finished seventh overall in Torino, with two solid programs.
Savoie was raised in Peoria, Illinois
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
, and trained there with coach Linda Branan throughout his career. He also worked with coach Gene Hefron and choreographer Tom Dickson
Tom Dickson
Tom Dickson is an American figure skater who currently works as a coach and choreographer.-Career:During his eligible career, Dickson won the U.S. Figure Skating Championships at junior level in 1980; at the senior level, he placed 5th at the 1984 Championships. He also won Nebelhorn Trophy in 1980...
.
He graduated summa cum laude from Bradley University
Bradley University
Bradley University, founded in 1897, is a private, co-educational university located in Peoria, Illinois. It is a small institution with an enrollment of approximately 6,100 undergraduate and postgraduate students and a full-time faculty of approximately 350....
in 2002, with a major in political science and a minor in biology. He went on to earn his master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in urban planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
in 2005 and received the AICP Outstanding Graduate Student Award for 2005. He was admitted to the law school at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in 2005, but obtained a deferral for a year to focus on making the Olympic team. He joined the program in September 2006, and graduated in 2009. He is currently working as an associate in the law firm of Choate Hall & Stewart.
Following his competitive career, Matt completed a four-year term as the athlete representative to the Single & Pair Skating Technical Committee of the International Skating Union
International Skating Union
The International Skating Union is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, Netherlands in 1892, making it one of the oldest international...
.
Competitive highlights
| Event | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-00 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympic Games Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating... |
7th | |||||||||||
| World Championships World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion... |
12th | 16th | 11th | |||||||||
| Four Continents Championships | 4th | 5th | 5th | 3rd | ||||||||
| World Junior Championships World Junior Figure Skating Championships The World Junior Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which younger figure skaters compete for the title of World Junior Champion... |
4th | 3rd | ||||||||||
| U.S. Championships United States Figure Skating Championships The United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters... |
8th N. | 4th N. | 1st J. | 11th | 4th | 4th | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 3rd | 4th | 3rd |
| Grand Prix Final Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final The Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final is an international, senior-level figure skating competition. It is the culmination of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Skaters compete in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.... |
3rd | |||||||||||
| Skate Canada International Skate Canada International The Skate Canada International is an international, senior-level invitation-only figure skating competition organized by Skate Canada. It is the second competition of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. The location changes yearly. Medals are awarded in four disciplines: Ladies' singles, Men's... |
3rd | 5th | ||||||||||
| Cup of China Cup of China The Cup of China is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. The location changes yearly. Figure skaters compete in the disciplines of ladies' singles, men's singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.The Cup of China is... |
8th | 7th | ||||||||||
| Bofrost Cup on Ice Bofrost Cup on Ice The Bofrost Cup on Ice was a figure skating competition held in Germany between 1986 and 2004. It was part of the Grand Prix series until 2003, when it was replaced by Cup of China. Following being booted out of the Grand Prix series, a new form of competition was introduced to the Bofrost Cup... |
3rd | 3rd | ||||||||||
| NHK Trophy NHK Trophy The NHK Trophy is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Figure skaters compete in the disciplines of ladies' singles, men's singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.... |
9th | |||||||||||
| Skate America Skate America Skate America is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. It is organized by the United States Figure Skating Association. The location changes yearly... |
5th | 6th | 3rd | |||||||||
| Cup of Russia Cup of Russia The Cup of Russia is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Figure skaters compete in the disciplines of ladies' singles, men's singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. It was held as the Rostelecom Cup in 2009 after... |
3rd | 4th | 5th | |||||||||
| ISU Junior Grand Prix Final ISU Junior Grand Prix The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating is a series of international invitational junior level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Junior figure skaters compete in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing... |
3rd | 6th | ||||||||||
| Junior Grand Prix, China 1998-1999 ISU Junior Grand Prix The 1998–1999 ISU Junior Grand Prix was the second season of the ISU Junior Grand Prix, a series of international junior level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. It was the junior-level complement to the Grand Prix of Figure Skating, which was for senior-level skaters... |
4th | |||||||||||
| Junior Grand Prix, France ISU Junior Grand Prix The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating is a series of international invitational junior level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Junior figure skaters compete in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing... |
2nd | 3rd | ||||||||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Germany | 1st | |||||||||||
| Gardena Spring Trophy Gardena Spring Trophy The Gardena Spring Trophy is an annual international figure skating competition. It is held every spring in Val Gardena in Italy. Since its inception in 1990, it has been a junior-level competition. In 2006, it added a novice level competition... |
1st J. | |||||||||||
| Midwestern Sectionals | 3rd N. | 4th N. | 3rd J. | 3rd | 2nd | |||||||
| Upper Great Lakes Regionals | 3rd N. | 1st N. | 1st J. | 1st |
- N = Novice level; J = Junior level