Matt Savoie | Page 3 | Golden Skate

Matt Savoie

Lanie

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Oh, he's going to do some cities in COI! PLEASE GO TO LOS ANGELES, MATT! :)

Matt is :love:
 

dutchherder

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 17, 2006
Right now, a fully rotated quad that results in a fall gives the same amount of points as a clean 3loop (5.0) which is stupid.

When Jeff fell on his fully rotated quad attempt, Sandra Bezic noted that it was a "good strategy," presumably because it gave 5 pts. I would rather have seen Jeff do a clean triple. When falling has become a good strategy, something is seriously wrong with the way the sport is being judged. I am not interested in watching fall, fall, gain points for falling.

Veering back on topic, :laugh: I thought Matt's performance was great as well. THAT's the kind of skating the system should encourage.[/QUOTE]


BINGO!!!:rock:
 

hockeyfan228

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
76olympics said:
The British Eurosport guys said he reminded them of John Curry; you can't get higher praise than that in my book.
Savoie and Curry are different body types, and the quality of their movement is different because of this. Buttle is the closest to Curry in terms of posture, although he makes Buttle look zaftig by comparison, and Weir is the closest in terms of flow and textbook jumps. But Curry's and Savoie's approach to skating is very similar, and, sadly, shared by few.

Curry's Olympic LP in 1976 is one of the greatest of all times, but under another era: few triples -- and the easier triples that were require shorter set-ups -- and more freedom in terms of the number of elements codified. Under the 6.0/OBO "maximum" rules over a decade later, these were almost as strict as under CoP, and actually, in some senses more strict than under CoP: the judges had expectations of which jumps had to be completed. For example, had Kerrigan's jumps and simply the quality of spins alone been graded under CoP, it is very possible that the cumulative GOE's would have put her a score enough higher than Baiul's, and the flip she doubled wouldn't have had the "Oh, she left the door open" effect that it did under OBO. Under CoP, Plushenko didn't make any mistake whatsoever by doubling the flip. He just got fewer points than if he had done a triple flip.

It wasn't until Curry became a professional that he did he great minimal jump masterpieces. What is so great and impressive about Savoie, is that he skated transition-filled, quiet, musically sensitive, reflective -- i.e., Curry-like -- competitive programs that included all of the hardest triples. For that he earns my utmost :rock:
 

76olympics

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 4, 2004
Hockeyfan, that was an excellent and detailed analysis/comparison of Savoie, Curry and several others. I enjoyed reading it. Your points are well taken. When I see Curry and Savoie on the ice, I sense that they are throwing enormous amounts of intellectual AND emotional energy into the skate. I can see the kinship in that sense--though Matt seems to be a much happier person who is more at peace with himself. It is an approach that -as you said- is not common in figure skating.

Yet, this expression on the ice does seem to reach a lot of fans, in both cases. It reached more judges in Curry's case. But-I saw an interview where Curry basically stated that he made a conscious decision to do what he had to do to please the judges to make his professional dreams possible. He even seemed a bit cynical about it (though, admittedly, the interview was some years later and I think he may have already been ill.)

What puzzles me about the judging with Savoie is that he was COP friendly before COP. The programs are rich in choreography with loads of smooth transitions and difficult entrances into every jump. The judges don't appear to be giving the proper value to these elements. Hmm....
 

kyla2

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 24, 2004
Ita

ITA with the above posts completely. I would love to see Matt comeback after law school. He will be sorely missed in the meantime.
 

Ogre Mage

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 30, 2003
76olympics said:
What puzzles me about the judging with Savoie is that he was COP friendly before COP. The programs are rich in choreography with loads of smooth transitions and difficult entrances into every jump. The judges don't appear to be giving the proper value to these elements. Hmm....
I fear that in Matt's case, the problem was a lack of international reputation. If he kept skating and maintained the level of performance he showed here, he potentially could be a Top 5 guy. If he skates this way again at Worlds, I would be interested to see what happens. Of course, it depends on the other performances, also.
 

doodlesgranny

Spectator
Joined
Oct 29, 2004
Matt

I am so very happy for Matt. He seems to really be enjoying his Olympic experience. I am also very encouraged that more people are recognizing his wonderful skating. I was glad to be reminded that he and Jamie Silverstein had Cornell in common although Matt has not attended yet. It has to be fun to travel and participate, as well as live in team quarters, with those who understand the stress and frustrations of competitive skating and share in the joys and disappointments of one another.
 

skate_nut

Spectator
Joined
Mar 6, 2004
slutskayafan21 said:
He was definitely underscored like he has been for many years in the U.S. It is a shame the USFSA sold him out to buy votes for the overrated Lysacek, rather than let them all skate and give them all the best chance to score as high as they can fairly.

It is great Savoie finally got to a major event though. If he retires he retired on a high note.
I agree that Matt has been underscored both by the US and International judges. I have never understand why the US Figure Skating Association appears to have no desire to treat his career fairly. Matt is a wonderful example of how someone can become an elite skater and still get an education.

Matt should be very proud of his Olympic experience as he did a very good job. I believe he should have been scored higher and will continue to hope that he gets the respect he deserves.
 

Laura_B

Rinkside
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
How would I be able to find out which COI dates Matt will be performing? I'd love to be able to see him live.
 

soogar

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 18, 2003
shine said:
Soogar, which part of the article said Matt might stay??

Towards the end when Matt was speculating that he wished he had been skating like this earlier in his career. Right now he's focusing on Worlds and COI, but I would bet that if Matt medals at Worlds or is close, he'll stay in the game for at least another year. He can always go to law school, but it's not like he has forever to win a worlds medal (and make money in skating that will help pay for law school in the long run)
 

Vash01

Medalist
Joined
Jul 31, 2003
Ogre Mage said:
I fear that in Matt's case, the problem was a lack of international reputation. If he kept skating and maintained the level of performance he showed here, he potentially could be a Top 5 guy. If he skates this way again at Worlds, I would be interested to see what happens. Of course, it depends on the other performances, also.

Exactly my thoughts. If the USFSA had not undermarked him a few times in the past he could have gotten more exposure at the world level. It would have improved his sellability in the judges' eyes. Also skating at higher levels helps a skater progress more. That would have helped too.

I will be rooting LOUDLY at worlds for Matt to win a medal.

Vash
 

Sasha_4_The_Win

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 12, 2006
He actually placed higher than I expected at this Olympics, because he hasn't had much international exposure. Hopefully the judges have taken note, and he will get marks closer to what he deserves at Worlds.
His skating is brilliant.
 

RubyNV

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 11, 2006
Matt was cheated

Matt Savoie and Evan skated similarly for technical points, but Matt skated in a much more graceful and fluid style with great artistry. It is clear that he should have scored ahead of Evan.
 

skatehampton

Spectator
Joined
Feb 19, 2006
kyla2 said:
For me, Matt Savoie was the highlight and Evan after him. Their programs were the most complete and Matt's was the most beautiful. Johnny's program was wonderful too. They were COMPLETE and well rounded programs. Jeffrey Buttle's was well rounded but not skated as well as Matt's in my opinion. It is unfortunate that a quad that was rotated but not landed, gave him 5 points. I think this is a major flaw in the CoP system. I could see giving a skater credit for a slight two foot, but not a fall on the landing.

no doubr matt is a good skater but he looked like a chicken in chiffon. a bad fashion moment. perhaps he was dressed by Todd Eldridges old designer and Todd was always the worst dressed next to Katrina before she had a make-over. LIke Paul Wylie he will do well in law school. What do retired skaters do? maybe michael wiess can get a job selling used cars or insurance. maybe he can even get emanuel sandhu to join him.
 

hockeyfan228

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
skatehampton said:
maybe michael wiess can get a job selling used cars or insurance. maybe he can even get emanuel sandhu to join him.
Michael Weiss was already a guest on SOI last year, but I haven't read whether he'll be back, now that his Olympic prep year is over.

He has a foundation and also is a motivational speaker. He's doing fine now, even if he was disappointed by not making the Olympic team.

Sandhu has a budding modeling career.
 
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