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Charlie White

Davis & White at the 2009-2010 Grand Prix Final.
Personal information
Full name:	Charlie White
Country represented:	United States
Date of birth:	October 24, 1987 (1987-10-24) (age 22)
Place of birth:	Dearborn, Michigan
Home town:	Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Height:	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Partner:	Meryl Davis
Coach:	Igor Shpilband Marina Zueva
Former coach:	Seth Chafetz
Choreographer:	Igor Shpilband Marina Zueva
Skating club:	Detroit Skating Club
ISU personal best scores
Combined Total:	201.97 2009 NHK Trophy
Comp. Dance:	38.09 2009 NHK Trophy
Original Dance:	65.80 2009-2010 Grand Prix Final
Free Dance:	103.64 2009-2010 Grand Prix Final

Charlie White (born October 24, 1987) is an American ice dancer. With partner Meryl Davis, he is the 2009 U.S. national champion, the 2009 Four Continents champion, the 2009 Grand Prix Final champion and the 2008 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist. Davis and White teamed up in 1997 and they are currently the longest lasting dance team in the United States. At the 2006 NHK Trophy, they became the first ice dancing team to win level fours on all their elements.^[1]

As of December 2009, Davis & White are ranked first in the world^[2].

Personal life

White was born in Dearborn, Michigan. He lives and trains in Canton, Michigan.

White previously competed as an ice hockey player and helped his team to the state championship.

White attended Roeper School from nursery school through high school where he played violin in the school string quartet and was involved with the student government. He graduated in 2005. He is a student at the University of Michigan.

Career

White began skating at age three. He originally competed as both a single skater and an ice dancer.

As a single skater, he won the bronze medal at Nationals on the Novice level in 2004, and competed internationally on the junior level. He quit skating singles following the 2005-2006 season in order to focus on ice dancing.

Davis and White teamed up in 1997. In their first season together, they won the silver medal at the Junior Olympics in the Juvenile division. They qualified for Nationals for the first time in the 2000-2001 season, placing 6th as Novices. The next season they won the silver medal as novices and then moved up to Junior. They did not place at either of their two Junior Grand Prix assignments and placed 7th at Nationals in their junior debut.

In the 2003-2004 season, they won their sectional championship and then won the silver medal at Nationals. This earned them a trip to the World Junior Figure Skating Championships, where they placed 13th.

In the 2004-2005 season, Davis and White did very well internationally on the Junior circuit, winning two bronze medals. White broke his ankle during a hockey game two weeks before the 2005 Midwestern Sectional in November 2004 and he and Davis were unable to qualify for the Nationals. Their season ended there.

In the 2005-2006 season, they came back strong. They medaled at both their Junior Grand Prix events and placed second at the Junior Grand Prix Final. They won the Junior National Title and then won the bronze medal at the Junior Worlds. Following that season, Davis aged out of Juniors.

In the 2006-2007 season, they made their debut both nationally and internationally as seniors. They placed 4th at both their Grand Prix assignments. At the 2006 NHK Trophy, they became the first team to earn all level fours on their elements. At Nationals, they won the bronze medal at the senior level, qualifying them for the World Team. They are the first team since Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto to go directly from winning the Junior national title to making the World team.

At Worlds, Davis and White placed 7th, the highest debut placement for an American team at Worlds since 1980.^[3]

Davis and White placed 4th at the 2007 Skate America and then went on to win their first Grand Prix medal at the 2007 Trophee Eric Bompard. They completely revamped their Eleanor Rigby free dance before Nationals due to its poor reception. They won the silver medal at Nationals, one spot up from the previous season.

In the 2008-2009 season, Davis and White won their first Grand Prix assignment, the 2008 Skate Canada. In their second assignment, the 2008 Cup of Russia, they placed third in the compulsory dance, then eighth in the original dance. After placing second in the free skate, they moved up to win the bronze medal, which together with the gold from Skate Canada was enough to qualify them for their first Grand Prix Final. At the 2008-2009 Grand Prix Final, they won the bronze medal.

At the 2009 National Championships, they won the event after reiging champions Belbin and Agosto withdrew due to injury. They won by a 20 point margin over silver medalists Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates.

In February 2009, they won the ice dance title at Four Continents, placing second in both the compulsory and original dance behind training mates Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir but winning the free dance.^[4]

At the 2009 World Championships they placed 4th. They placed third in both the original and free dance portions, they lost too much ground in the compulsory to overcome training mates Virtue and Moir for the bronze. Only .04 points separated 3rd from 4th.

They competed at the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy, finishing first in all the segments of the competition. Overall they won the gold medal with a score of 200.46 points, 30.87 ahead of silver medalists Alexandra Zaretski and Roman Zaretski.

They won the 2009 Rostelecom Cup and the 2009 NHK Trophy, which qualified them for the 2009-2010 Grand Prix Final. At the Grand Prix Final, they won the original dance and placed second in the free dance to win the title overall, becoming the first American ice dancers to do so^[5].

Programs

Davis & White perform their Beyond the Sea exhibition at the 2006 Skate Canada International.

Competitive highlights

Ice dancing career

(with Davis)

Post-2004

Pre-2004

• N = Novice level; J = Junior level

Singles career

(singles)

• N = Novice level; J = Junior level

References

• Davis & White at the United States Figure Skating Association
• Davis & White at the International Skating Union
• Charlie White at the United States Figure Skating Association

External links

• Official website
• Charlie White at the United States Olympic Committee.