Drew Meekins
| Drew Meekins | |
|---|---|
 Drew Meekins with Jessica Rose Paetsch in 2008. | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Drew Meekins |
| Country represented | United States |
| Born |
April 10, 1985 Juneau, Alaska |
| Home town | Wellesley, Massachusetts |
| Residence | Colorado Springs, Colorado |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Former partner |
Jessica Rose Paetsch Julia Vlassov |
| Coach |
Dalilah Sappenfield Laureano Ibarra |
| Former coach | Alexander Vlassov |
| Choreographer |
Zuzanna Szwed Tom Dickson |
| Skating club | Skating Club of Boston |
Drew Meekins (born April 10, 1985) is an American pairs skater. With former partner Julia Vlassov, he is the 2006 World Junior Champion.
Early life
Drew Meekins was born in Juneau, Alaska to Edward Russell "Russ" Meekins, Jr. and Nancy Harvey. His father, aunt and grandfather all served in the Alaska House of Representatives as Democrats representing Anchorage, and as such traveled to Juneau (Alaska's capital) for legislative sessions. His father, the only one of the three to serve more than one term, played a key role in his final term during the 12th Alaska State Legislature (1981-1983) in two events which rank amongst the most significant in the history of the Alaska Legislature: the mid-session overthrow of the Democratic House leadership and its replacement with a multi-party coalition; and the bribery conviction and subsequent expulsion of a member of the Alaska Senate. Russ Meekins, Jr. retired from elected office following that term, but remained in Juneau and worked as a lobbyist. The family moved from Alaska to Massachusetts ca. 1990.[1] His brother, Cam Meekins, is a rapper.[2] He also has an older half-brother named Rodney.
Career
Meekins began skating at age twelve because his sister was already skating. He started out as a single skater, but he switched to pair skating when he was sixteen.
Meekins and Vlassov won the 2006 World Junior Championships. In their first season of senior international competition, they won the silver at the Nebelhorn Trophy, placed sixth at the 2006 Cup of China, and placed 5th at the 2006 NHK Trophy.[3] Vlassov and Meekins finished in 7th place in their senior debut at the 2007 U.S. Championships. They were fifth in the free program.
Vlassov and Meekins were assigned to two Grand Prix events for the 2007-2008 season; however, they were forced to withdraw from the 2007 Skate Canada International before the event began due to an injury to Meekins's shoulder which occurred during an attempted lift in practice. Vlassov and Meekins announced the end of their partnership on November 8, 2007.[4]
U.S. Figure Skating announced on July 14, 2008 that Meekins had teamed up with Jessica Rose Paetsch.[5] Paetsch and Meekins placed 10th at the 2009 U.S. Championships.
After qualifying for the 2010 U.S. Championships, Paetsch & Meekins announced the end of their partnership in December 2009. Meekins is now a figure skating coach at the Broadmoor skating club in Colorado Springs, CO, but hopes to find another partner so he can compete again.
Programs
(with Vlassov)
| Season | Short program | Free skating |
|---|---|---|
| 2007–2008[6] | Malaguena by Ernesto Lecuona |
Titanic Symphony by Richard Clayderman |
| 2006–2007[7] |
|
Warsaw Concerto performed by Richard Clayderman |
| 2005–2006[8] | Picante by Vanessa Mae |
Paychek (soundtrack) by John Powell |
| 2004–2005[9][10] | Picante by Vanessa Mae |
Paychek (soundtrack) by John Powell |
| 2003–2004[11] | Beethoven's 5th |
|
Competitive highlights
With Paetsch
| Event | 2008–2009 | 2009–2010 |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Championships | 10th | |
| Midwestern Sectionals | 3rd | |
| Eastern Sectionals | 3rd |
With Vlassov
| Event | 2002–03 | 2003–04 | 2004–05 | 2005–06 | 2006–07 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Junior Championships | 9th | 1st | |||
| U.S. Championships | 4th N. | 1st N. | 2nd J. | 3rd J. | 7th |
| Cup of China | 6th | ||||
| NHK Trophy | 5th | ||||
| Nebelhorn Trophy | 2nd | ||||
| Junior Grand Prix Final | 4th | 2nd | |||
| Junior Grand Prix, Croatia | 3rd | ||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Andorra | 2nd | ||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Ukraine | 3rd | ||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Belgrade | 1st | ||||
| NACS Waterloo | 4th J. | ||||
| NACS Ohio | 1st N. | ||||
| Eastern Sectionals | 2nd N. | 1st N. | |||
| New England Regionals | 1st N. | 1st N. | |||
| N. = Novice level; J. = Junior level | |||||
References
- ↑ Toomey, Sheila (March 12, 2006). "Alaska Ear". Anchorage Daily News (Anchorage). p. B2.
- ↑ Brannen, Sarah S.; Meekins, Drew (May 23, 2012). "The Inside Edge: Sarah, Drew (try to) go hip-hop". IceNetwork. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
- ↑ Welcome to U.S. Figure Skating
- ↑ "Pairs Team Vlassov and Meekins Announces Split". U.S. Figure Skating. 2007-11-08. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- ↑ "Pairs Team Jessica Rose Paetsch and Jon Nuss End Partnership". U.S. Figure Skating. 2008-07-14. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
- ↑ "Julia VLASSOV / Drew MEEKINS: 2007/2008". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011.
- ↑ "Julia VLASSOV / Drew MEEKINS: 2006/2007". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 26, 2007.
- ↑ "Julia VLASSOV / Drew MEEKINS: 2005/2006". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 14, 2006.
- ↑ "Julia VLASSOV / Drew MEEKINS: 2004/2005". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on February 10, 2005.
- ↑ Mittan, Barry (May 8, 2005). "Arctic Pair Vlassov and Meekins". Skate Today.
- ↑ "Julia Vlassov & Drew Meekins". U.S. Figure Skating. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007.
- World Junior Figure Skating Championships: ISU Results: Pairs PDF (10.5 KB)
- Paetsch & Meekins at the United States Figure Skating Association
- Vlassov & Meekins at the United States Figure Skating Association
- Vlassov & Meekins at the International Skating Union
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Drew Meekins. |