Drew Meekins

Meekins at the2017 World Junior Championships
Personal information
Full name	Andrew Meekins
Born	(1985-04-10)April 10, 1985 (age 40) Juneau, Alaska
Home town	Wellesley, Massachusetts
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Figure skating career
Country	United States
Coach	Dalilah Sappenfield Laureano Ibarra
Skating club	Skating Club of Boston

Drew Meekins (born April 10, 1985) is an American retiredpairs skater, coach, and choreographer. With former partnerJulia Vlassov, he is the2006 World Junior Champion.

Drew's father, Russ Meekins, Jr., and aunt, Susan Meekins Sullivan, as Alaska state legislators in the mid 1970s.

Andrew Meekins, known as "Drew", was born inJuneau,Alaska on April 10, 1985. He is one of five children (four sons and one daughter) born toEdward Russell "Russ" Meekins, Jr. (1949–2020) and his wife Nancy Harvey. All four of his grandparents moved toAnchorage, Alaska from theNortheastern United States during the tail end of World War II and were active in business and civic affairs in Anchorage throughout the middle and late 20th century. His father, his auntSusan Sullivan, and his grandfatherRuss Meekins Sr. all served in theAlaska State Legislature asDemocrats representing Anchorage. His father, the only one of the three to serve more than one term, was the House's majority leader in his last term (1981–1983). In that term, he played a key role in two events which rank amongst the most significant in the history of theAlaska 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 theAlaska Senate. As a result of the fallout from these events, he soon found himself on the outs with Alaska's political establishment. The family left Alaska ca. 1990 and moved to Massachusetts, the home state of Nancy Harvey's parents, settling onCape Cod.^[1] One of his brothers, Cam Meekins, is a rapper.^[2]

Meekins is openlygay.^[3]

Meekins and Vlassov won the2006 World Junior Championships. In their first season of senior international competition, they won the silver at theNebelhorn Trophy, placed sixth at the2006 Cup of China, and placed fifth at the2006 NHK Trophy.^[4] Vlassov and Meekins finished in seventh place in their senior debut at the2007 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 the2007 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.^[5]

U.S. Figure Skating announced on July 14, 2008, that Meekins had teamed up with Jessica Rose Paetsch.^[6] Paetsch and Meekins placed tenth at the2009 U.S. Championships.

After qualifying for the2010 U.S. Championships, Paetsch & Meekins announced the end of their partnership in December 2009.

Meekins is now a figure skating coach and choreographer at the Broadmoor World Arena inColorado Springs,Colorado, and coaches a wide range of skaters and offers virtual lessons and other resources on his website.^[7]

As a coach, his students have included:

• Nica Digerness /Mark Sadusky^[8]
• Olivia Flores /Luke Wang^[9]
• Hannah Herrera /Ivan Khobta^[10]
• Pauline Irman /Benjamin Jalovick^[11]
• Ellie Kam /Danny O’Shea^[12]
• Milada Kovar /Jared McPike^[13]
• Elyce Lin-Gracey^[14]
• Naomi Williams /Lachlan Lewer^[15]
• Campbell Young /Lachlan Lewer^[16]
• Miyu Yunoki /Tristan Taylor^[17]
• Vincent Zhou^[18]

As a choreographer, his clients have included:

(with Vlassov)

• "World Junior Figure Skating Championships: ISU Results: Pairs"(PDF). Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 2013-11-04. (10.5 KB)
• Paetsch & Meekins atU.S. Figure Skating (archived)
• Vlassov & Meekins atU.S. Figure Skating (archived)
• Vlassov & Meekins at theInternational Skating Union

Wikimedia Commons has media related toDrew Meekins.

• Vlassov & Meekins official site

• American male pair skaters
• 1985 births
• Living people
• Sportspeople from Juneau, Alaska
• Sportspeople from Alaska
• LGBTQ figure skaters
• World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists
• 21st-century American sportsmen
• Figure skating choreographers

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