Drew Meekins (born April 10, 1985) is an American retired

pairs skater Concentration is a round game in which all of the cards are laid face down on a surface and two cards are flipped face up over each turn. The object of the game is to turn over pairs of matching cards. Concentration can be played with any number ...

, coach, and choreographer. With former partner Julia Vlassov, he is the 2006 World Junior Champion.

Skating career

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 The Nebelhorn Trophy is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the German Ice Skating Union () and held in Oberstdorf, Germany. The competition debuted in 1969 and is na ...

, placed sixth at the

2006 Cup of China The 2006 Cup of China was the third event of six in the 2006–07 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Nanjing on November 9 ...

, and placed fifth at the

2006 NHK Trophy The 2006 NHK Trophy was the final event of six in the 2006–07 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Big Hat in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano on November 30 – December 3. Med ...

. Vlassov and Meekins finished in seventh 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 The 2007 Skate Canada International was the second event of six in the 2007–08 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Colisée Pepsi in Quebec City, Quebec on November 1 ...

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.

U.S. Figure Skating U.S. Figure Skating is the national governing body for the sport of figure skating in the United States. It is recognized as such by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act a ...

announced on July 14, 2008, that Meekins had teamed up with Jessica Rose Paetsch. Paetsch and Meekins placed tenth 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.

Coaching career

Meekins is now a figure skating coach and choreographer at the Broadmoor World Arena in

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, and coaches a wide range of skaters and offers virtual lessons and other resources on his website. As a coach, his students have included: * Nica Digerness / Mark Sadusky * Olivia Flores / Luke Wang * Pauline Irman / Benjamin Jalovick *

Ellie Kam Ellie Kam (born December 20, 2004) is an American pair skater. With her current skating partner, Danny O'Shea, she is the 2024 Four Continents bronze medalist, 2024 Skate America silver medalist, 2024 NHK Trophy bronze medalist, 2024 John N ...

/ Danny O’Shea *

Elyce Lin-Gracey Elyce Lin-Gracey (born June 7, 2007) is an American figure skating, figure skater. She is the Nebelhorn Trophy, 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy champion, Cranberry Cup International, 2024 CS Cranberry Cup silver medalist and the 2023 CS Warsaw Cup bronz ...

Naomi Williams Naomi Williams may refer to: * Naomi Williams (footballer) (born 2004), English footballer * Naomi Williams (figure skater) (born 2006), American pair skater {{hndis, Williams, Naomi ...

Lachlan Lewer Lachlan Lewer-Parr (born January 28, 2003) is an Australian-born pair skating, pair skater who competes with Naomi Williams (figure skater), Naomi Williams for the United States. With Williams, he is the 2024 World Junior Figure Skating Champions ...

* Campbell Young /

* Miyu Yunoki /

Tristan Taylor The ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' series, created by Kazuki Takahashi, features an extensive cast of characters, many of whom are from Domino City, a fictional city in Japan where the series takes place. As many plot elements are influenced by Egypt and its Egy ...

Vincent Zhou Vincent Zhou (born October 25, 2000) is an American figure skater. He is a 2022 Olympic gold medalist in the team event, a two-time World bronze medalist (2019 and 2022), the 2019 Four Continents bronze medalist, the 2021 Skate America champ ...

As a choreographer, his clients have included: *

Karen Chen Karen Chen (born August 16, 1999) is an American figure skater. She is a Figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Team event, 2022 Olympic Games team event gold medalist, two-time U.S. International Figure Skating Classic, CS U.S. Classic ...

* Olivia Flores / Luke Wang * Sofia Frank * Logan Higase-Chen * Ji Seo-yeon *

/ Danny O’Shea * Phattaratida Kaneshige *

Jari Kessler Jari Kessler (born 29 November 1996) is a Croatian and Italian figure skater. For Croatia, he is the 2020 NRW Trophy champion, 2022 Jegvirag Cup silver medalist, 2022 Merano Ice Trophy bronze medalist, and four-time Croatian national champion ( ...

Kim Ye-lim Kim Ye-lim (; born January 23, 2003) is a retired South Korean competitive figure skater. She is a two-time Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, Four Continents medalist (silver in 2023 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, 20 ...

Mirai Nagasu is an American former competitive Figure skating, figure skater. She is a Figure skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics – Team event, 2018 Olympic Games team event bronze medalist, three-time Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, Four Co ...

Naoki Rossi Naoki Rossi (born 20 January 2007) is a Swiss figure skater. He is the 2023 World Junior silver medalist and 2023 JGP Hungary silver medalist. Personal life Rossi was born in Zollikerberg, Switzerland. Born to a Japanese mother and Italian ...

* Clare Seo *

Audrey Shin Audrey Sumin Shin (born in U.S. March 12, 2004) is an American figure skater who currently competes in the pairs discipline with Balázs Nagy (figure skater), Balázs Nagy. Together, they are the 2024 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, 2024 Golden Spin of ...

/ Balázs Nagy *

* Campbell Young /

You Young You Young (; born May 27, 2004) is a South Korean figure skater. She is the 2020 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, 2020 Four Continents silver medalist, a four-time ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, Grand Prix bronze medalist, a f ...

Early life and family

Andrew Meekins, known as "Drew", was born in

Juneau Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the capital of Alaska in 1906, when the government of wha ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

on April 10, 1985. He is one of five children (four sons and one daughter) born to Edward Russell "Russ" Meekins, Jr. (1949–2020) and his wife Nancy Harvey. All four of his grandparents moved to

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the List of cities in Alaska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of ...

from the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the 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 aunt

Susan Sullivan Susan Sullivan (born 1942) is an American actress known for her roles as Lenore Curtin Delaney on the NBC daytime soap opera '' Another World'' (1971–76), as Lois Adams on the ABC sitcom ''It's a Living'' (1980–81), as Maggie Gioberti Chan ...

, and his grandfather Russ Meekins Sr. all served in the

Alaska State Legislature The Alaska State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution consisting of the 40-member Alaska House of Representatives (lower house) and the 20-member Alaska Senate (upper house). There are 4 ...

as Democrats 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 the

Alaska Legislature The Alaska State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution consisting of the 40-member Alaska House of Representatives (lower house) and the 20-member Alaska Senate (upper house). There a ...

: 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 The Alaska State Senate is the upper house in the Alaska State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It convenes in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska and is responsible for making laws and confirming or reje ...

. 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 on

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

. One of his brothers, Cam Meekins, is a rapper.

Programs

(with Vlassov)

Competitive highlights

With Paetsch

With Vlassov

References

* * * *

External links

Vlassov & Meekins official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meekins, Drew American male pair skaters 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Juneau, Alaska Sportspeople from Alaska World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists 21st-century American sportsmen Figure skating choreographers