Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend
Parade, Fireworks, & Events
June 2nd and 3rd, 2018

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Drew Meekins

 Julia and Drew came together from opposite sides of the world. Julia was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, while Drew was born in Juneau, Alaska. They each moved to New England when they were young, and it seems that they were destined to be pair skaters from the beginning.
 Julia's father, Aleksandr Vlassov, skated pairs for the former Soviet Union. He and his partner, Irina Vorobieva, were coached by the legendary Tamara Moskvina and went to the 1976 Olympic Winter Games, won the bronze medal at the 1976 World Championships, and the World silver medal the next year. Alex moved to the United States in the early 1990s, looking for a new life in a new country, and soon his wife and baby daughter joined him.
 Julia started skating when she was very little, and she won the National Championships as both a Juvenile and an Intermediate freestyle skater. She and her father always planned that she would skate pairs when she was old enough, and when she was eleven they started looking for a partner.
 Meanwhile, Drew had tried lots of different sports. He played football for a while and he was a talented basketball player. Drew's sister, Tess, is a figure skater, and he spent so much time at skating rinks that when he was twelve he decided to try it too. He always wanted to be a pair
 skater. When he was sixteen, he was looking for a partner and his coach passed his desirers along to Alex.
 Alex said he'd be able to tell in twenty minutes if Julia and Drew were a good match! Drew was the first person Julia ever skated pairs with, and they all knew right away that it was a perfect partnership. Julia was only eleven, but she was already a very accomplished skater. Under Alex's guidance, with their experience in singles and lots of hard work and dedication, the team was on its way.
 Drew and Julia have become close friends. They often go on vacations together with their families. Although there's a big age difference between them, they have a lot of things in common. Drew is even learning to speak Russian! Alex coaches the team in a mixture of Russian and
 English. It's easy to see the Russian influence in their skating and training methods too. Julia's mother, Laura Amelina, choreographs for the team.
 Julia and Drew won their first National medal in 2003 and their first National Championship in 2004. They have had a lot of success in national and international competitions since then. In 2006, they won the World Junior Pair Championships in Ljubljana, Slovenia. They were only the third pair team from the United States to ever win the title. They are working hard to build on this success so that they can reach their dreams of being dominant team in the United States and throughout the world.

Competitive History

2006 World Junior Championships - 1st
2006 State Farm U.S. Championships, Junior - 3rd
2005 Junior Grand Prix Final - 2nd
2005 Junior Grand Prix (Croatia) - 3rd
2005 Junior Grand Prix (Andorra) - 2nd
2005 World Junior Championships - 9th
2005 State Farm U.S. Championships, Junior - 2nd
2004 Junior Grand Prix Final - 4th
2004 Junior Grand Prix (Ukraine) - 3rd
2004 Junior Grand Prix (Serbia and Montenegro) - 1st
2004 State Farm U.S. Championships, Novice - 1st
2003 State Farm U.S. Championships - 4th

 

 

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