Aaron Van Cleave

Aaron Van Cleave (born 14 March 1987) is a German pair skater. He is best known for his partnership with Mari Vartmann for Germany. They won the 2015 German national title, the 2011 NRW Trophy, and 2010 Warsaw Cup. After they parted ways, he teamed up with Tatiana Domracheva.

Aaron Van Cleave
Born	(1987-03-14) 14 March 1987 (age 37) Comox, British Columbia, Canada
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Germany
Partner	Tatiana Domracheva
Coach	Knut Schubert
Skating club	SC Berlin

Personal life

Van Cleave was born on 14 March 1987 in Comox, British Columbia, Canada. He was born both a Canadian and American citizen. He became a German citizen in January 2014.^[1]

Career

In North America

Van Cleave first competed with Lauren Cowley at the Canadian Junior Championships, appearing on the juvenile level in 2002 and pre-novice in 2003. With Sarah McCoy, he represented Canada on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series. They were assigned to Norway in 2006 and the United States in 2007.

Van Cleave then teamed up with Ameena Sheikh where they represented the United States. The team trained in Detroit, Michigan at the Detroit Skating Club under Yuka Sato and Jason Dunjeon. Van Cleave and Sheikh Competed on the junior level and senior level at the 2009 U.S. Championships and the 2010 U.S. Championships

In Germany

In 2010, Van Cleave teamed up with Mari Vartmann to compete for Germany.^[2] The pair made their international debut at the 2010 Warsaw Cup where they won the gold medal. Their first major international event was the 2012 European Championships. On 26 January, during the morning practice before the long programs, Vartmann collided with Daniel Wende while they were attempting to avoid a French couple.^[3] Vartmann and Van Cleave finished 5th at the event. They were coached by Knut Schubert in Berlin.^[2]

Vartmann and Van Cleave withdrew from the 2012 Nebelhorn Trophy following the short program – Vartmann picked into her right foot when she fell on a throw triple loop during the short and was unable to put on her skate the next day due to swelling.^[4] They withdrew from the 2012 Coupe de Nice and their first assigned Grand Prix event, the 2012 Cup of Russia, after Van Cleave sustained a broken cheekbone while catching Vartmann on a triple twist.^[5] They later withdrew from their second GP, the 2012 NHK Trophy.^[6]

The pair was coached by Knut Schubert and Stefan Lindemann in Berlin in the first half of the 2014–15 season.^[7] In December 2014, they joined Maylin Wende and Daniel Wende in Oberstdorf.^[1] They won the pairs title at the 2015 German Championships.

His new partner is Tatiana Domracheva from Russia.

Programs

(with Vartmann)

Season	Short program	Free skating	Exhibition
2014–15 [1]	Waltz from Petersburg Secrets (Петербургские тайны) by Andrey Petrov	Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo
2013–14 [8]	Where the light gets in by Sennen	Notre-Dame de Paris by Riccardo Cocciante
2012–13 [9]	The Messiah Will Come Again by Gary Moore	The Passion of the Christ by John Debney Blood and Glory by Audiomachine
2011–12 [2]	Sarabande (modern arrangement) by George Frideric Handel	The Island by Steve Jablonsky Epicon by Globus	Le temps des cathédrales (from Notre-Dame de Paris) by Riccardo Cocciante

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

With Vartmann

International[10]
Event	10–11	11–12	12–13	13–14	14–15
Worlds		14th	16th		15th
Europeans		5th	8th	9th	7th
GP Cup of Russia			WD
GP NHK Trophy			WD		5th
GP Skate Canada				7th	8th
Bavarian Open	3rd		3rd
Challenge Cup			3rd
Cup of Nice		6th	WD		3rd
Golden Spin	5th
Ice Challenge		2nd
Lombardia Trophy				6th
Nebelhorn Trophy		8th	WD	3rd
NRW Trophy	4th	1st	5th
Warsaw Cup	1st
National[10]
German Champ.	2nd	2nd	2nd	3rd	1st
WD = Withdrew

With Sheikh

International[11]
Event	2010–11
US. Championships	8th J
J = Junior level

With McCoy

International[12]
Event	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08
JGP Norway		10th
JGP United States			6th
National[12]
Canadian Champ.	6th J	3rd J
J = Junior level

With Cowley

National
Event	2001–02	2002–03
Canadian Junior Champ.	8th V	10th P
Levels: V = Juvenile; P = Pre-novice

References

1. "Mari VARTMANN / Aaron VAN CLEAVE: 2014/2015". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015.
2. "Mari VARTMANN / Aaron VAN CLEAVE: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
3. "Weiterer Schlag für deutsches Team" [Another blow for the German team] (in German). Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk. 26 January 2012. Archived from the original on 26 January 2012.
4. Flade, Tatjana (30 September 2012). "2012 Nebelhorn Trophy". Golden Skate.
5. "Deutsches Duo sagt Grand-Prix-Start ab" [German pair withdraws from Grand Prix event] (in German). Die Zeit. Sport-Informations-Dienst. 18 October 2012. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
6. "Savchenko/Szolkowy sagen Start in Paris ab" [Savchenko/Szolkowy withdraw from Paris event]. Deutsche Presse-Agentur (in German). Stern. 14 November 2012. Archived from the original on 29 April 2013.
7. "Mari VARTMANN / Aaron VAN CLEAVE: 2014/2015". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
8. "Mari VARTMANN / Aaron VAN CLEAVE: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 28 May 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
9. "Mari VARTMANN / Aaron VAN CLEAVE: 2012/2013". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 26 February 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
10. "Competition Results: Mari VARTMANN / Aaron VAN CLEAVE". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 27 January 2011.
11. "Ameena SHEIKH / Aaron VAN CLEAVE". International Skating Union.
12. "Sarah McCOY / Aaron van CLEAVE". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016.

External links

• Mari Vartmann / Aaron Van Cleave at the International Skating Union
• Paarlauf-Fanclub: Mari Vartmann / Aaron Van Cleave