sports
Our Max!
Skating champ has many
local ties.
and after he sat in fourth place follow-
ing the short program.
"I never thought of me being a
national champion," he told USA
Max Aaron
Steve Stein
I Contributing Writer
W
hat do Southfield-Lathrup
High School and newly
crowned U.S. men's singles
figure skating champion Max Aaron
have in common?
Plenty. Several of Aaron's relatives
live in the Detroit area and many
attended S-L.
"He's a really nice boy. We're proud
of him:' Danny Kurzmann of West
Bloomfield said about his 20-year-old
nephew from Scottsdale, Ariz.
So, let's play Jewish geography.
Max Aaron is the son of Mindy and
Dr. Neil Aaron, a pediatrician. Neil
has a twin sister, Lisa Kurzmann. She's
Danny's wife. Neil and Lisa are 1979
S-L graduates. Danny is a 1976 S-L
graduate.
Burt Aaron (S-L class of 1976) lives
in Ann Arbor. Michael Aaron (S-L class
of 1974) lives in New Jersey. They're
Max's uncles. Stan and Carol Aaron,
Max's grandparents, live in Bloomfield
Township.
Uncle Danny said Max comes to
Detroit often to visit with family — he
especially enjoys spending time with
his grandparents and cousins — and
work with choreographer Pasquale
Camerlengo at the Detroit Skating Club.
The trips to Michigan have influ-
enced his sports allegiances.
"He's a big Detroit Red Wings and
University of Michigan fan:' said Matt
Kurzmann of West Bloomfield, a first
cousin and son of Danny and Lisa.
A 14-year travel hockey player, Max
started figure skating when he was 9 to
improve his hockey skills.
To say Max was a dark horse to be
men's singles national champion is an
understatement, even though he was
the national junior champion in 2011.
He won the national title Jan. 27 at
CenturyLink Arena in Omaha, Neb.,
a year after finishing a disappointing
eighth at the national championships
Today.
But the 5-foot-7 Arizona State
University business student wowed
the crowd and judges in Omaha in his
freestyle program, done to the music of
West Side Story and punctuated by two
perfectly executed quad salchows in his
first jumps.
The World Figure Skating
Championships will be held next month
at the Budweiser Gardens in London,
Ont., just 125 miles from here, and Max's
Detroit family members would love to go
and cheer for him. But there's a problem.
"There aren't a lot of tickets available
because it's a small venue (capacity
9,100):' Danny said. "Plus, who knew
Max was going to be the national cham-
pion? We're scrambling to find tickets."
The men's singles short program is
scheduled for March 13 and the free-
style program and awards ceremony are
March 15.
The defending men's singles world
champion is Patrick Chan of Canada,
Max's friend and training partner at the
Broadmoor Skating Club in Colorado
Springs, Colo.
Send news to sports@thejewishnews.com .
S Jr-jd - fi
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Ronda Brodsky, director of the West
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about 25 students have signed up for
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While the academy is designed for
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February 14 • 2013
53