Au revoir KVDP! He calls it a career.

[carriemarie]

Most memorable KVDP peformances???? Anyone?
I remember seeing him in an exhibition in The Netherlands years ago....and without the pressure of competition, (wish I could remember the music)...he had so much fun with the program and the audience! :-)

Maybe not best overall performance but in 2010 Worlds Torino- opened long program with 4 Toe - 3 Toe - 3 Toe combo...and hit it with flow coming out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flWhZrA7NJM

[blue_idealist]

Great article. Not to change the topic too much here, but which female skater was he referring to who won Worlds with only 3 triples?

I love Lepisto, but that makes me think of her bronze medal performance in 2010.

[GarrAarghHrumph]

I hope he has a fabulous life. Good luck to him!

[skateboy]

Here's a link with quite a few photos of scantily-clad KVDP:

http://www.absoluteskating.com/index...fantillusion-2

[carriemarie]

Here's a link with quite a few photos of scantily-clad KVDP:

http://www.absoluteskating.com/index...fantillusion-2

Wow...Porny Tarzan!!!

[Ziggy]

It's amazing what he was able to do considering the little ice time he had and the few resources as compared to other countries. Belgian skating owes him a lot.

Four hours a day is little ice time?

I will miss his great jumps! When will we see a 3-3-3 like that again?

Probably never.

Most skaters don't even have any flow out of 3/2/2 combos.

[carriemarie]

Four hours a day is little ice time?



Probably never.

Most skaters don't even have any flow out of 3/2/2 combos.

Uh yeah and What about quad- triple-triple? Has anyone landed that before? And no, I don't count Plushys attempt...

[carriemarie]

Checked protocol- Kevin got 19 points for that jumping pass...is that a record?

[ks1227]

From the interview:

Had I known how much I would have had to learn and gone through, I would have stayed in swimming! Now, fortunately, I have learned, so it's OK ...

Somehow I missed that he had ever been a swimmer. I think I would have liked to have seen that.

[Zemgirl]

I loved Kevin's reaction to his placement at 2007 Euros, and find it amusing that he won two Euros medals by a combined 0.13 of a point.

Uh yeah and What about quad- triple-triple? Has anyone landed that before? And no, I don't count Plushys attempt...

But Plushenko did land at least one 4-3-3... I think Kevin Reynolds was also credited for one, at Nationals a few years ago.

KvdP's 4-3-3 appears to be the highest scoring element done under CoP (see here).

[carriemarie]

I loved Kevin's reaction to his placement at 2007 Euros, and find it amusing that he won two Euros medals by a combined 0.13 of a point.


But Plushenko did land at least one 4-3-3... I think Kevin Reynolds was also credited for one, at Nationals a few years ago.

KvdP's 4-3-3 appears to be the highest scoring element done under CoP (see here).

Wow thanks so much! A great website...interesting fact that two American teams have the highest and second highest scoring element in pair. Ironic I guess...

[Ajax]

Most memorable KVDP peformances???? Anyone?
I remember seeing him in an exhibition in The Netherlands years ago....and without the pressure of competition, (wish I could remember the music)...he had so much fun with the program and the audience! :-)

This is an oldie, but I really loved his skating at the SLC Olys. If I remember correctly he was the only skater apart from Yagudin to go completely clean at the competition and I'll always remember how happy and emotional he was at the end of this LP.

[reut]

Great interview with Kevin where he sums up his career, recalls some moments from the past and talks about his future plans:

Kevin van der Perren: "I always hoped that my last skate would be like this"

And he is quite candid too.

If you could change anything in your career, what would you change? Or you have no regrets?
Oh, I have lots of regrets. I wouldn't have left Nikolai [Morozov, Kevin's former coach] so fast, I probably should have stayed for another year or two. That's my biggest regret.

What do you think about the current judging system?
I hate it. Lately it's just all about the components. Before if you did a quad and a triple Axel and did everything clean, you would be near the podium. And now if they decide to give somebody twenty points more on the components, they do! Okay, that's their opinion, but I think there's too much weight on the components. They shouldn't let them rule the competition. I think they should cut half off the components, they are too decisive. The technique should still be the primary aspect of the sport, because otherwise let's bring in the spotlights and it's a show. If the components weren't rated so highly, you would see very different results.

[professordeb]

Ahhh Kevin - still speaking his mind candidly.
Had a chuckle when reading his answer to the second question. He's another of those who probably didn't think the "artistic" mark back in the 6.0 day, should be a tie breaker. Still in all, I gotta love a guy who went for broke in spite of all he faced.
Hope he has a happy life with Jenna and that they produce some "jumping beans"

[alilou]

Kevin VDP wins Belgium's Dancing with the Stars!
OMG Kevin's inner dancer is unleashed. Who knew?
Videos of all his performances here: http://vtm.be/sterren-op-de-dansvloer/kevin-en-charissa
Wish I knew what the judges were saying.
Kevin looks hot

[orientalplane]

Oh Kevin, like everyone else here, I shall miss you. It seems as though you were around forever; I loved your reaction to going clean in the 2002 Olympic SP. And those big combinations were to die for. I'm so glad you got two major medals, even it was only by a whisker each time, LOL. You couldn't do anything much besides jump but you've been honest enough to admit it. I will even miss just seeing the abbreviation of your name. KVDP, thank you and good luck.

[alilou]

Go have a look at his dancing! It makes up for everything

[Sylvia]

Go have a look at his dancing! It makes up for everything

Here's the GSD thread from last year (Nov. 2012-Jan. 2013) on this topic : http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/show...with-the-Stars

[alilou]

Ah Sylvia! I knew you'd be along with the right thread! I searched, but apparently I'm not very good at it
Also, apparently, I'm way behind the times