Kevin van der Perren wants to try pair skating

[la.louise]

http://www.sporza.be/cm/sporza/ander...ren_paarrijden
According to this interview (a little written article and audio interview) Kevin van der Perren wants to try pairs. He says he still likes to skate and wants to try pair skating now. According to the article Kevin will have try outs with 3 possible partners soon. None of them are Belgian and it won’t be his wife.
But in the interview he mentions just one possible partner. He says it will probably take some time because of different reasons: 1 He has to learn how to lift and skate with a partner etc 2 different nationalities 3 Money.
On the question if he wants to skate at the Olympics in Sochi he answers that Sochi will be too soon, but he wants to skate at euros and worlds at some point. He thinks top 6 at euros must be possible with the right partner.

[spikydurian]

Interesting! Worth trying to see how it will work out if he's still interested in skating.

[Zemgirl]

This is a joke, right? He's 30 years old, with no pairs experience and a long list of past injuries. In addition, he is kind of short for a pairs skater, not to mention rather slow.

KvdP went out with a great skate in Nice and it seems like the best way to leave the sport. I don't get this, if the story's true.

[Frau Muller]

This is a joke, right? He's 30 years old, with no pairs experience ......

Didn't John Baldwin, Jr. begin skating pairs around age 30? He was a single skater for 20 yrs before I ever heard about him skating with Rena Inoue ca 2002/03. Anything is possible.

I just hope that Kevin doesn't try to skate Pairs with his lovely wife, Jenna, who is too tall and big boned for that. We don't want to see Kevin in traction!

[orbitz]

This is a joke, right? He's 30 years old, with no pairs experience and a long list of past injuries. In addition, he is kind of short for a pairs skater, not to mention rather slow.

Does Belgium currently have any pair skaters? If not then it'd be easy for Kevin and partner to make the Belgium National Team.

[kirkbiggestfan]

He will have to move to a pair center..Chemnitz, Paris...I doubt he will have the funding to go to North America to do that.

[arakwafan2006]

Some athletes just dont know when to stop...

[snoopysnake]

Then he'd be Kevin Vanderpairen

Sorry, couldn't resist!

[love_skate2011]

so if he comes back again, this will his nth comeback ?

[ioana]

so if he comes back again, this will his nth comeback ?

Or first in a different discipline since he would still be technically retired from singles . If he can find a good partner, I don't see how this could hurt. Belgium doesn't have any pairs right now and anything that would encourge growth in the sport would be a good thing.

[Cherub721]

Then he'd be Kevin Vanderpairen

I doubt it will be successful, but good for him. There's no Belgian pair, so if he represents his home country then he's not taking away from anyone else, and the minimum score rules will ensure that he doesn't get to a championship unless the pair is decent. If he can go through finding a partner, learning to skate pairs, meeting all the requirements, and qualifying to the finals at a Euros/Worlds, he will certainly be deserving of his slot.

Maybe the federation is willing to pay for him to learn pairs and he thinks it will help him expand his horizons as a pro.

[Frau Muller]

Does Belgium have a nice short female single skater out there? Or maybe they accept imports. I heard that Mary Beth Marley's great-grandmother was born in Belgium. (Just kidding but you get my drift.)

[Rob]

Then he'd be Kevin Vanderpairen

Sorry, couldn't resist!

Missed rep opportunity.

How tall is he?

[love_skate2011]

Does Belgium have a nice short female single skater out there? Or maybe they accept imports. I heard that Mary Beth Marley's great-grandmother was born in Belgium. (Just kidding but you get my drift.)

or import one of the foreign/Russian babies like Kiri Baga or Agafonova ( originally a pairs skater ) who has struggled as singles now but she could be a great pairs skater and she's small.

[kirkbiggestfan]

Is Anais Morand looking for a partner or did she move on? There are decent French and German pair skaters looking for partners...

[Kasey]

Is Anais Morand looking for a partner or did she move on? There are decent French and German pair skaters looking for partners...

But that's the point. Would a "decent" pair skater from another country want to waste time and effort pairing with an old (for figure skating), short (for pair skating) skater with a long-standing history of back problems who has NEVER done pair skating before? And would have citizenship issues on top of it? Not likely.

[antmanb]

But that's the point. Would a "decent" pair skater from another country want to waste time and effort pairing with an old (for figure skating), short (for pair skating) skater with a long-standing history of back problems who has NEVER done pair skating before? And would have citizenship issues on top of it? Not likely.

I didn't think reality ever played a part in speculation on potential pairs partners.

[ioana]

But that's the point. Would a "decent" pair skater from another country want to waste time and effort pairing with an old (for figure skating), short (for pair skating) skater with a long-standing history of back problems who has NEVER done pair skating before? And would have citizenship issues on top of it? Not likely.

If the only available choices were the less-than-ideal scenario you outlined above & skating on your own for one year, trying to 'maintain skills' while hoping a better partner option becomes available next season, I'd say yes. A willing partner who has some ability and is willing to learn would be a better option that none at all.

[caseyedwards]

He's like Rockne Brubaker's height. Right off the bat some big trouble. And he would have to learn how to throw and lift but if he wants to try to be a pairs skater that is very interesting.

[kirkbiggestfan]

But that's the point. Would a "decent" pair skater from another country want to waste time and effort pairing with an old (for figure skating), short (for pair skating) skater with a long-standing history of back problems who has NEVER done pair skating before? And would have citizenship issues on top of it? Not likely.

The Belgium citizenship is not the hardest one to get...ask Bernard Arnault, the French Billionaire who is about to get it.

For some skaters, going to the olympics is the ultimate goal. I am not surprised he has already found ladies for try-outs. Now, I want names. ?