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Interview with Vincent Vu Van Kha
October 2002
Let me start by introducing Vincent, who is a well known competitive slalom skater. Vincent is the current French Freestyle Slalom champion, has been a member of Team Tecnica since 1999, and is a member of the French skating team. Welcome to LondonSkaters.com, Vincent!
Click on any of the images to get a larger view
Q: When did you first start skating? |
 A: I started skating in 1996, on Rollerblade Skates : "Spiritblade".
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Q: What made you start slaloming, and since then what do you feel has turned you into such a dedicated conehead? |
 A: I began on my own, trying to turn, to jump, and naturally I started slaloming cones spaced by 2 or 3 meters. Then I really started to jump, but I get injured for 6 months, so then I did a lot of slalom instead. Ever since I just continue.
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Q: Which are your favourite skates, and why? |
 A: Twisters from Tecnica, because at the moment they are the best skates for Slalom : hard boots, not too high (no spoiler), short frame. There isn't any other skates with such characteristics.
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Q: How many pairs of skates do you currently own, and what skates have you owned in the past that stand out in your memory? |
 A: At the moment I've got 6, but I can't have too many. Flats in Paris are small. I have kept my first skates by my parents, of course. Otherwise for the past 4 years, I am on Twisters.
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Q: What's your stand on helmets and protective gear? |
 A: I don't wear protective gear ... I really used to. It is required for beginners and for Jump or Downhill.
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Q: How many hours a week do you generally skate, and where? Do you do much skating for fun, things like freeride, streetskates, etc? |
 A: I might skate about 6 hours a week, mostly on Invalides-Paris or RollerPark-Paris. I skate for fun, that's sure, I slalom for fun. Freeride, street skates ... running along the streets of Paris, in between cars, is now boring to me. I skate so to go from a place to another place.
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Q: Where do you live, and what's your home language? |
 A: I live in Paris for 2 years, I came from Poitiers and Bordeaux. I speak French.
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Q: What's your daytime job, and why do so many skaters seem to be PC heads? |
A: I am working from 9 am till 6 pm. :) |
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Q: Out of this, how much disciplined training do you do, and what do you practice in order to improve for competition? |
 A: I train about only Style Slalom, I should train Speed Slalom too. I like to do some jumps from time to time. When i train style slalom, I find new tricks, then I train to do them, and then I make a run which has to look easy, "fluide".
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Q: How many competitions do you take part in during most years, and what are your best results there? |
 A: I did the French Championship, Lausanne, Modena Skipass, Monza but also lots of little competitions in Italy and France. I won the contest of Lausanne and Monza last year, and I won the French Championship this year.
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Q: Please tell us a little about how a slalom competition is run, and how it's judged? |
 A: Running a competition :
- You need a place (safe from the rain, flat, with a good floor) : you need an authorization from the town, or the owner of the place.
- You need Music for style slalom, cellular chronometer for speed.
- You need Judges : find some money to pay their travel.
- So you need sponsor, to get money, therefore you might need media, in order to sell your project to your sponsor.
- Contact skaters : by the web, by the skaters themselves.
- Find Prize : money or skates.
 The way a judging is different from a place to another, I am at the moment trying to find a deal about it : to set a common way of judging.
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 Thanks for your time, Vincent!
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