At the PZS 2023 Assembly on the new method of financing...

At the PZS 2023 Assembly on the new method of financing the maintenance of mountain trails.

At the regular annual general assembly of the Alpine Association of Slovenia (PZS) on April 22, 2023, in Zgornja Polskava, delegates from mountaineering clubs unanimously approved the reports of PZS bodies for 2022 and the framework content and financial work program of PZS for 2024. The management presented a new method of financing the maintenance of mountain trails and organized a workshop on this topic before the assembly.

108 delegates gathered at the regular annual general assembly of PZS in the Cultural Center Zgornja Polskava, with attendance slightly over 36 percent. The cultural program before the assembly was enriched by students from OŠ Antona Ingoliča Spodnja Polskava, branch Zgornja Polskava. Lena Leskovar sang the anthem. Marjana Brezovšek, president of the Mountaineering Club Pohorje Zg. Polskava, and Dr. Ivan Žagar, mayor of the Municipality of Slovenska Bistrica, proudly greeted mountaineers from all over Slovenia at the foot of Pohorje.


Delegates approved all submitted reports, including reports of PZS bodies for 2022 (more in the Yearbook for 2022), and the framework content and financial work program of PZS for 2024.

"Almost everywhere on our trails in the mountains in 2022, we noticed impressions and feelings as if the past two COVID years had not happened. Many people were on the trails in our mountains, huts were full of locals and, in tourist-developed areas, also foreign mountaineers. More and more people go to the mountains, more and more people come to our regions for active holidays; practically, there is no place that does not offer hiking or mountaineering experiences. On one hand, successful mountaineering economy or good operation of mountaineering huts provides good conditions for the development of mountaineering activities. But at the same time, high attendance brings problems and pressures on mountain nature, due to which we are already facing restrictions. These are not always the most pleasant for us mountaineers, but we will have to accept them if we want to preserve mountain nature, not only for future generations but also for ourselves, so that our mountaineering experiences remain rich and full of satisfaction," were the opening words of PZS Vice President Martin Šolar, who praised the rise in membership and successes of various association commissions in his speech.

PZS Vice President Jožef Bobovnik presented the ethical code of conduct in sports. The Alpine Association of Slovenia has adopted its Honorary Code of Slovenian Mountaineers, which only touches on competitive sports. Since the OKS ethical code appropriately regulates competitive sports branches, the management decided that PZS will not prepare its own code but will adopt the OKS code also for internal PZS sports activities. The assembly adopted the Ethical Code of Conduct in Sports, adopted by the OKS Assembly on July 1, 2021. This serves as the basis for direct application and collection of basic ethical principles for sports activities within PZS.


Before the assembly, the round table "Financing the Maintenance of Mountain Trails," prepared by Matej Planko, Damjan Omerzu, Jure Brečko, and Roman Ponebšek, aroused great interest among representatives of mountaineering clubs. It presented the co-financing system for maintaining mountain trails in 2023. PZS will receive 400,000 euros from the Ministry of Economy, Tourism and Sport for trail maintenance, to be allocated to maintaining mountain trails, training, and equipment for markacists. The workshop leaders also presented the document "Mountain Trails - State Overview and Development Guidelines."

The next opportunity for mountaineering gathering will be the Day of Slovenian Mountaineers, which with a diverse program for mountaineers of all generations, touring cyclists, and other nature lovers invites on June 10, 2023, to the Planinski dom na Kalu.