Orienteering Competition on Pokljuka

Successful first international mountain orienteering competition on Pokljuka.

Pokljuka, known as a tough orienteering nut, hosted the first international mountain orienteering competition from September 30 to October 2, 2016, organized by the Alpine Association of Slovenia or its Youth Commission in collaboration with the Association of Balkan Mountaineering Organizations. In three different difficulty categories, 21 teams from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia competed, with victories in all three categories going to the mountaineering clubs Polzela and Poljčane.



The Association of Balkan Mountaineering Organizations (BMU) entrusted the organization of the inaugural international mountain orienteering competition to the Alpine Association of Slovenia (PZS), so it was conducted according to the rules of Slovenian mountain orienteering competitions, which have over 60 years of tradition. The competition, representing a combination of knowledge, experience, and use of technical devices for movement in nature, especially in the mountains, took place in the form of team competitions in three age groups. Youth aged 15 to 18 went on an easier course, adult members over 15 with an adult team leader tackled a very demanding course, and veterans over 40 demonstrated their orienteering knowledge on a demanding course. Competitors faced daytime and nighttime challenges, terrain reconnaissance where they thoroughly explored the diversity and ruggedness of the Pokljuka landscape, and also had to add theoretical knowledge of orienteering and mountaineering content.



"The organizers wanted the competition to proceed in a friendly atmosphere while setting a high standard for future such events. It was great to see how bonds formed between competitors, with different languages and nationalities not being an obstacle. Additionally, we wanted to show participants as much of the Slovenian landscape as possible. Therefore, we chose Pokljuka, as it is excellent orienteering terrain and right on the edge of the high mountains of the Julian Alps. Besides the fairy-tale Pokljuka spruce forests, the course allowed observation of steep mountain slopes, the deeply incised Krma, shrub and larch vegetation, a highland with traditional shepherd huts, the large Medvedova konta with a nearby abyss ..." explained Tina Arh, head of the Orienteering Committee of the PZS Youth Commission, and added: "The fact that the competition was organized according to our model was evident especially in more specific tasks like plotting, where our teams routinely had an inevitable advantage. For countries where orienteering is mostly practiced as orienteering running on much shorter distances and more precise maps, our course was quite a challenge. However, foreign competitors managed very well and quickly mastered the competition system. Results in the end don't play too big a role; at least for me, much more important are the good impressions participants took home and the great motivation we all gained from such good orienteering company. I can't wait to see you next year in Serbia." The next international mountain orienteering competition will indeed be organized by the Mountaineering Association of Serbia.



All teams performed very well on Pokljuka with compass and map in hand, but all victories remained in home hands. In the youngest category, ahead of teams from Serbia and Macedonia, competitors from Mountaineering Club Polzela—Martin Rafael Gulin, Anej Sadnik, and Miha Drame, this year's Slovenian national champions—celebrated. From PD Polzela also come the winners in the veterans category: Zoran Štok, Miroslav Jegrišek, Franjo Jajčevič, Dani Pfeifer, and Jože Sadnik, who beat competitors from PD Ptuj, the current national champions in mountain orienteering, by just one point, leaving the team from Montenegro in third place.



In the most demanding and largest adult category, all three podium places went to Slovenian teams—first and second to PD Poljčane and third to PD Vransko. The winners from Poljčane, also this year's national champions at the Slovenian Mountain Orienteering Competition (SPOT), were Gvido Španring, Dani Belec, Primož Koražija, and Igor Zadravec. "The competition on Pokljuka was an interesting experience for participants, as we could compare with competitors from other environments. After theoretical tasks and the daytime race on Saturday, which partly took place in the high mountains, the teams were fairly even. The night race proved the most selective, where the smallest mistake causes significant time loss in finding the ideal direction and control point. With some luck, we managed to complete both courses the fastest, thus adding the SPOT 2016 victory to our international mountain orienteering win," team leader Španring concluded the Pokljuka challenge.



"Mountain orienteering competitions have over 60 years of tradition, so we at PZS were pleased that the Association of Balkan Mountaineering Organizations entrusted us with organizing the first international competition. Participation of teams from five foreign mountaineering associations confirmed the correctness of introducing such competitions, and great interest from Slovenian teams also showed the desire to upgrade the Slovenian mountain orienteering system to international level. Congratulations to all participating teams who qualified through national competitions, and thanks to the organizing committee, composed of PZS Youth Commission representatives, for the quality execution," concluded Alpine Association of Slovenia President Bojan Rotovnik.