Press conference before the World Series competition in Koper 2026

This weekend Koper will once again be in the spotlight of sport climbing. The World Series difficulty competition is coming to the Coast, hosting the best sport climbers from around the world, including a large Slovenian national team led by Janja Garnbret. In addition to top-level sporting performances, visitors on 4 and 5 September will also be treated to a rich accompanying programme that will ensure a sporty weekend and a true sporting festival.



On 4 and 5 September Koper will for the fifth consecutive time host the biggest names in world sport climbing. This year’s jubilee, the 30th Slovenian World Cup competition, or World Series as it is now called, will be especially festive. The Slovenian World Series difficulty climbing competition 2026 is held under the auspices of the international federation World Climbing and is already being organised for the 30th time by the Alpine Association of Slovenia and is the fifth World Series difficulty event in this season. The competition will take place on the outdoor climbing wall of the Plus Climbing Koper Climbing Centre; the sporting spectacle will also be accompanied by a rich supporting programme that will attract numerous visitors and fans to the Coast.



Matej Planko, organisational head of the World Series competition in Koper, confirmed the rich accompanying programme: “The event itself grows year after year; thanks also go to the local community. Above all I am glad that every year the interest of local providers in participating in the event is greater; this year there are more than five, which shows that the local environment has also accepted us. This year on the same day as the competition there is also the culinary event Sladka Istra in the town in the morning. So we invite all visitors of that event to also attend the sport climbing competition and of course vice versa – that competition visitors enjoy something sweet in town in the morning. At the competition itself there will also be several exhibitors from the field of sports equipment, so we will create an ‘outdoor village’ where they can present themselves, which is of course also an excellent additional offer for all spectators. This year is the 30th edition of the World Cup competition, now the World Series, in Slovenia and that is a jubilee worth attending especially. Here I would like to thank Tomo Česen, who was very active in this part and arranged for all Slovenian finalists of all 29 World Cup competitions in Slovenia to come to Koper. This will give the event additional substantive weight.”



Head of the sporting part of the World Series competition Tomo Česen: “It is difficult to compare the first competition and the competitions of recent years. At the beginning it was a big challenge whether I was even capable of organising a competition at such a level, although 30 years ago it is hard to compare. But despite everything it was a challenge at the beginning; a few years pass, then after one of the competitions I almost gave up because it required a lot of mental and physical effort from me. But I would like to emphasise that at the beginning I knew that we were capable of doing it, but for that you need a team and a whole series of people are of course responsible for the fact that we can sit here after all these years. The main reason why I persist at all are the climbers. For me the climbers are the most important part of the competition; this is done because of them and also because Slovenia from the beginning until today has had an excellent team, excellent results. This year I had the idea to try to invite all finalists of Slovenian competitions. I am glad that Martina is also with us here today, who is ‘responsible’ for all the other results. All these climbers of course deserve to be present and that all other current competitors and the public see that results are not only now, but that they were also before and are a big reason why we also have successful competitors in this time. For young competitors it is nice to have a role model at home.”

In all this time a large number of competitors and even more successes have passed: “There were 92 Slovenian competitors in total, exactly half girls and half boys. Only in 1998 at the third competition did Slovenia not have a finalist. In total they achieved 14 victories and 35 podium finishes. There were 6 winners, 11 on the podium in total, 18 competitors achieved what every athlete wants to achieve in front of a home crowd – reaching the final” added Tomo Česen.



President of the Organising Committee of the World competition Alenka Žnidaršič Kranjc: “The goal we set ourselves, especially for next year and beyond, is to strengthen this event financially as well, not only in terms of climbing success, because our closest competitors Austria and the Czech Republic organise such an event with a three times larger budget than Slovenia has and the state contributes almost 50% of the funds to that budget. Our challenge in the coming period is above all the financial strengthening of climbing. As far as sporting success is concerned, I believe that with the climbers who are already with us and those who will join us, we will talk about successes many more times.”

Luka Fonda, coach of the Slovenian sport climbing national team and head of the Plus Climbing Koper Climbing Centre, which is co-organiser of the competition, touched on the preparations: “Preparations for the execution of the competition have been intensively underway for 17 days already. The preparation of the climbing centre is quite substantial. From cleaning the wall (removal of routes from the large wall), arranging the interior (preparation of the isolation zone), arranging all rooms for the technical team, media and the rest of the team needed for the execution of the sporting part of the competition. In the last days of August the setting of competition routes also began; the team includes three international route setters and four domestic or Slovenian route setters. It is necessary to set 8 routes, qualifications, semi-finals and finals. Fortunately the weather is not causing us any problems and may it stay that way.”


Selector of the Slovenian sport climbing national team Gorazd Hren: “We started the season very well and promisingly already in China with three female finalists (Janja, Rosa and Lucija) and a medal won in the end. At the next competition it turned around and we had only a boy in the final – Potočar, but that somehow meant that we were alongside the best in both girls and boys and things are going in the right direction. Already at the very next competitions especially Janja, Rosa and Luka only confirmed that they are in top form. Janja won, Luka climbed onto the podium again. Rosa showed consistency in reaching the final. So of course we left for the European Championship very optimistically and with high goals, where unfortunately Luka and Rosa had unsuccessful performances, while Lucija, despite excellent climbing, was unfortunately a little too slow. Mia (5th in the end) and Lučka, who won bronze, therefore reached the final with excellent climbing. I must say that throughout the entire season Lučka showed excellent preparedness but then at competitions something always went wrong somehow. I am glad that she persisted and that poorer results did not get to her head and that in the most important moment she showed exactly what I had been watching all season at training.”

Hren of course also presented the team that will represent Slovenian colours at the World Series competition in Koper: Janja Garnbret (Šaleški AO Velenje) as well as Rosa Rekar (PK FA), Mia Krampl (AO PD Kranj), Lučka Rakovec (ŠPO PD Radovljica), Lana Gorič (PK FA), Sara Čopar (ŠPK Plus), Lucija Tarkuš (AK Impol Slovenska Bistrica), Jennifer Buckley (PK Scena) and Luka Potočar (ŠPO PD Radovljica), Lovro Črep (Šaleški AO), Jaka Jaki (DRPK) and Samo Golob (ŠPO PD Rašica).


The first name of the Koper competition will certainly be two-time Olympic champion, last year’s winner and record holder in World Series wins, Janja Garnbret: “My life is so intertwined with climbing that it goes with me everywhere. The exception is that real holiday, but that follows towards the end of the year when it is cold here. In summer I did take some time for myself, but that was more connected with climbing on rock; I returned to Ceusse, trained at home and somehow built form for Koper and everything that is coming, because the competition in Koper is truly unique. Nothing can compare with it – because it is at home, because there are the most of our fans here, because the team in Koper always receives us exceptionally nicely and warmly and it seems as if we Slovenians really have the advantage of home ground.”

We also reminded Janja of the competition in Kranj: “I remember the first wins well, really with pleasure; the second still gets on my nerves today. Every experience brings something, even these ‘failures’. In the team we talk about them even more often or joke about them, just like about wins. Kranj was a standard in Slovenian climbing, a tradition. But it is a fact that Koper, with the competition being outdoors, by the sea, adds some additional charm and speaks about the fact that we know how to take a step forward, to develop, to always seek progress. In the end the key thing is that Slovenia as a climbing country has a home competition that the best come to every year. So that young people can get even more excited, get to know this sport live and dream that one day they will compete in front of home fans.”


On Sunday at the European Championship in Laval Lučka Rakovec won a bronze medal; seven years have passed since the last podium. The same year, therefore 2019, she also stood on the podium at the competition in Kranj; then illness came and quite a few challenges: “That period was difficult and somehow it is still not all as before, but I am proud of where I am today. These podiums mean a lot to me; quite some time has passed since the last ones and they are confirmation that I am on the right path and are definitely a nice encouragement for the home competition. After a season that did not go according to my plans, I needed some confirmation and in Laval I got it. The competition in Koper is every time something really special and I hope that this year too I will manage to put together some good performances.”

In this season the young Gorenjska girl Rosa Rekar also certainly stood out, which is a good omen for the home competition: “This year’s results are a good omen for the Koper competition, as they give me additional confidence in myself and my abilities. Because of this year’s successes I can step onto the competition with more self-confidence; at the same time this also motivates me to show as much as possible in front of the home audience. The home competition is something special for me every year. The support of home fans is really felt and gives me additional energy and motivation. The atmosphere is always special, so I am really looking forward to the Koper competition.” Rosa is also a recipient of a scholarship from the International Olympic Committee: “The scholarship means really a lot to me, above all because it gives me additional encouragement and confirmation that someone believes in me, in my work and that I am working in the right direction. This gives me additional motivation to persist and strive to progress. At the same time it also represents important financial support for me, as it enables me to more easily cover training costs. Until the Olympic Games I want to improve the things where I feel I still have some room for progress. I want to improve mental preparation and my weak points in climbing.”

Luka Potočar is the first name of Slovenian men’s difficulty climbing; in this season podiums in Innsbruck and Prague eluded him, but in Chamonix he again proved that he belongs at the very top: “Every season is a story of its own; every year I knew that the form was good; showing that at competitions is always the hardest and when it succeeds, that is the best confirmation of good mental and financial preparedness. Certainly every final is good motivation and a sign that the form is good; all the same I wanted better climbing in both finals and when I succeeded in that, a much better result also came.” In difficulty among Slovenian national team members Luka also misses more Slovenian fellow climbers: “When I came to the seniors in 2018 there were a lot of boys, among them also big names who have a good influence on the initial development of a competitor, and so it was also in my case. I miss those initial seasons; the atmosphere was great and I hope that repeats.” In Koper Luka has already stood on the podium, which is certainly a good omen: “The situation is different every year. This year a good season with a poor European Championship just before Koper is certainly not the best omen; the season is also already long every year until Koper and is approaching the end; it is necessary to gather motivation for this special home competition, for which I have no doubt that it will be successful.”

Martina Čufar Potard is the first of the Slovenian women who ruled the world top of sport climbing, the first Slovenian who celebrated in the World Cup and the first who rejoiced in victory in front of a home crowd: “It has already been 25 years since my greatest successes, so they are only a distant memory. It is true that I was the first to reach for medals at world level, but climbing in Slovenia was already at a high level before, so I would not say that only my successes opened the doors for others. I certainly contributed a little to the fact that they saw that it was possible. But it seems to me that the style of routes has changed a lot in the last 20 years. You have to climb quite a bit faster and more dynamically. The holds are much more rounded, which requires greater physical strength. Then there are also those coordination jumps, which are of course very spectacular for spectators. So I am glad that I am only a spectator and that the rock, where I still climb a lot, remains as it was.”

Just like Martina, Klemen Bečan is the one who with a victory in 2008 in Kranj entered the history of Slovenian sport climbing as the first male World Cup winner, which he experienced in a special way: “Actually very emotionally, although at that time I perhaps did not even fully realise it. Before the competition or before the final I did not have the feeling that I had to win; I was already very satisfied with the season – I was in the final in bouldering, I was on the podium in difficulty and I came to Kranj above all to enjoy and climb well. Then it happened. When the last competitor climbed and I realised that I had won, the feeling was quite unreal. Only later did I probably realise what had actually happened and that I had won at home, in front of a full hall, and that it was the first Slovenian men’s victory in the World Cup. Today it seems to me most beautiful above all that I do not connect this memory only with my result. I remember the team, the people in the hall, friends, family and the entire atmosphere. Because of that this victory is still very important to me.”

Klemen also agrees that today it is different than it was once: “Today I look at competitions a little differently, because I am no longer a competitor and therefore have a considerably better perspective. Sport has changed a lot in these years. Today competitors are more professional; training is more individualised; around every competitor there is often an entire team of people and pressures and expectations are also considerably greater. Already when I was finishing my competitive career I noticed that competitors were increasingly keeping to themselves. I liked that after competitions we also socialised with other competitors, also from other countries. Today there is probably more individualism, but that is not necessarily bad. Climbing has become a more professional sport and everyone is looking for their own best path.”

Programme of the World Series Koper 2026 competition in difficulty climbing:


Friday, 4 September
09:00-15:00 Qualifications
09:00-12:00 Programme for primary schools and youth with Mini Olympics
09:00-12:00 Climbing on the mobile climbing wall
17:00-19:30 Programme at stands and music programme with DJ
20:00 Semi-final


Saturday, 5 September

09:00-15:00 Altroke Sladka Istra
17:00-19:30 Programme at stands and music programme

17:30-19:30 Telekom climbing nursery
19:30-20:00 Opening of the final
20:00-22:00 Final

Ticket prices:

Semi-final:
Adults: 12 €
Children and adolescents from 9 to 18 years: 6 €
Final:
Adults: 25 €
Children and adolescents from 9 to 18 years: 12 €

Buy your ticket here.


The Saturday final will be broadcast live on TV Slovenija’s 2nd programme.

Media sponsors of the World Series Koper 2026 are TV Slovenija, Val 202 and Radio Capris.

Major sponsors of the event are the Slovenian Tourist Board, Adidas, Športna loterija, E-stave, OTP Banka.

Sponsors: Prva osebna zavarovalnica d.d., Telekom Slovenije, Holding Slovenske elektrarne, d.o.o., Luka Koper, Toyota Slovenija, Pivovarna Laško d.d., Entrio, Europlakat d.o.o., GeaGo Zemljevodi, CityWall, Eles, Marjetica Koper, Bazilika Koper.

Co-organisers of the event are the Sports Institute of the Municipality of Koper and the Plus Climbing Koper Climbing Centre.


We look forward to your presence at the World Series sport climbing competition in Koper. For more information visit the official website worldcupslo.com and follow us on social networks.