Slovenian Mountaineering Orienteering Competition Rakitna 2023

The Slovenian Mountaineering Orienteering Competition (SPOT) Rakitna 2023 will attract 216 competitors from all over Slovenia to the area of the Municipality of Brezovica on 20 and 21 May 2023, who will compete in various categories for the title of national champions. The two-day competition, in which the best teams from individual regional leagues (Podravska, Savinjska, Gorenjsko-dolenjska, Rogaška league and Smrekovec league) will compete, is organized by the Youth Commission of PZS and the mountaineering clubs of the Gorenjsko-dolenjska Orienteering League.

Mountaineering orienteering, which has a long tradition in Slovenia, represents a combination of knowledge, experience and the use of technical devices for movement in nature. The purpose of learning orienteering is for the individual to acquire knowledge with which they can independently and confidently master movement in the mountain world.

Mountaineering orienteering competitions are one of the most popular methods of learning orienteering, also promoted by the Youth Commission of PZS. They differ from other orienteering challenges in that they also check participants' mountaineering knowledge and skills, such as knot tying, knowledge of mountains, flora and fauna, first aid and other contents of mountaineering school.

Competitors, who compete in teams of three to five members, are divided into six categories: A - pupils up to 6th grade of primary school, B - pupils up to and including 9th grade of primary school, C - youth up to 20 years, D - members over 18 years, E - members over 45 years and F - families (at least one parent and primary school children).

The Slovenian Mountaineering Orienteering Competition Rakitna 2023 in the area of the Municipality of Brezovica, with the assistance of the Orienteering Board of the PZS Youth Commission, is organized by the mountaineering clubs of the Gorenjsko-dolenjska Orienteering League: PD Borovnica, PD Tržič, PD Vrhnika and PD Ljubljana-Matica. Competitors will have to demonstrate, in addition to honed orienteering knowledge, general mountaineering knowledge, knowledge of flora and fauna and good physical fitness, also practical knowledge of mountaineering school material and additional material on the Circular Mountaineering Trail Pentlja. This year's SPOT will be attended by 49 teams. 216 competitors from all over Slovenia will compete for the title of national champion in mountaineering orienteering with a compass and map in hand.

The competition for categories C and D will start on Saturday, 20 May, at 8:00 at PŠ OŠ Rakitna, mountaineers will have a night competition in the evening. The highlight of the orienteering event will be on Sunday, 21 May, as all 49 teams will be at the competition venue. At PŠ OŠ Rakitna, the organizers will greet the competitors at 8:00, followed by the start of teams in categories A, B, E and F, while competitors in categories C and D will already be on the course after an early start. The finish for all teams will be at PŠ OŠ Rakitna, where the closing ceremony with the presentation of awards will also take place. The top three placed teams in categories B, C, D and E will participate in the international Balkan Mountaineering Orienteering Competition (BMUMOC), which will be held in Serbia at the end of September.

You can feel, record, photograph or film the true orienteering spirit of the SPOT Rakitna 2023 competition for media reporting precisely on Sunday, 21 May 2023. With a little effort, you can catch competitors at one of the live control points, where they will test themselves in both orienteering knowledge and practical mountaineering knowledge and skills.

The contact person is the competition manager Ana Suhadolnik (PD Borovnica), reachable at 051 493 037 and suhadolnik.ana@gmail.com

Additional information: Ana Suhadolnik, SPOT 2023 manager, 051 493 037