Slovenians Triple Balkan Champions in Mountain Orienteering

Slovenian teams at the Balkan Championship in mountain orienteering, hosted by North Macedonia from 26 to 28 September, achieved three first and three second places as well as the team trophy for overall second place. In four age categories, mountaineers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia competed. The Balkan champion titles among seniors were won by the Mountaineering Club (PD) Poljčane, among juniors by PD Celje Matica and among pioneers by PD Ljubljana Matica (OŠ Sostro). Slovenian teams also brought home three second places: PD Polzela among veterans, PD Gornja Radgona among juniors and PD Tabor (POŠ Tabor) among pioneers.

North Macedonia was supposed to host the Balkan Championship in mountain orienteering already last year, but it was cancelled due to fires and Serbia stepped in as organiser; this year, however, the best Balkan orienteers finally gathered in the south of the Balkan Peninsula. On Mount Vodno above Skopje, 31 teams from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia competed in mountain orienteering over the last September weekend, with nine teams qualifying from Slovenia – the most successful from the Slovenian mountain orienteering competition held in May in Breginj and its surroundings.



The competition, which combines knowledge, experience and the use of technical devices for movement in nature, especially in the mountain world, took place as a team competition in four age groups: pioneers (up to 15 years), juniors (up to 18 years), seniors (18 to 45 years) and veterans (over 45 years). With map and compass in hand, competitors on Mount Vodno faced night and day trials; in older categories, they also had to master azimuth navigation on the terrain and mountain knots, plus theoretical knowledge of mountain topics and plotting control points. Slovenian colours were represented by 40 competitors in nine teams across all age categories.

Among seniors, victory was celebrated by PD Poljčane, which already has a series of national champion titles in mountain orienteering and became Balkan champions in 2019. The experienced and fast team consisted of Urška Šplajt, Nejc Belec, Jaša Gričnik, Jernej Rupnik and leader Rok Skerbiš, who said: "The competition took place on Mount Vodno, where there was no shortage of good orienteering routes, but unfortunately the fog prevented beautiful views. As a team we cooperated well and found all control points. We are very satisfied with the competition result, as we had not achieved first place for several years."

In the juniors category, the team of PD Celje Matica stood out the most; in only their second season competing in mountain orienteering, they became Balkan champions – in the student lineup Lea Vrečko, Iva Friderich, Jernej Kopitar and Svit Janc. "The Balkan Championship was quite a big challenge, as we had to be in excellent physical condition for both the night and day competitions, yet remain highly focused throughout. What excited us most was that this was our last year competing among juniors and we wanted to give everything – and successfully conclude the season with beautiful memories," emphasised Vrečko, adding: "The most challenging part was maintaining a good pace in both competitions, persisting and giving our best until the end. The victory confirms we are on the right path. It also confirms that we can come together when it is hardest and persevere as a group, regardless of results."

Among the youngest pioneers, young mountaineers from PD Ljubljana Matica, pupils of OŠ Sostro – Zarja Šturm, Maša Šubelj, Aljaž Bučar, David Škufca and Urban Likovič, mentored by Petra Grünfeld and Jože Drab – triumphed in the Balkan competition. "Through regional and national competitions and with great persistence we gained experience that led us to this great achievement. The Balkan Championship was a special challenge for us, as we faced international competition and completely new terrain for the first time. That made the experience even more valuable. We were most excited by the atmosphere among the teams and the opportunity to meet peers from different Balkan countries united by a love of mountains. The terrain also thrilled us, requiring complete concentration and good cooperation. The most challenging part was adapting to unknown routes and finding control points in demanding conditions. This showed how important team spirit and trust in our own abilities are," they summarised, adding: "The victory means a great deal to us – recognition for all the effort invested, confirmation of our dedication to orienteering and motivation for future challenges. At the same time, it fills us with pride that we successfully represented Slovenia at an international competition."



In addition to three victories, Slovenian teams brought home three second places: PD Polzela among veterans (where Serbs won), PD Gornja Radgona among juniors and PD Tabor/POŠ Tabor among pioneers. Slovenia also won the team trophy for overall second place; first was Serbia, third North Macedonia. Veterans from PD Poljčane (fourth), pioneers from PD Žalec/OŠ Petrovče (sixth) and juniors from PD Poljčane (seventh) also contributed to the overall success. "Given the excellent achievements of our mountaineers, it is hard to understand that Slovenia was ‘only’ overall second and not the winner – one senior team brings so many points that they cannot be compensated by the best results in other categories. If we had known this earlier, we would have fielded another senior team. Otherwise, I must praise the pleasant atmosphere, the well-coordinated Slovenian team and the excellent terrain for orienteering," concluded Matjaž Žohar - Biba, head of the Slovenian delegation from the Youth Commission of the Alpine Association of Slovenia.