Tomo Česen: I Get Teary Eyes Again and Again

The 30th anniversary competition of the World Series in difficulty climbing will on 4 and 5 September 2026 in Koper attract not only the biggest names in sport climbing and the loudest fans, but also all Slovenian national team members who were finalists at either the Kranj or Koper competition. Did you know that they stepped onto the highest podium as many as 14 times in front of the home crowd? In addition to Janja Garnbret and Mina Markovič, also Maja Vidmar, Martina Čufar, Klemen Bečan and Luka Potočar. Competitors change, but Tomo Česen remains – for 30 years he has been indispensable in the organisation of the Slovenian competition in sport climbing and emphasises that he persists because of our best competitors who deserve it.

The biggest summer sports event in Slovenia is thus among competitors as well as among fans one of the most popular competitions of the World Cup or, as of recently, the World Series in sport climbing, which will take place on 4 and 5 September on the outdoor wall of the Plus climbing Koper Climbing Centre.



Two-time Olympic and ten-time world champion and 50-time World Cup winner Janja Garnbret can achieve her already sixth victory in front of home fans at the anniversary competition. In addition to her five, only Slovenian Mina Markovič, Frenchwoman Liv Sansoz and Czech Adam Ondra have collected four victories.



The loud support of the most loyal audience is also eagerly awaited by the current world runner-up in difficulty Rosa Rekar, two-time Olympian Mia Krampl, incredible Lučka Rakovec, who returned in great style to the sport climbing elite after a serious illness, Olympian Luka Potočar and all other members of the Slovenian national team in sport climbing, one of the best in the world.

At this year's jubilee – the first 25 years the competition was hosted by Kranj, this year it will be the fifth time in Koper – it will be especially solemn. All Slovenian national team members who were finalists at either the Kranj or Koper competition in difficulty climbing will step in front of the fans on the Coast.



Slovenia has a total of as many as 35 podium finishes at the home competition, 14 of these were victories. In addition to Janja Garnbret with five and Mina Markovič with four victories, the national anthem resounded twice in honour of Maja Vidmar (now Štremfelj), while Martina Čufar, Klemen Bečan and Luka Potočar each added one victory. In addition to them, Natalija Gros, Lučka Franko, Vita Lukan, Lučka Rakovec, Mia Krampl, Rosa Rekar, Lucija Tarkuš, Matej Sova, Tomaž Valjavec, Urban Primožič, Domen Škofic and Milan Preskar will also greet the loyal audience in Koper.



The background of the creation of World Cup or Series competitions in Slovenia takes us back to 1988, when the first sport climbing competition in our country was held in Osp, while between 1996 and 2021 Kranj was the legendary host of the difficulty climbing competition, with the exception of 2020, when it did not take place due to the coronavirus epidemic. The baton of organising the highest-level competition was taken over in 2022 by Koper, where on 4 and 5 September the 30th World Series competition in difficulty climbing, a true festival of sport climbing, will be held. Tickets are already available on Entrio.

Competitors change, but Tomo Česen remains – for 30 years he has been indispensable in the organisation of the Slovenian World Cup or World Series competition in sport climbing. Read the interview with him!



What a leap has the Slovenian difficulty climbing competition made from 1996 to today?
"It is impossible to compare the quality and scope of competitions from the beginning to today. What was, for example, acceptable even ten years ago is no longer so today. I could say that the competitions in the early years were merely competitions, today it is a sports event. In any case, our competitions have always been well attended by spectators. In the beginning it was perhaps the curiosity of the home audience to see what it looks like when the best in the world compete against each other. Later, of course, also increasingly greater support for our competitors, who over all these years delivered truly top-level performances. That is precisely one of the biggest reasons why people come."



What is it then that the competition has preserved over almost 30 years?
"As far as I am concerned, it was the care that the sporting part of the competition proceeded as it should. That the competitors and their entourage got the feeling that they play the main role. All the others who helped make the competitions happen, in my opinion play a supporting role."



This year's jubilee will be something special. How did the idea come to you to invite all Slovenian finalists of the home competition to the Coast and why?
"Simply because they deserve it. They are the ones who had to step onto the central stage in front of the home crowd and in those few minutes show what they had worked for for many years. They must never be forgotten. Without them the story of the Slovenian World Cup competitions would be incomplete."



What does the 30-year tradition of organising a world-class competition mean for Slovenia and the Slovenian national team in sport climbing?
"Slovenia has shown and proved that it can carry out competitions at the highest level. Our national team thus gets the opportunity to show the fans live what they are capable of. It is true that it is always hardest to achieve this at home, but whoever is really good is also good at home."



How important is it for the organiser that the biggest names in sport climbing compete at the competition, from Olympic and world champions to World Series winners?
"Without a doubt it is a sign that you are organising a good competition. Otherwise someone would certainly be missing. And without them the audience would also lose interest. Without a good public and fans there is no good competition."



A real magnet for fans are the home competitors, who have stepped onto the highest podium as many as 14 times. But how do you experience the Slovenian anthem at the competition that you have been organising for so long, again and again and again?
"I get teary eyes again and again."

In 2024 the competitors and teams from all World Series venues rated the difficulty climbing competition in Koper with the highest score. Why do you think it is so popular?
"As I already mentioned, we have never forgotten that the competitors are the main ones. They are the ones who also experience all the background that the public does not see. And for that background we know how to take care as it should be."



30 years is a long time and organising the competition a very big undertaking – have you in the meantime ever thought of throwing in the towel? And what convinced you to still persist?
"Yes, always the next day right after every competition. Every competition, especially in the beginning, required a lot of physical and mental energy. I always gave my all in these events. When I think back to some competitions in the past that thoroughly exhausted me, I would rather not repeat them. But what makes me persist is one single reason – these are our best competitors, who deserve it. Without that I certainly would not see the point in doing it."



Which was for you the most moving moment at the competitions over these three decades?
"Perhaps it was the first home victory achieved by Martina Čufar in 2001. In the superfinal (at that time the format of the competitions was still such that in case of a tie in the final a superfinal followed) she defeated Muriel Sarkany and I had the feeling that the hall would collapse. The cheering of the audience was so very loud."



Can you share with us another anecdote from the rich history of the competition?
"Oh, there were quite a few, but most are not for the public. Maybe just to illustrate how very stressful it was at the first competition in 1996. We were in such a time crunch that the upper part of the wall was still being built, while we had already started setting routes. The reason was the delay of state officials in issuing the bank guarantee for the payment of the climbing wall. At that time I lost quite a few nerves while resolving the complication."