Under Boč crowned new national champions in...

New national champions in mountain orienteering crowned under Boč.

At the Slovenian Mountain Orienteering Competition (SPOT) Poljčane 2024, organized under the auspices of the Youth Commission of the Alpine Association of Slovenia by the mountaineering clubs of the Podravska Orienteering League, 64 best teams from all over Slovenia competed. In individual categories, national champions became competitors from mountaineering clubs Tabor (A), Gornja Radgona (B), Poljčane (C), Polzela (D and F), and Velenje (E). The most successful qualified for the international mountain orienteering competition, which will take place in autumn in North Macedonia.

On Boč and its surroundings, on May 11 and 12, 64 teams with a total of 280 competitors from six regional orienteering leagues demonstrated their orienteering and mountaineering knowledge: Podravska, Savinjska, Gorenjsko-dolenjska, Rogaška, Primorska League, and Smrekovec League. Saturday's daytime and night races were a challenge only for competitors in the most demanding categories C and D, while on Sunday's orienteering highlight, competitors from the remaining categories also gathered. Mountaineers had to demonstrate, in addition to excellent orienteering knowledge, ability to move in demanding terrain, general mountaineering knowledge, and good physical fitness, also knowledge of mountaineering school material, and on the course, practical tasks from first aid, mountaineering knots, orienteering, and additional material about Boč and its nature awaited them.

The Slovenian Mountain Orienteering Competition Poljčane 2024 crowned new national champions in mountain orienteering on May 12 at the Mountain Hut on Boč: in category A (pupils up to 6th grade of elementary school), the team OŠ Vransko - POŠ Tabor (PD Tabor) won, in category B (pupils from 7th to 9th grade of elementary school), young mountaineers from PD Gornja Radgona became national champions again, in category C (youth up to 20 years), the unbeatable locals from PD Poljčane, victory in categories D (adults over 18 years) and F (families) went to PD Polzela, in category E (adults over 45 years), success was celebrated by PD Velenje. In the elementary open category G, they celebrated at POŠ/PD Tabor, in the open I (comparable to E) at PD Borovnica. The top three teams in categories B, C, D, and E qualified for the international Balkan Mountain Orienteering Competition (BMUMOC), which will take place in autumn in North Macedonia.

RESULTS SPOT POLJČANE 2024 - top three teams in individual categories, national champions are in categories A to F. Teams in categories B, C, D, and E are qualified for the international mountain orienteering competition.

Category A: 1. POŠ/PD Tabor, 2. OŠ Šalek (PD Velenje), 3. POŠ Ponikva (PD Žalec)
Category B: 1. PD Gornja Radgona, 2. PD Polzela, 3. OŠ Petrovče (PD Žalec)
Category C: 1. PD Poljčane, 2. PD Polzela, 3. PD Žalec
Category D: 1. PD Polzela, 2. PD Poljčane, 3. PD Vitanje
Category E: 1. PD Velenje, 2. PD Polzela, 3. PD Šoštanj
Category F: 1. PD Polzela, 2. PD Vitanje, 3. PD Zabukovica
Category G: 1. POŠ/PD Tabor, 2. OŠ Petrovče (PD Žalec), 3. PD Zabukovica
Category I: 1. PD Borovnica, 2. PD Ajdovščina

PD Polzela traditionally achieves the best placements at the Slovenian Mountain Orienteering Competition. This year, they won the national champion titles in categories D and F, and added second places in categories B, C, and E. In the most demanding category D, the Voluharji celebrated victory, as the students Julija Trobina, Urša Mati Djuraki, Martin Rafael Gulin, Lev Podbregar, and Bor Kunstelj named their team, who cheerfully summed up their impressions: "We're quite tired after the competition, but happy that we beat the locals from Poljčane on their home turf. While searching for points on the course, we preferred to go around the path instead of straight by azimuth, which would have been shorter, and in the end, it paid off. This way, we saved a lot of energy and elevation meters, which helped us because the Poljčane guys were breathing down our necks. They are a very tough opponent as they are the best physically prepared, while we try to compensate with the number of competitors. The tests seemed demanding to us, but we did quite well, there were some tricks in drawing that we didn't know yet. The night race was surprisingly difficult, otherwise, during the two-day competition, we saw many beautiful views of the valley and neighboring hills."

In the youngest category A, young mountaineers from PD Tabor became national champions for the first time, the Planinske glive team from OŠ Vransko - POŠ Tabor, consisting of Neja Kos, Lea Lopan, Martin Juhart, Jurij Juhart, and Jaro Petrovič Poljanec. "So far, we have won all mountain orienteering competitions we participated in, only twice we were sixth. The national competition course seemed medium demanding to us. For the sixth point, we really had to try to find it, we went by two different paths but didn't find it, then we returned to it from the seventh point. We didn't solve everything on the test, but on the course we found all points and solved all practical tasks," said the young competitors, whose mountain orienteering knowledge is taught by mentor Stanka Tominšek Kužnik.

Mountain orienteering competitions are one of the most popular methods of learning orienteering, also promoted by the Youth Commission of PZS. This year's organization of the national competition was taken over by the mountaineering clubs of the Podravska Orienteering League: PD Poljčane, PD Fram, PD Ruše, PD Gornja Radgona, PD Lovrenc na Pohorju, and PD Ptuj. "Organizing such a competition is a big undertaking, so mountaineering clubs from the Podravska League helped us, which have enough professional staff. I think everything succeeded as we planned. The protocol was made to the minute and we managed to stick to it, the greatest success is that we all go home safe and sound, as mountaineers do. I hope everyone felt good with us on Boč and will pass on their impressions to someone else and perhaps we will see each other here again," was satisfied Janko Kovačič, president of Planinsko društvo Poljčane, which was the organizer of SPOT 2024. The driving force of orienteering under Boč is Gvido Španring, with his team otherwise a serial national champion in mountain orienteering, this year he set all the courses of the national mountain orienteering competition.