Young sport climbers conclude with medals...

Young sport climbers conclude successful climbing season with medals.

Young Slovenian sport climbers have successfully concluded the climbing season. They brought home three medals from the World Championships and as many as six from the European Championships. They were also very successful during the season in European Cup competitions. The most successful junior was 17-year-old Sara Čopar, along with many other young climbers we will hear and write about. The head coach of the junior sport climbing team, Ajda Remškar, is also satisfied and already looking forward to the next competition season.

This year's junior season started in April at a bouldering competition in Chambery, France, and ended at the World Championships in Dallas, USA.


"I am satisfied with this season. In terms of results, we were again very successful, but above all, I am glad that the good work from previous seasons continues. The main season goals were known in advance, and we planned our program around them, which we largely managed to stick to during the season. We still have some preparatory activities planned this year, but I am already looking forward to the next competition season," said Ajda Remškar, head coach of the junior sport climbing team, about the season.


The head coach always praises the team spirit of the national team and believes that it is what connects her and the juniors and helps many a bit during the competition itself. "This year we really spent a lot of time together, not only at the competition venues but also in hotels, airplanes, and vans. Both competitors and coaches devote a lot of time and energy to the same goals, which is reflected in mutual trust and support."

The head coach's goal was holistic team management, meaning she ensured the best possible competitive and preparatory conditions for both competitors and coaches. "The biggest challenge for me was taking responsibility and coordinating different interests, but I think I get used to it a bit more with each decision. If I needed help or advice, I could turn to the coaches; we made all professional decisions together. In addition, we travel a lot together; this year's World Championships in the United States was a big challenge for me both organizationally and in terms of responsibility when traveling with the underage team, but we handled everything really well together."


This year's season was very demanding for the juniors, as in addition to five European Cup competitions, they also participated in the European Championships in lead and bouldering, as well as the World Junior Championships. The most successful junior was 17-year-old Sara Čopar (ŠPO PD Celje Matica). She became world champion in bouldering and runner-up in lead, also standing on the podium at both European Championships in the cadet category (U18), and achieved top results already in senior competition.


The gold from the World Championships in the bouldering discipline is the achievement of her this year's climbing season. "This medal means a lot to me, especially because I felt very good throughout the entire competition, from qualifiers to the final, and climbed almost perfectly."

Sara has already competed in some events with the senior national team this year. Her best result with seniors was 11th place in lead at the competition in Edinburgh. She enjoys lead and bouldering very much, admitting that she prefers bouldering because of the more fun and dynamic moves. "Honestly, I can hardly wait for the main two-week break to really end this long season. During the holidays, I would most like to go somewhere warm, to the sea, because there was no time for that during the summer. But school prevents that, so during this year's break, I will focus on studying."



18-year-old Lovro Črep (Šaleški AO) won a bronze medal in lead at the World Junior Championships and two in the European Junior Cup. "This season was really excellent. Even though not every competition went as I wanted, I am glad that I stayed focused throughout the season and believed in the goals I set until the end. In the end, everything paid off, which gave me additional motivation for the upcoming season."



Lead climbing is the discipline that suits him best, and he emphasized that he still really enjoys going to training. "Every training session and every route is a challenge for me, which is why climbing is such a special sport. I mostly enjoy and relax at trainings, but sometimes there comes a day when things don't go as I imagined at training, and that's the only thing I don't like." When Lovro is not training, he cycles, hikes in the mountains, or studies. He also likes to rest a lot.

In addition to Sara and Lovro, Lucija Tarkuš (AK IMPOL Slovenska Bistrica) and Timotej Romšak (PK Kamnik) were successful. Head coach Ajda Remškar is convinced that all four will already compete at the senior level in the coming years. "I would also highlight Jenny Buckley, who climbed excellently in both bouldering and lead in the older girls' category (U16), stood on European podiums, and qualified for the final of the World Championships in both disciplines."



15-year-old Jennifer Buckley, daughter of a Slovenian and an Irishman, is very satisfied with this season. "I participated in numerous competitions and trainings with the national team. I learned a lot from good coaches. Regarding the results themselves, I did not achieve all goals, mainly due to small mistakes in various finals. But because of these mistakes, I learned even more."



Bouldering and lead climbing are both very close to her, but if she had to choose which discipline she prefers, it would be bouldering. "In bouldering, the moves are much more specific, there are more details to pay attention to, and concentration is different, especially in competitions."



During the holidays, she will climb on rock; she has been living in southern Switzerland for about four years, and in that area, to her luck, there is one of the world's most beautiful rocks.



In addition to those mentioned, Gorazd Jurekovič (ŠPO PD Radovljica), Zala Mlakar Starič (Plezalni klub FA), and Lina Funa (ŠPK Plus), who also won the overall lead standings, stood on the European Cup podiums.

There is really a lot of talent in the junior ranks, so we look forward to all their junior and senior successes that we will witness in the coming years.

The biggest successes of the junior national team in 2022:


World Junior Championships Dallas (USA) 22-31 August 2022



1st place Sara Čopar in bouldering

2nd place Sara Čopar in lead

3rd place Lovro Črep in lead



European Junior Championships bouldering Graz (AUT) 3-6 August 2022



1st place Tim Korošec

3rd place Sara Čopar



European Junior Championships lead Augsburg (GER) 9-10 July 2022


2nd place Jennifer Buckley

2nd place Sara Čopar

2nd place Timotej Romškar

3rd place Lucija Tarkuš