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Sports in Slovenia “You are a small nation, but great in sports!” With these words Mr. Juan Antonio Samaranch, former IOC President, expressed his opinion on the development of sports and the Olympic Movement in Slovenia during his visit to Slovenia in 1993.
Sports History: In Slovenia, sports and the Olympic tradition represent part of the national heritage. As early as 1689, Janez Vajkard Valvasor, historian, described the “Bloke highlands skiers” in his work “The Glory of the Duchy of the Upper Carniola”, which is the oldest description of skiing in the Central European region. Nevertheless, the first Slovenian sports associations emerged almost 200 years later – the first association, called Južni Sokol (South Falcon), was established in 1862. Rudolf Cvetko (1880-1977) was the first Olympic athlete from Slovenia, competing in the 1912 Stockholm Games as a member of the Austrian National Team; Leon Štukelj (1898-1999) participated at three Olympic Games, from 1924 through 1936, and won 3 gold medals, one silver and one bronze; After the Second World War, Miroslav Cerar (1939) renewed the reputation of Slovenian gymnastics, winning two gold medals and one bronze at the Olympic Games of Tokyo and Mexico City; Stanko Bloudek (1890-1959), athlete and sports engineer, was a promoter of the Olympic ideal in Slovenia; in 1948 he became the only IOC member from Slovenia thus far.
Olympic Committee of Slovenia and sports development: The Slovenian Olympic Committee was established in 1991. It was recognised by the International Olympic Committee a year later; in 1992, for the first time ever, Slovenian athletes competed under their own flag at the Winter Olympic Games of Albertville. Ever since, our athletes have participated in every international World and European Championship, obtaining excellent sports results - 39 Olympic medals (some under Austrian and Yugoslavian flags and 14 for the independent Slovenia) and over 680 medals at World and European Championships. Traditionally, the best achievements were in rowing, athletics, judo, sailing, artistic gymnastics, parachuting, dancing, shooting, snowboarding and cross-country skiing, although relatively good results were also obtained in team sports such as basketball, volleyball, football and handball. Since gaining its independence in 1991, Slovenia has been steadily striving for the development of modern organizational and legislative conditions and circumstances for the development of sports. In 1994, our NOC merged with the Association of Sports Federations. The newly merged umbrella sports organisation, the Olympic Committee of Slovenia – Association of Sports Federations, connects 66 national sports federations, and 84 local sports organisations, together with more than 5,300 clubs and associations and 450,000 members. Our NOC’s objectives are to develop top sports, as well as sports for all activities. The State, with the Ministry of Education and Sport, has created the necessary conditions for the development of sports through the National Programme of Sport, passed in the Slovenian Parliament as the means of determining short-term, medium-term and long-term objectives. The National Programme defines the so–called “public interest” in sport and covers the entire range of organized sports activities – physical education, sport for all, high performance sports and sport for disabled people. The Faculty of Sport is responsible for the development of sports education and sports science in Slovenia.
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Slovenska olimpijska delegacija na Igrah XXIX. olimpijade Peking, Kitajska 8. – 24. Avgust 2008