At the conclusion of this year’s Ski Jumping World Cup season, the winter sports heroes will be cheered on by more than 4,800 Children of Triglav. On Thursday the exuberant cheering will once again conjure up a marvellous atmosphere that each year fills the valley below the Ponce mountains. “This year Planica will once again be magical. We anticipate all the Slovenian jumpers being in top form and flying far,” says Peter Prevc, amidst the impatient build-up to the traditional children’s day. This weekend will mark his last career appearance and the last chance to catch Prevc at the jump engineered by the Gorišek brothers.
This outstanding ski jumper, who first competed at Planica 13 years ago, is tied to the Ponce valley by important memories. “The nicest moment of my career was in 2016, when everyone there sang the Slovenian anthem, and the energy was amazing,” says Peter Prevc, adding that the one thing that dispels any anxiety before competing at Planica is the encouragement from the children. “I am truly honoured that each year so many Children of Triglav come to see us. I am grateful for each poster, fluttering flag and the great excitement and applauding in the front rows over our performance,” he explains, and he invites the youngest and also slightly older fans to come and experience this biggest Slovenian sports festival.
A unique experience for several thousand children and their escorts
As a child, Peter first came to Planica from his home town of Dolenja vas in 2002 by minibus, and now the Triglav Group will make it possible this year for almost 4,100 children and more than 500 accompanying persons to watch the ski flights. These children will come to Planica as part of the Children of Triglav campaign from around 70 schools and work-care centres from all over Slovenia. They will be joined by around 200 young fans and their escorts from primary schools that participated in the Create the Cup art competition and crafted the best drawings for the Planica 7 cup, as selected by the general public. “We have been linked to the ski jumping at Planica for nearly six decades now. Since at least 1979 we have been helping to create the event as partners of the children’s day. In this way up to the present day we have made it possible for around 108,000 Children of Triglav from all over Slovenia to see the ski flights, and this year we will add another 4,800 children and escorts to that number. At this point we want to wish them an unforgettable experience of healthy fun in nature, and most of all we want them to really get behind our eagles,” says Tadej Čoroli, member of the Management Board of Zavarovalnica Triglav.
Young Planica 7 cup artists also coming to the event
The young artists who took part in the Create the Cup competition and produced the best drawings of the Planica 7 cup in the view of the general public, come from the primary schools of Brežice, Domžale – Ihan branch, Gornja Radgona, Koper, Markovci, Stane Žagar (Kranj), Stražišče (Kranj) and Trnovo (Ljubljana). And there is a special moment awaiting the 12 year-old artist who drew “Winner 7”, Tjaša Vreš of Limbuš. The actual trophy for the Planica 7 competition was created based on her concept. This Sunday the young artist will present the cup to the ski jumper who garners the highest number of points from all seven series of flights at Planica in the finals of the Ski Jumping World Cup.
