For the third consecutive year, children and young people had the opportunity to compete for a visit to Slovenia's biggest sporting festival, held in the valley below Ponce on the last weekend of March, by participating in the “Create a Planica 7 Trophy” competition. The public voted to select 10 masterpieces, whose creators, along with all of their classmates, will attend the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Finals. An expert jury then chose the winning design, which will serve as the inspiration for the actual trophy. The top prize was awarded to 14-year-old Zala Ban for her drawing titled “The Golden Flight”.
A pedestal richly decorated with images of edelweiss, a winding ski jump, and the soaring flight of a heron are the key elements of the drawing submitted by a ninth-grader from Šentvid nad Ljubljano to the Triglav Group’s creative competition. The strong connection of these elements to the unspoilt nature of the valley below Ponce convinced the jury to select this artwork as the basis for the official Planica 7 winner’s trophy.
“Before creating my drawing, I researched the symbols associated with Planica. I looked at photos, logos, and even drew from memory, as I had already been to see ski jumping in Planica,” explained the young artist, Zala Ban. As she emphasised, “I noticed that many people associate ski jumping with the eagle, but I wanted to depict something different – something that would stand out.” That’s why her artwork features a heron, a long-standing symbol of ski jumping in Planica.
More than 800 drawings were submitted to the competition
Although the winning drawing stood out for its choice of motifs, selecting the best creative work was no easy task. “The children impressed us with their creativity once again this year – we had to review more than 800 drawings. I’d like to thank the young artists for their masterpieces, which often brought smiles to our faces during the selection process,” said Cene Prevc, a member of the Create a Planica 7 Trophy jury.
The winningdesign chosen by the jury will serve as the blueprint for the official Planica 7 trophy. Crafted from wood with the expertise of Jernej Verbuc, the trophy will be awarded to the ski jumper who earns the highest number of points across the seven official series in Planica. On the final day of the Ski Jumping World Cup, Zala Ban, the young artist behind the winning drawing, will have the honour of presenting the trophy to the Planica 7 champion.
The general public also voted for the best drawings
In addition to the expert jury’s selection, the general public had the chance to vote for their favourite artworks submitted by young artists from across Slovenia. The 10 drawings that received the most votes have earned their creators and all their classmates a trip to the qualifiers in Planica. This year, pupils from the primary schools OŠ Bratov Polančec, OŠ Tabor and OŠ Franca Rozmana from Maribor, OŠ Franceta Prešerna and OŠ Staneta Žagarja from Kranj, OŠ Pohorskega odreda from Slovenska Bistrica, OŠ Toneta Čufarja from Ljubljana and OŠ Gornja Radgona, OŠ Ljubečna and OŠ Šmartno pri Litiji will also be visiting the valley below Ponce.
In this way, the Triglav Group will provide a unique experience to more than 3,500 young fans from different social backgrounds as part of the Children of Triglav at Planica campaign. This gesture will continue a tradition that has now lasted almost half a century, encouraging children and their companions to lead a healthy and active lifestyle through Slovenia's biggest sporting event.
- Press release announcing the Create a Planica 7 Trophy competition: https://www.triglav.eu/en/media/press-releases/press-release/when-imagination-brings-children-face-to-face-with-their-sporting-heroes
- Create a Planica 7 Trophy competition website: https://planica.triglav.si/
