Welcome

Slovenian athletes are anticipating the Winter Olympics in Canada with high aims and expectations. Above all, we wish to represent Slovenia as one of the most developed sports nations in the world, whose athletes are able to reach for the very top.

One of the reasons that Slovenian sportsmen and sportswomen are coming to Canada is also to present their homeland as a whole. We realize, of course, that Slovenia is relatively small, whereas Canada is one of the largest countries in the world. However, we both take pride in our mighty mountain ranges, which have impressed themselves on our peoples’ consciousness; what we have in common as well is our love for winter sports and brave hearts. Our highest peak, Mt. Triglav, is named after an Old Slavic deity, which reflects the ancient-rooted respect of Slovenians towards mountains. Our people are world-class skiers and alpine-style climbers, and have demonstrated their skills in the world’s highest mountain ranges countless times before; it is also a Slovenian, Davo Karničar, who is the only man ever to have skied his way down Mt Everest in the Himalayas.

The Olympic Committee of Slovenia is responsible for the performance of the Slovenian Olympic team. In this aspect, the results of our athletes in the pre-Olympic season have given us hope and strengthened our trust in them. We would also like to take this opportunity to present Slovenia to our kind Canadian hosts as a country well worth visiting and as a trustworthy economic partner, as our countries share the relative development, quality of life and common values.

For these reasons we decided to set up Slovenia House in Whistler, where I bid you all a warm welcome.

Mag. Janez Kocijančič
President of the
Olympic Committee of Slovenia – Association of Sports Federations