Ajda Remškar and Gorazd Hren continue as selectors

Ajda Remškar and Gorazd Hren are continuing as selectors of the youth and senior national teams in sport climbing.

The Mountaineering Association of Slovenia has signed contracts with the selectors of the youth and senior national teams in sport climbing. Ajda Remškar and Gorazd Hren have already led the national teams also in the previous period, signing the contracts for the new mandate means the continuation of the outlined professional work and ensuring continuity in the development of the national team system. On this occasion, the new director of sport climbing at the Mountaineering Association of Slovenia Klemen Belhar was also presented.

The contracts for the new mandate with the selectors of the youth and senior national teams in sport climbing were signed on 28 January 2026 by the Secretary General of the Mountaineering Association of Slovenia Damjan Omerzu. The signing took place in the presence of the head of the Sport Climbing Commission Marko Pogačar and the sport climbing director Klemen Belhar. Ajda Remškar remains in the role of selector of the youth national team in sport climbing, a task she has been performing since 2022 and has significantly contributed to the development of young competitors and the successes of the youth national team at international competitions. The senior national team will also be led by Gorazd Hren in the upcoming period, who has been performing the selector role since 2016 and has significantly marked the successes of the senior national team in the recent period with his long-term work. In the new mandate, the selectors will be responsible for the professional leadership of the national teams, the preparation and implementation of national team trainings and competition programs, close cooperation with clubs, coaches and the long-term development of competitors and the national team system.

Youth national team selector Ajda Remškar said upon signing the contract: “From the past seasons we have learned a lot, but every new season also requires certain reflection and adjustments. We have an established working system and a reliable and well-coordinated team of coaches with whom we collaborate closely. We plan each season according to the competition calendar, adapting the selection dates, trainings and periods in which we want the competitors to be in the best shape. To a large extent we will continue with the proven model, while at the same time we are intensively addressing how to further upgrade the training process and include new elements in it that could additionally contribute to success at competitions. We are aware that we have a limited framework in which the national team operates, but we are the finishing touch to the work that is done in the clubs.” She also touched on the further development of young competitors: “We pay special attention also to the transition of young competitors to the senior category. We see the European Cup competitions as an important intermediate step or springboard towards the World Cup, so we will primarily send those competitors from the senior ranks who need additional competition experience, while at the same time we want to enable younger competitors gradual inclusion into the senior level so that they can more easily join the World Cup.”

Senior national team selector Gorazd Hren spoke about continuing the work in the new period: “With our professional staff we have decided that in the case of mutual interest of the competitors and the association we extend the mandate which starts this year and lasts four years and also includes the next Olympic Games. In this period we want to build on the previous work and continue the development of the national team system. We have also updated the functioning of our training center and established the so-called ‘šutalnica’, which allows us additional trainings for both lead climbing and bouldering. This way of working is logistically much easier than having to set new boulders before each training, at the same time it allows more quality training.” He also touched on his professional team and the gradual inclusion of young competitors into the senior system: “We have slightly expanded the team – besides me there are also Luka Fonda and Domen Švab, Anže Štremfelj is also joining us, with whom we have already cooperated in the past. We also see an important step in the inclusion of young competitors, primarily those who are finishing the youth national team and seeking connection to the senior one. Already last year we established a team for European Cup competitions, and we regularly include some younger competitors from this group also in senior trainings. We started preparations for the new competition season already in December, with a clear goal of gradual and quality development also in the upcoming period.”

At the signing of the contracts the Mountaineering Association also presented the new function of sport climbing director, which was taken over by Klemen Belhar. His task will be the strategic leadership and direction of the development of sport climbing, coordination of the work of selectors, coaches and professional services. An important part of his role will also be cooperation with sponsors and ensuring a stable environment for the further development of the discipline. The sport climbing director emphasized on this occasion: “Besides the stability of results I see an important challenge also in making sport climbing even more recognizable and media-present. The climbers are top-level and it is right that we cheer for them and support them more sponsorship-wise. The competition is becoming more and more global, more organized and financially stronger than us.”