In this blog post, you'll learn all about the popular sports in Slovenia and the essential Slovenian sports vocabulary. If you are a sports fan, then you must love to know all about the popular sports in Slovenia. Let's dive into the sea of sports!

Slovenian Sports Vocabulary

In order to understand the Slovenian words about sports, it is important to first learn what sports mean for Slovenians and how popular the sports in Slovenia are.

Popular Sports In Slovenia

Slovenia is a country of champions, with over 13,000 sporting clubs and 661,346 athletes. Isn't this ridiculous? Nothing, we all agree, brings people closer together than sports, and Slovenia, as a geographically diversified country, provides its population with a diverse range of sporting options.

Well, let’s delve more into Slovenia and its sports activities.

Slovenia’s Geography And Sports

Slovenia is a small central European country with over 20 lac population. The country's tremendous natural splendor, including gorgeous landscapes, lakes, and dramatic scenery, makes it an ideal destination for adventurers and nature enthusiasts. Slovenian athletes are recreational because of this.

It was a region of Yugoslavia country until 1991 and Slovenia got independence from Yugoslavia, the majority of its previous athletes competed under the Yugoslav flag.

Slovenian’s Enthusiasm For Sports

They have a yearning to exercise and participate in both professional and recreational contests with great zeal. They link physical activity to a higher quality of life. The popular saying is that practically every Slovenian is an athlete in some manner. If you want to know more about Slovenian sports then continue reading the article below.

Slovenians enjoy many types of outdoor and sporting activities in their spare time. Slovenian sport includes a diverse spectrum of team and individual sports. Basketball, football, ice hockey, volley, and handball are the most popular team sports in Slovenia. Individual activities like athletics, skiing, gymnastics, cycling, ski jumping, fencing, tennis, rowing, swimming, and others are quite popular.

Team And Individual Sports In Slovenia

Following are some famous team sports played in Slovenia country.

Football In Slovenia

With over 400 thousand registered participants, professional football is quite famous and the most popular sport in Slovakia.

Domestic League

 Slovenian PrvaLiga has 10 club sides and is the country’s supreme national league of football

Achievements

• In 2002 and 2010, the football national team competed in two FIFA Men's World Cup editions.
• In 2000, the Slovenian national team competed in the UEFA European Championship.

Football Stadiums

There are 11 football stadiums in Slovenia but the biggest of all is the Tehelné pole with a capacity of 22,500 audiences.

Basketball In Slovenia

The Basketball Federation of Slovenia, founded in 1950, governs basketball in Slovenia.

Domestic League

The Slovenian Basketball League is the country's most famous national league. Luca Doncic, a player for the Dallas Mavericks, is a popular player on the football team.

Achievements

Basketball is played by both men and women in Slovenia.

• Basketball Pezinok, BC Prievidza, and BK Inter Bratislava are the most successful men's national teams or clubs, each with seven wins
• The most successful women's national teams are Good Angels Kosice (12 wins in a row) and MBK Ruomberok (11 wins in a row). They also won one silver and one bronze medal at the 1997 and 1993 EuroBasket, respectively (Olympics games,2000).

Famous Basketball Players

• Luca Doncic, a player for the Dallas Marvericks

Ice Hockey In Slovenia

The Ice Hockey Federation of Slovenia is in charge of ice hockey in Slovenia.

Domestic League

Slovenia has 3 leagues of national hockey where HC Slovan Bratislava having the most prominent status. Anze Kopitar, a member of the Los Angeles Kings from the National League of Hockey, is Slovenia's famous athlete.

Achievements

• The national ice hockey national team won second in the 2012 IIHF World Championship.
• Between 1993 and 2019, the Slovenian men's national ice hockey team competed in 27 Ice Hockey World Championships.

Handball In Slovenia

It is also quite a popular team sport. 

Domestic League

• The First League of Men's Handball often called Liga NLB is the top team of the Handball League organized by Slovenia's Federation of Handball and features fourteen teams too.
• Slovenian First League of women's handball is the country’s highest women's league of handball governed by the Federation of Handball and features sixteen teams too.

Achievements

• The Slovenian men’s national handball team finished third in the 2017 World Championships and second in the 2004 European Championships.
• In 2004, RK Celje of Slovenia won the EHF Championship League.
• The RD Slovan Slovenian Squad reached the European Cup final in 1980-81.

Other than these team sports Rugby union, bandy, and beach volleyball are also played there.

Popular Individual Sports

Slovenes have succeeded in a variety of individual sports in addition to the team sports mentioned above. Individual sports include the following.

Alpine Skiing In Slovenia

Slovenians have a natural affinity for mountaineering and alpinism. Slovenia's mountainous geographical settings provide spiritual beauty and many mountaineering activities in the form of recreation throughout the year. 

Alpine skiing has been a popular activity in Slovenia since the 17th century, with contemporary competition skiing beginning in the 1920s. Planica is the place of world records where skiers from countries visit and part take in competitions.

Achievements

• Tina Maze also won two gold medals for the country in alpine skiing in 2014.
• In 2000, Davo Karniar became the first Slovenian and only person to ski down Mount Everest choosing the south Col route after  Hans Kammerlander Hans kammerlander of Italy skied down mount Everest but the North col route.

Ski Jumping In Slovenia

Another prominent winter activity in Slovenia is ski jumping, in which athletes attempt to make the farthest leap after sliding down a specially created curving ramp on their skis. Peter Prevc won many awards for the country.

• Four Hills Tourney in 2015–2016
• World Ski-Flying Championship, 2016
• World Cup championship, 2015.

Achievements

• The team has several individual wins under Goran Janus' coaching, and the Slovenian men have won many World Cup and Olympics gold medals, as well as set world record.
• The men's national team won ski jumping in 2012, and also they've won 9 more since then.

Cycling In Slovenia

Slovenia has a lengthy history of cycling.

Domestic League

Slovenian cyclists did not have the same success as riders from other sections of the country during the interwar period. However, the cycling sport has shown tremendous growth in Slovenia in recent decades and new clubs have been formed such as  Rog, Sava, and Karka.

Achievements

• Slovenia has won more UCI World Tour races per capita than other countries in 2018.
• After achieving first in the 2019 Vuelta Espana, Rogli became the first Slovenian Grand Tour winner. In 2020, Pogaar made history by becoming the first Slovenian to win the Tour de France.

Slovenes also thrive in a variety of individual sports like jumping, cycling, fencing, motorsport, gymnastics, and so on.

In a nutshell, Slovenian sports culture should be emulated. They have exhibited tenacity and determination in a variety of ways, from competing in unusual sports to catching up with developed nations. 

Words For Popular Sports

Wrapping Up

That's it for this blog post. If you want to learn more about the Slovenian language or Slovenian culture then feel free to check the Ling App out as  Ling App brings you wonderful and amazing opportunities to learn a new language. You can learn Slovene in an extremely fun and easy way with minimum fuss. Download the app now and get the best features for yourself. We also have Apps For Learning Slovenian and Slovenian Accommodation Vocabulary for you to read about.

Happy Learning!