The 2016 edition of a major Trail
Orienteering competition, the annual Croatia-Italy-Slovenia Trail
Orienteering Cup, finished last Sunday with victory going to the
Italian Remo Madella. Today we meet Krešo Keresteš to learn about
the history of a competition that has played a big part in the
evolution of Trail Orienteering in that part of the Old Continent.
The final competition of the 2016
CRO-ITA-SLO TrailO Cup took place in Cerkno, Slovenia. This year the
Cup had 16 stages (6 in Croatia, 4 in Italy and 6 in Slovenia),
attracting a total of 99 competitors from 13 different countries.
Despite missing the last stage, Remo Madella was the big winner with
a total of 591.98 points, finishing ahead of the Croatian Ivica
Bertol, the Slovenian Krešo Keresteš, winner of the first two
editions, and the Slovakian Ján Furucz, the winner in 2015.
For those less familiar with TrailO, it
must be said that these names are real stars of this discipline and a
regular presence on European and World podiums. If we add the names
of Tomislav Varnica, Dušan Furucz, Emil Kacin, Zdenko Horjan, Ivo
Tišljar, Iva Lovrec, Libor Forst, Zoltán Mihaczi, Marco Giovannini,
Alessio Tenani or Damir Gobec as some of the competitors that
occupied the Cup’s top-20 placings this year, we can fully see the
value and the scope of this series of competitions.
How it all started
A Trail Orienteering pioneer in
Slovenia, a powerful backer of the Cup and one of its current
coordinators – along with the Italian Susy De Pieri and the
Croatian Ivo Tišljar – Krešo Keresteš shares some of his
memories, helping us to understand how it all started. “My first
encounter with TrailO was in 1992 at O-Ringen, the Swedish 5-Days, in
Södertälje. I tried it when my Swedish friend, Kalle Rikander from
IFK Södertälje, organised it and he persuaded me to have a go,”
Krešo remembers. The Swedish experience was significant, awakening
in Krešo a huge curiosity: “My interest in TrailO grew when I saw
TrailO competitors next to FootO competitions.”
The years passed and the seed of TrailO
remained passive, until the day when … “Niko Čižek, my
co-worker at that time, once asked me about my hobbies and he found
that Orienteering could be interesting for a disabled person like
him. He wanted to try it and, after a few training sessions, he
decided that it was time for a real competition,” says Krešo. The
closest event was in Sweden, O-Ringen 1999, where Niko won three
stages and the competition overall in the B class. His wife Anica won
the last event and Krešo finished 8th in the Elite class. Despite
this positive experience, the “click” that would lead to the
launch of Trail Orienteering in Slovenia was still missing.
18th September 2004: a historic day
The year 2004 had arrived and, with it,
the Republic of Slovenia became part of the European Union. Winds of
progress blew even stronger, affecting all sectors of society and
calling attention to the need to create equal opportunities for all.
It was in this year that the Sports Union of Ljubljana organised
sports events focused on people with disabilities, requesting the
support of several Federations. This was just the “click” that
Krešo was missing, and it triggered a series of events that proved
to be very successful. The first was the organisation of the first
TrailO competition in Slovenia (Park Tivoli, Ljubljana,
18th September 2004). Three months later OK Trzin was formed, a
club which is now a keystone in Trail Orienteering. Then in 2005 came
the start of the Slovenian TrailO League.
But it was not only in Slovenia that
things were starting to move. Croatia was represented at the first
World Trail Orienteering Championships in Västerås, Sweden through
Ivo Tišljar. When he returned to his country, Ivo not only organised
a promotional event in Zagreb (Dubravkin, autumn 2004), but also the
first official TrailO event in Croatia, the 1st Feud Cup (Dotrščina,
in Zagreb, 7th May 2005).
Union creates strength
The 2005 Slovenian TrailO League was a
bit limited in scope, with only three competitions, and in Croatia
there were only two competitions in that year. So contact between
Slovenia and Croatia was made, with the goal of creating a joint
league to enhance each others’ organisational efforts and increase
the levels of participation. Krešo remembers: “After some
discussions in 2005 we founded the Croatia-Slovenia TrailO Cup at a
meeting in Domžale on 6th February 2006, where members of OK
Trzin (Niko Čižek and Krešo Keresteš) and OK Vihor (Jasminka
Cindrić and Zdenko Horjan) were present. At the meeting the rules
were written, and in 2006 the Croatia-Slovenia TrailO Cup was a
reality with eight competitions, four in Slovenia and four in
Croatia.”
In 2008, the year before the World
Trail Orienteering Championships in Hungary, the Hungarians joined
the Trophy, but their contribution didn’t last more than one year.
In 2010 the Italians from the most north-easterly province, Friuli
Venezia Giulia, joined the Croatians and Slovenians and the next year
the whole of Italy came in. The Croatia-Italy-Slovenia Trail
Orienteering Cup started in 2011and has kept the same format ever
since. The rules are simple and all are welcome, scoring for the
Ranking whether belonging to one of the three host countries or not.
Each country (Croatia, Italy and Slovenia) can organise between three
and six competitions. The best three results achieved in each country
are considered for the final Ranking, but only the six best overall
count. At the final competition there is a prize-giving ceremony,
rewarding the best competitors in Elite Open, Elite Paralympic, Elite
Juniors and A class.
| Year |
Trophy |
Winner |
Country |
| 2006 |
CRO-SLO TrailO Cup |
Krešo Keresteš |
SLO |
| 2007 |
CRO-SLO TrailO Cup |
Krešo Keresteš |
SLO |
| 2008 |
CRO-HUN-SLO TrailO Cup |
Zdenko Horjan |
CRO |
| 2009 |
CRO-SLO TrailO Cup |
Zdenko Horjan |
CRO |
| 2010 |
CRO-FVG-SLO TrailO Cup |
Zdenko Horjan |
CRO |
| 2011 |
CRO-ITA-SLO TrailO Cup |
Krešo Keresteš |
SLO |
| 2012 |
CRO-ITA-SLO TrailO Cup |
Remo Madella |
ITA |
| 2013 |
CRO-ITA-SLO TrailO Cup |
Remo Madella |
ITA |
| 2014 |
CRO-ITA-SLO TrailO Cup |
Remo Madella |
ITA |
| 2015 |
CRO-ITA-SLO TrailO Cup |
Ján Furucz |
SVK |
| 2016 |
CRO-ITA-SLO TrailO Cup |
Remo Madella |
ITA |
The final standings in the 2016
CRO-ITA-SLO TrailO Cup can be seen HERE
Joaquim Margarido
