News

18.11.2021
Dear colleagues and friends,

It is with great pleasure that we invite you to participate in the third SPE BALKAN SKI international conference, which will be held in Pamporovo Ski Center, Bulgaria, from 13 to 17 March 2022. After a successfully organized first conference in Kopaonik, Serbia (2017), and a second conference in Jahorina, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (2018), we have the pleasure of organizing a third SPE BALKAN SKIinternational conference, this time in Pamporovo, a peak in the Bulgarian mountains.

What is SPE BALKAN SKI?

SPE - Science, Practice & Education - BALKAN SKI CONFERENCE is a fusion of curiosity (science), the will to work on snow (practice) and the selfless sharing of knowledge (education) among people who love snowy mountains and the most beautiful sports in the world - alpine skiing and snowboarding.

After the wonderful experience we all had at the first and second SPE BALKAN SKI CONFERENCES, where several hundred ski instructors, coaches, professors and other experts in the field of alpine skiing and snowboarding witnessed the unforgettable interaction between science, profession, practice and social events, we have decided to invite you to go one step further with us to reach and maybe even surpass the goals of SPE Balkan SKI.

The SPE BALKAN SKI conference is significantly and professionally supported by the IVSS - International Association Snowsports at Schools and Universities, one of the three pillars of Interski.

Check the SPE BALKAN SKI Vision, Mission and Goals at the web page http://spe-balkan-ski.com/

LOCAL ORGANIZERS:
Association of Bulgarian Ski Instructors - Bulgarian Ski School
On their behalf – Peter Iankov, PhD & Rado Pišot, PhD
CONFERENCE WEBSITE:
http://spe-balkan-ski.com/
CONFERENCE MAIL:
info@spe-balkan-ski.com

SPE BALKAN SKI Executive Board
Responsible for the administrative and corporate functions of the SPE BALKAN SKI Conferences:
Rado Pišot, PhD; SRC Koper, Slovenia
Ljubomir Pavlović, PhD; FSPE, University of Niš, Serbia
Blaž Lešnik, PhD; FS, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Damian Ambrožič; Ceo Rodeo Trade, Slovenia

CONTACT:
Ljubomir Pavlović, PhD, General Secretary of SPE BALKAN SKI
ljuba.pavlovic@spe-balkan-ski.com>

With the participation of ski instructor associations:
ATUS - Ski Instructor Association in Bosnia and Herzegovina
SITAS - Ski Instructors Association of Slovenia
Macedonian Association of Snow Sport Instructors
Ski Association of Serbia
M.A.S.I. - Montenegrin Association of Snowsport Instructors
Association of Bulgarian Ski Instructors - Bulgarian Ski School
Romanian Professional Ski Instructor Association
Ski Instructor Association San Marino (S.I.A.S.)

MORE INFORMATION COMING SOON!

We are looking forward to SKIING WITH YOU AGAIN. This year at the Pamporovo ski resort in Bulgaria, in March 2022. Pay attention to the Early Bird registration deadline which will be open soon. Please share this announcement with any of your colleagues who might be interested in attending the Conference.

With kind regards,
Prof. Rado Pišot, PhD
On behalf of the SPE BALKAN SKI Executive Board

15.3.2021
Dear colleagues and friends,

Considering the safe and healthy environment guaranteed by the Rogla ski resort officials and all the necessary permissions we have received to date, SPE BALKAN SKI Executive Board has made the decision to cancel the third scientific conference SPE BALKAN SKI 2021 due to the worldwide concern about the coronavirus outbreak, travel concerns and other circumstances that make it for Scientific and Organizing Committee of the SPE BALKAN SKI 2021, impossible to hold the event.

Many potential conference participants (Ski Instructor Associations, Demo teams, ... ) would have to withdraw their participation in the event due to travel concerns in the midst of the coronavirus threat.

Believe us, the decision we made was not easy, but it was the only reasonable one. After all, we care about our health and want to ensure the health and safety of event attendees in the future.

At this point we would like to inform you that the SPE BALKAN SKI Conference 2020 is now DEFINITIVELY CANCELED and will probably be organized in one of the later periods.

For those of you who have already registered and paid the conference fee, we would like to inform you that we consider your registration valid for the next conference. If you are unable to attend the new dates, you will receive a refund upon request. You can opt for a refund until 31 December 2021 at the latest.

At the same time, we are pleased to inform you that after reviewing the applications for the following SPE BALKAN SKI conferences, the Executive Board has awarded the organization of the next two conferences to the Association of Bulgarian Ski Instructors - Bulgarian Ski School in the year 2022 and Romanian Professional Ski Instructor Association in the year 2024.

We are sure that this uncertain and unstable time will come to an end and we can continue the SPE BALKAN SKI initiative together with all of you. SPE BALKAN SKI Executive board together with the 3rd SPE BALKAN SKI

Conference Scientific and Organizing Committee we will do our best to make the also the next BALKAN SKI event memorable as well.

More information about the next congress will be available on the website soon. We wish you the opportunity to ski as much as possible and ...stay healthy!

On behalf of SPE BALKAN SKI Executive Board
Prof. Rado Pišot, PhD

2.3.2021
Dear colleagues and friends,

We hope this message finds you safe and healthy!
We still hope to meet at Rogla ski resort for SPE Balkan SKI conference 2021. At the moment, due to the COVID-19 situation, we are planning the conference in a hybrid version - partly on-site (workshops, Demo show, some lectures) and online (lectures and other theoretical topics).
The ski resort Rogla offers to organize the SPE Balkan SKI conference in "Bubble Conditions". With the experience of organizing Snowboard Alpine Word Championship and Rogla FIS World Cup 2021 (March 1-6), we will be able to follow all restrictive measures of the coronavirus epidemic and take care of your health. We are in the process of obtaining all necessary permits from the national authorities.

All participants will need to present a negative COVID test (PCR or antigen), entry to the venue will only be allowed with conference accreditation. Detailed instructions with the final program (on-site and online) will be presented after March 15.
We strongly encourage you to register now on the conference website - spe-balkan-ski.com/registration

Please register by March 15, 2021.
We hope the situation with COVID will not worsen and look forward to see you soon.
Best regards,
SPE BALKAN SKI Conference 2021 Organizing Committee

p.s.
For your safety we obtained also the certificate “Safe and Healthy Meeting and Events” from the Slovenian Convention Bureau - www.slovenia-convention.com/sl/safe-and-healthy-meetings-events/

With kind regards,
Prof. Rado Pišot, PhD
On behalf of the SPE BALKAN SKI Executive Board

4.1.2021
Dear colleagues, dear friends,

I hope this message finds you well. The year 2020 was very unusual and special in many ways. But as skiers, we are always optimistic and we believe that 2021 will be very different, hopefully very soon. So we look forward to seeing you all at the 3rd SPE Balkan Ski Conference at Rogla Ski Resort in March 2021. We wish you a great turn in the better 2021,

SPE BALKAN SKI Executive Board

With kind regards,
Prof. Rado Pišot, PhD
On behalf of the SPE BALKAN SKI Executive Board

2.11.2020
Dear colleagues, dear friends, dear ski enthusiasts!

We hope that you are doing well and still staying healthy. In consideration of the COVID-19 situation, the SPE Balkan SKI Executive board has decided to postpone the organization of 3rd SPE BALKAN SKI Conference to 28th March to 1st April 2021 with the same program and venue

We are in constant contact with all invited speakers and with representatives from Rogla Ski resort and we are proceeding with preparations for all activities in March 2021. As announced, we can now inform you that we were successful in obtaining the national “Certificate of Safe and Healthy Meetings & Events,” taking all measures and following instructions to ensure the health and safety of event participants in the future.

Therefore, allow us to kindly invite you to register and attend the conference, adhering to the new deadline stated on the website. Don’t forget the advantages of early bird registration by 31st January 2021.

Important information!
For those of you who have already registered and paid the conference fee, we would like to inform you that we will consider you registration as valid for the period of 28th March to 1st April 2021 and offer you the same accommodation conditions. You will receive the new confirmation of your registration with new dates. Should you be unable to attend on the new dates, we will send you a refund upon request. You can opt for a refund by 31st January 2021 at the latest.

In the event that the entire conference must be cancelled, we emphatically guarantee that everyone will be reimbursed all prepaid costs.

We are still absolute optimists and, as great ski enthusiasts, we can't wait to meet you on the ski slopes!!! We firmly believe and we are convinced that the 3rd SPE BALKAN SKI Conference will be held and that we will meet you all at the Rogla Ski resort.

Thank you for being a part of the SPE BALKAN SKI family and do not hesitate to share this news with others!!

Best wishes for good health to you, your families, and your skiing community. The first snow is coming to the mountains ...

Yours truly,

Prof. dr. Rado Pišot,
On behalf of the SPE BALKAN SKI Executive Board

29.09.2020
Dear colleagues and friends!

Let us first greet you warmly with the hope that you are healthy. The period we are going through is unique in many ways: uncertain and chaotic, but above all unpredictable.

In Slovenia, we are spending this period in a positive way; and as it is still possible to organize meetings and congresses to the extent that the SPE Balkan SKI congress envisages, considering all the COVID-19 safety measures, we are in the process of obtaining the national “Certificate of Safe and Healthy Meetings & Events,” taking all measures and following instructions to ensure the health and safety of event participants.

With this letter we would like to inform you that we are proceeding with preparation of all activities at the Rogla Ski resort. Therefore, allow us to kindly invite you to register and attend the congress, adhering to the deadline stated on the website.

As skiing enthusiasts and athletes, unfailingly optimistic, we believe that the 3rd SPE BALKAN SKI Congress will be realized and that we will meet you all at the Rogla Ski resort. At the same time, we are also, with full responsibility, aware that times are very uncertain and that there is still a possibility that some changes may occur. The decision taken by the SPE BALKAN SKI Executive Board is that the conference will only take place if most of the former participants from different countries will be allowed to attend. In case of congress cancellation, we guarantee that everyone will be reimbursed all prepaid costs.

We truly thank you for your cooperation and trust and look forward to skiing with you in December, after a long period denied the variety of snow pleasures.

Thank you for being a part of the SPE BALKAN SKI family and do not hesitate to share this news with others!!

Best wishes for good health to you, your families, and your skiing community.

Yours truly,

Prof. dr. Rado Pišot,
On behalf of the SPE BALKAN SKI Executive Board

23.03.2020
Dear colleagues and SPE BALKAN SKI friends,

The opening of the 3rd SPE BALKAN SKI International conference, Rogla 2020, Slovenia was originally planned for today. Unfortunately, due to the widespread coronavirus epidemic, we were forced to change the date.

All of us have changed our lives over these days and we look forward to the future when we can return to the established currents. We also look forward to meeting all of you in December, when we come together again and conduct the planned conference according to the original program.

Until then, we wish you good health and that this uncertain and in many ways unpredictable time will pass as soon as possible and without major consequences.

Stay healthy,
SPE BALKAN SKI Executive Committee

16.03.2020
Dear colleagues and friends,

After the postponement of the conference for security reasons, it is our pleasure to invite you again to the Third Scientific Conference SPE BALKAN SKI, which will now take place from 13 to 17 December 2020 in Rogla Ski Center, Slovenia.

On the official website of the conference - spe-balkan-ski.com - you will find new key dates for registration and more information about accommodation and conference fees. We are also pleased to inform you that the Rogla ski resort will offer us the same conditions.

We would like to remind you of the advantages of early bird registration until 30 September 2020.

Important information!

For those of you who have already registered and paid the conference fee, we would like to inform you that we will consider your registration for 13-17 December and offer you the same accommodation conditions. You will also shortly receive the new confirmation of your registration with new dates.

If you would like a refund, we will send you a refund at your request. You can opt for a refund immediately or by 15 November 2020 at the latest.

Please do not hesitate to forward this information to all your ski colleagues and friends.
We look forward to meeting you all in December 2020!

The 3^rd SPE BALKAN SKI Conference
Organizing Committee

13.03.2020
The SPE BALKAN SKI Conference, Rogla 2020 is postponed because of safety reasons!

Dear friends, dear participants,

Thank you for your commitment to the 3rd SPE BALKAN SKI Conference, which was planned to launch on March 22-26, 2020, at Rogla Ski resort, Slovenia. We were enthusiastic to meet you all, share our theoretical and practical experiences, and ski together. The conference is completely prepared, and we were looking forward to seeing all of you next week. You can now find the Book of Abstract here.

Unfortunately, recent developments concerning the new coronavirus have reached alarming dimensions. In the last few days we had a lot of discussions and SPE BALKAN SKI Executive Board meetings. With the responsibility to ensure the health and safety of participants and attendees we took the decision to postpone the 3rd SPE BALKAN SKI Conference to December 2020.

In an effort to carry out the conference in the same framework, with the same programs and, above all, with the same top experts, we contacted the main players beforehand to get their confirmation of participation in the conference during the rescheduled time. We are pleased to announce that we have their endorsement, which means that the December conference will be at the same or perhaps even higher quality level.

The conference is now postponed to Sunday 13th to Thursday 17th December 2020 and we look forward to completing 2020 in your company!

On Monday 16th March you will get all information about the refunding process and new key dates for early bird registration.

On behalf of SPE BALKAN SKI Executive board,
Prof. Rado Pišot, PhD.

11.03.2020
Dear colleagues, dear SPE BALKAN friends,

SPE BALKAN SKI Executive board (EB) have been monitoring the rapidly changing developments and the impact of the coronavirus in the EU Member States and on a broad scale. As of now, the SPE BALKAN SKI Conference will take place as planned.

As the situation with COVID-19 continues to evolve, the EB evaluates the developments on a daily basis to ensure that we are able to respond in the most appropriate way for our participants, speakers and others. Emergency planning is used to prepare for unknown circumstances that could dramatically affect the feasibility of the SPE BALKAN SKI CONFERENCE 2020.

Rest assured that we will take all necessary precautions to ensure the health and safety of participants and attendees, including the guidelines and recommended safety measures issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Slovenian National Security Council.

SPE BALKAN SKI EB

10.03.2020
IMPORTANT!

Dear colleagues, dear friends,

We would like to give you some important information about the current situation with the Corona virus (SARS-CoV-2), which is spreading throughout the EU. Slovenian National Security Council decides that all indoor events has to be limited to 100 people and outdoor events to 500 people. As we plane many outdoor activities - workshops, social activities, demo show, lectures - there are no reasons for changes or cancelation procedures so far.

In any case, we will take all safety precautions to protect the health of the participants.

Please follow http://www.spe-balkan-ski.com/news where you will be informed about possible changes.

Organizing committee

09.03.2020
Dear participants,

All conference activities are proceeding well according to the schedule. Luckily there is a fresh snow at the Rogla Ski resort and we are looking forward to have a great skiing during the days of the conference.

There are more than 170 participants from 16 different countries already registered, expecting great event performed by 9 invited speakers, more than 30 lectures in different sections and 10 Demo teams responsible for snow workshops and Demo show.

An new upgraded program is now available at the sub page "Conference program" where you can find in PDF also a Detailed program of lectures and schedule of all sections.

Get ready - we are waiting for you!