Slovenia excelles in the organisation of the sporting events in a “bubble” system. A number of sporting events in the so-called bubbles, i.e. facilities where athletes can stay and compete away from the public eye and under the heightened safety measures, has already taken place and many still will.
In the basketball bubble Slovenia hosted the tournament as part of the EuroBasket 2022 qualifiers in Ljubljana, where Slovenian national team, without Slovenian NBA stars Luka Dončić in Goran Dragić, secured a berth with two wins. Slovenian basketball players are going to defend the gold medal from the 2017 European Championship in 2022. Another great triumph in terms of organisation of sporting events in “a bubble” was achieved by hosting the FIS Ski Flying World Championship in Planica in December. In both cases, the organisers managed to provide an efficient anti-epidemic bubble, where the health and safety of the participating athletes and their teams were the priority.
In similar conditions, the qualifications for the European Women’s Basketball Championship and the competitions for the Ski Jumping World Cup for women in Ljubno ob Savinji also took place.
Also the 57th edition of the Golden Fox Audi FIS World Cup was held in a bubble. Since Maribor lacked snow, the event moved to Kranjska Gora, the same as last year, with the only difference being that there were no spectators on the venue.
Good experiences from the organization of past competitions are also transferred to upcoming competitions in Slovenia. The IBU Biathlon World Cup Pokljuka 2021 will be held under specific conditions, taking into account epidemics. Slovenian organizers will strive for one of the biggest winter sporting events in our country to run smooth as a soap bubble. Measures will not change much from those in other sports. Regulations for the containment of Coronavirus will be strictly followed, teams will be separated, competitors will be provided with individual accommodation, meals and transfer.
However, the biathlon championship will not be completely without fans. Similar to the World Championships in Planica, it will be possible to cheer virtually via Zoom.