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The new Alpine Ski World Cup season begins at the end of the last week in October, in Sölden, Austria. However recent media reports haven't paid too much attention to the preparations of Slovenia's skiers. In the last couple of days the media has been more focused on the alarming financial state of Slovenia's Ski Association, which is struggling to survive. The association has undertaken serious efforts to restructure itself and has opted for austerity in the next ten-year period. How will all that influence the performance of the men's ski team and what can we expect from the first race? We talked to the head coach of the men's national ski team, Klemen Bergant, who has returned to Slovenia after four years of work in Russia.

The financial situation in Slovenia’s Ski Association is alarming. What is the latest information?
It's difficult to comment. I'm more interested in what's going to happen to our program. The country's alpine ski clubs will hold an assembly on the 15th of October, and something will have to come out of that meeting. We have cut our costs to the minimum, however it wasn't hard for us because we knew it was inevitable. However we still wish to make it possible for our skiers to have the best training conditions.

Will you be able to carry out your previously set program?
That's a question for Vlado Makuc, he's in charge of the whole team. It is a fact that we did draw up a plan that included good preparations and ensured the progress of our skiers, despite having a low-cost budget. The program also included training in the southern hemisphere for our racers in the faster ski disciplines and for Žan Kranjc. The program was especially good because it included five junior skiers and the whole team worked together really well. We can see the progress. The younger skiers - 1994 and 1995 generations - got a chance to practice with better skiers for the first time. It's a story which could mean a lot for the future of Slovenian skiing in the next 8 to 12 years. We're talking about promising young athletes, a homogenous group. As a coach it would make me sad if we couldn't continue training together because of a lack of funds.

How do you save on costs during training?
We just can't train any cheaper on European glaciers than we do right now. For example, on Tuesday we're going to Austria's glacier Mölltal, where we already have yearly season tickets, so we just pay for the apartment. That's 15 euros per person, and our food costs us another 10 euros per person. We cook for ourselves. But no worries, the food we prepare is of high quality. And I assure you that sleeping in apartments is far more sociable and helps create team spirit. We all know how it is in a hotel: lunch, everyone in his room, video analysis, everyone back in his room… The boys are much more connected now.

In a year you spend between 150 and 200 days together. Isn't there a danger that you start getting on each other's nerves?
It's a new team. The skiers are together for the first time. We coaches are also together in the same team for the first time. That's positive. Years ago I came up with a thought: if a skier gets on the coach's nerves, that means that the coach has already been getting on the skier's nerves for at least a year.

Would you say that there is still a national interest for skiing in Slovenia, as it was in the 80s?
It's difficult to answer that question, but we still have Elan. When I talk to Vedran Pavlek and my other colleagues from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland, they all envy us for having Elan. We still have a company, which competes at the world cup, and which has had remarkable results in the past. To have a local company, which is present in a competition like that, is a big thing.

That may be true, but how many Slovenians actually use Elan skis?
It's really hard to understand, but almost no one. And that's not good. I can't say why it's like that because I was in Russia for four years. It is a fact though that we need a powerful Elan. What's interesting is that there's ever more Italians using Elan skis. For example, Massimiliano Blardone and two other young promising Italian skiers in the European cup.

Where will you be training now?
The group getting ready for the technical disciplines is going to Mölltal, while the team training for the faster disciplines is going on the Hintertux glacier on Thursday.

How many Slovene skiers will we see at the first race in Sölden? Of course, we're talking about the men's giant slalom.
Only two will be able to compete. Žan Kranjc will be one of them and we'll decide who'll be the other Slovene just before the race. Before that we will also train in Sölden in order to test the ski course.

What do you expect from the first race?
Sölden is a race in which it is always difficult to make it into the finals if you have a high starting number. You still have a chance if you start among the first 40, or maybe 43. It's a specific race. The course is well set, but mid-way through the race minor obstacles start showing up and slow down skiers with high starting numbers. In any case, Žan Kranjec will be starting right after the first 30. He has been skiing well during his preparations. His measured times in Ushuaia are comparable to other skiers. However skiing on a glacier is different story. Nevertheless I'm convinced that he can at least make it into the finals. For the other Slovene representative the race will be very welcome for gaining experience.

How much will each skier that takes part in the giant slalom race in Sölden cost the Slovenian Ski Association?
Nothing. The organizer covers all the costs of both skiers and three coaches from Friday until Sunday. As Kranjec is supposed to start among the first 45, the ski association will also get his travel costs reimbursed - that's called travel money. In this case we're talking about 500 Swiss francs. It's similar with the team for the faster disciplines. Luckily Šporn and Kosi improved their FIS-points standing in Chile, and so the whole team will have their travel costs reimbursed.

Are the skiers more motivated because they had to pay some of the costs for training by themselves? Like for example Andrej Šporn, who had to pay far more than the others, as he covered all his training expenses.
Andrej has been working really hard and he practices 110 percent. He invests everything in the sport. He was really disappointed after last season. He had a million problems with himself and his equipment, and things just didn't get going the way they should have. Šporn now changed his equipment. I'm not saying the equipment was to blame for the bad season, but it can serve as a motivation. I would like to point out one difficulty though: It may be very motivating when a skier pays for a part of his own preparations, however on the other hand once a skier starts paying he wants to choose where to practice (also due to financial reasons) and which races to take part in, and that's not good. Finding a balance isn't easy.
It's a fact that we only have Skube and Kürner at the moment. Our third slalom racer is far behind the on the world rankings. Skube has already won points in the past, and Kürner has climbed to the podium in the European cup. Contrary to previous years this time they will both have favourable starting numbers, at around 40, 43. In most races that still gives you a chance to make it into the finals. They realize that they don't have a lot of time to waste. They're still an indicator for the young, and they can surprise. I notice great leaps in quality. Remember what the Swiss slalom team did last year. They came out of nowhere! Why wouldn't the Slovenes do something like that this year?

Are you eagerly waiting for the White circus to begin?
October seems to be the worst month. We always have just a few glaciers available for practice and we also have fight over training courses. Luckily the weather is better than what it was in the summer. In any case I can't wait for it all to begin.