Agata Stare, also known as Spodčeva Anica from Žlan, was the first Slovenian ski jumper. She knew very well that at first, the boys came to watch her only to see under her skirt: “But what could they have seen? The wind did lift my skirt, but underneath I wasn’t wearing any silk underwear, just long, warm overalls and of course, knitted socks. There was nothing to stare at for long, so they soon stopped laughing! They became more interested in my achievements. Not everyone could jump as well as I did.” Already at the age of 15, she wanted to prove to the most arrogant village boys that a woman could be better than them. In 1931, in a skirt and skis made by Jernejev Jaka from Bohinjska Bistrica, she jumped 25 meters without falling: “The boys laughed, but in the end, they openly admitted that I was brave. They measured 25 meters. Just imagine how far I could have gone if I were wearing pants.” Some thought it was a world women’s record. However, Norwegian women had been competing in ski jumping much earlier and had jumped further, but their male counterparts had forbidden them from competing in events.
In 1934, Anica jumped 26 meters without falling on the Hanssen ski jump. In a skirt.
THE FIRST FEMALE SKIER JUMPER
Ski jumping in the 1920s the 1920s emained a marginal ski discipline with no significant international successes. After the failure at the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, the Yugoslav Winter Sports Association (JZŠZ) decided that ski jumping needed a more systematic and professional approach. They invited renowned Norwegian ski expert Thorleif Tunold Hanssen to help. His knowledge of ski jumping was effectively used in the construction of a 50-meter ski jump in Polje in 1929. The first international competition on the new jump took place in 1931, and of course, the competitors were all men. In ena ženska, Spodčeva Anica.
Information: Anja Poštrak, mag. Barbara Kalan / Gorenjski Museum
Photographs: Gorenjski Museum
