A flower as president

Nevena Ignjatović has not counted the countries in which she has skied. It may be 40, she estimates. "The Kopaonik is very special for me. This is where I learned to ski. I have many fond memories of this mountainous region, it is really close to my heart." Nevena Ignjatović was born in 1990 in Kragujevac, about a three-hour drive from Kopaonik. At the age of 4 she was on skis, at 15 she won a race of the International Ski Federation FIS for the first time. She competes in the Olympic Games four times: in Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014, in Pyeongchang 2018 as Serbian flag bearer and in Beijing 2022. Her 14th place in Alpine combined is the best individual placement for the Republic of Serbia at the Winter Olympics. "When I drive on the 130 motorway, I remember that I was just as fast on skis, even a little faster. The feeling is super cool. You can feel the wind. You can feel the silence. You even think you can hear the silence. Fascinating." In 2015, the ski racer completed her master's degree in economics. She will end her sports career in 2023. "Skiing was almost everything in my life and even today I concentrate on projects that have to do with skiing."

After her playing career, Nevena Ignjatović works for Adventure Serbia. The provider of leisure activities and active holidays operates so-called adventure centres at several locations in Serbia. Adventure Serbia hires the former professional skier and licensed ski instructor as a brand ambassador. The ski school in Kopaonik gets its name: Elite Ski School of Nevena Ignjatović. Adventure Serbia offers a year-round educational program, training courses and team-building events in breathtaking nature and aims to become synonymous with active holidays in Serbia. "Skiing connects, sport connects," says the four-time Olympian. "The people who visit Kopaonik work a lot. Here they can take a break, switch off, exercise, enjoy nature and get to know each other better." In the spring of 2024 and 2025, GEALAN's Belgrade workforce went to Kopaonik for team building over the weekend, hiked and rode a quad. There will be a repeat in 2026.

Nevena Ignjatović at her fourth Olympic Games: She ended her international career in 2022 with the downhill race at the Xiaohaituo Alpine Ski Center, near Beijing. The 2023 Serbian Championships were the last competition she participated in as a skier.

GEALAN has been a partner and sponsor of Adventure Serbia since 2020 and benefits from the visibility of its logo on teamwear, advertising space, route and slope markings in summer and winter. "It's practically impossible to overlook GEALAN," says Nevena Ignjatović. With over 300,000 overnight stays a year, Kopaonik is one of Serbia's tourist magnets. "GEALAN really reaches a lot of people here and strengthens its brand – through local awareness, but also through many social media posts where the GEALAN logo is in the picture, from private family photos to high-reach reels of winter sports influencers." "I'm interested in what you don't understand immediately because you can't see it with the naked eye. This is the case with the inner workings of GEALAN profiles. You know windows, but you have no idea what know-how they contain. I especially like the colored profiles. Blue is my favorite color. GEALAN strives for success. We have that in common."

From the face of a Serbian ski school to the person responsible for all ski schools in Serbia: December 26, 2024 will turn Nevena Ignjatović's life upside down. She is elected president of Skijaški savez Srbije, the Serbian Ski Federation. "This actually happened by chance. I was in ski school when the director of the ski resort and a few people from tourism asked me if I wanted to be president. At first I thought: No, not at all. But because I really love skiing and owe so much to the sport, I decided to give it a try and pass on my knowledge."

Serbia is known for football, basketball, water polo, handball and of course tennis. But Serbia does not have the reputation of a skiing nation. The Serbs are connected to the mountains and there are 29 ski resorts, such as Stara Planina, Zlatibor and Kopaonik, the largest, with up to 10,000 visitors a day. But the Serbian Ski Federation has a fraction of the budget of the associations of Austria or Switzerland. Nevertheless, Nevena Ignjatović sees Serbia's skiing potential: "We are looking ahead and looking forward to the Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. Serbia has some promising athletes. On February 27, 2026, a Ski World Cup race will take place in Serbia for the first time - the ski cross in copaonik." Above all, however, the ski boss wants to promote young talents and create professional conditions for the education of children in the ski schools. This requires money and a motivated team with a common vision. She first had to put this team together: "I took over the association in not a good condition. There were no committees at all. We have installed commissions – for alpine skiing, Nordic skiing and snowboarding. We have succeeded in attracting good doctors and establishing contacts with the media. I take care of athletes and coaches, talk to club boards, conclude contracts, have to know details and understand contexts. It's a big task."

You don't make a sports association afloat and fit for the future overnight. After seven months in office, Nevena Ignjatović draws a positive interim balance. But for sustainable success, she is planning one, rather two, Olympics. But she has to learn patience first: "On the ski slope, I got my result after only two minutes. In association work, so much time passes before you see results - and results are the best way to show what you can do."

Ignjatović is the first woman to head the Serbian Ski Federation. Her election was "a really big deal," she says. Those who have prepared themselves for a soft president are wrong. You can't play with her. "I stand by my opinion, have experience and know what I'm talking about. It's about the good of the sport." In Serbian, Nevena means marigold. It is said to have a healing effect on wounds, symbolizes eternal life, is considered a protective and magical plant and is said to relieve nervousness and anxiety. Nevena Ignjatović: "I like that my name stands for a flower. Maybe I'll even get a little marigold tattoo." Daredevil on skis, determined as an official, goals clearly in mind: marigolds can be pretty tough.

The Kopaonik, about 260 kilometers south of Belgrade, is the largest mountain range in Serbia. Its highest peak is Pančićev vrh, which marks the border with Kosovo at an altitude of 2017 meters. In Kopaonik there are geysers, waterfalls and a national park. The ski centre from the seventies was modernised in 2006. With 160 days of snow and 200 days of sunshine, the Kopaonik is suitable for both summer and winter sports.